We just came into this game really pumped and confident. We knew we got at least third if we won, and we just came out and hit the ball. – Stansbury's Karlee Manzione
ST. GEORGE — When the Stansbury Stallions and Snow Canyon Warriors met in the quarterfinals of the 3A state softball tournament Friday, most people expected a close, competitive game.
There was nothing close about Friday morning's contest, however.
The Stallions dominated every aspect en route to a 16-0 win in 4 1/2 innings over the previously undefeated Warriors.
Karlee Manzione and Lindsay Guymon combined to go 3-for-5 with eight RBIs and two home runs, and pitcher Kimbri Herring had another solid performance, striking out nine to earn a complete-game victory.
"We just came into this game really pumped and confident," Manzione said. "We knew we got at least third if we won, and we just came out and hit the ball."
Stansbury got things started in the top of the first when Katelyn Robinson drove in two runs to put the Stallions up 2-0. The next batter, Manzione, went deep to right to give the Stallions a 4-0 lead.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Herring, the Stallions scored five more in the top of the second.
Janessa Bassett and Beth Chipman each scored on passed balls to make it 6-0, and Guymon took it deep to left for a three-run homer to extend the Stallions' lead to 9-0.
"I think not only the nine players on the field contributed, (but) everybody on the bench was awesome today," Guymon said.
After three more strikeouts from Herring, Stansbury scored two more runs in the top of the third on a Jocelyn Kaufmann two-RBI single that made it 11-0.
Stansbury scored its final five runs in the top of the fourth. Manzione, Anjalee Batchelor and Kauffman each drove in a run on RBI singles to make it 14-0, and Guymon drove in the final two runs of the game to give the Stallions the 16-0 win.
The Stallions will face Bear River in the semifinals later Friday, and the winner will play in the state championship Saturday. The Bears handed Stansbury one of its two losses of the year April 17, but the Stallions have won 11 in a row since.
"It feels pretty great (to know how close we are to the state championship)," Guymon said. "But we're just taking it one game at a time."
CJ Pronk is a Deseret Digital Media intern and a senior at Stansbury High School. Follow CJ on Twitter @BigCeeJ3113