Maybe Bountiful’s Katie Tanner should foul a pitch off her hand more often. The Braves’ sophomore second baseman led off the bottom of the first and promptly fouled a fastball off her fingers. Time was called while Tanner was attended to. “She probably shouldn’t have been playing after being hit,” Bountiful coach Butch Latey said.
“I didn’t think my finger was broken,” Tanner said. “I could still move it and I wanted to stay in and hit.” Tanner kept playing, smacking three hits, scoring a run and driving in two to lead Bountiful past East 8-3 in a clash of teams atop the Region 5 standings.
After cruising past Ogden the day before, Bountiful knew it would need to play better against East. “After the Ogden game, we met as a team. We said we have to be much more serious [against East],” Braves third baseman Brook Dickerson said. “We knew we were going to have to work for it. Their pitcher [Lique Lokeni] is great and we had to be focused at the plate and take what we can.”
It was Tanner who got the Braves going. East’s standout catcher Laina Suesue led the game off with a rocket to the hole between first and second base. Tanner dove, knocked the ball down and threw to first, just beating the speedy Suesue.
“I was really excited. It was the first batter and I knew I had to get the ball,” Tanner said. “I was barely able to knock it down. It pumped my teammates up and me.”
Bountiful pitcher McKenna Alley agreed. “That [play] got me pumped,” Alley said. “I know all those girls on East. Laina is so good. They are known for hitting. Once we got her out, it started us. It was a big spark.”
“Katie’s dive set the tone for the whole game,” Dickerson said.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when the Braves scored six. Again, it was Tanner who started things for Bountiful. Tanner led off the inning with single to right field. After a Landi Hawker single, McHailee Danner-Stone doubled in both Bountiful runners.
Bountiful then loaded the bases with a hit by Dickerson and a walk to Morgan Ashley. That’s when Bountiful pitcher Alley helped her own cause. She singled up the middle to score another run. Maddie Nelson and Reagan Pearce followed with hits to keep the inning going. The lead reached six when Tanner singled for the second time in the inning, driving in Nelson.
“We hit really well today,” Braves coach Latey said. The Braves finished with 15 hits. Dickerson finished with a double and triple, while Alley and Pearce also had two hits each.
“Lique is one of the best pitchers in the state. She throws so hard,” Dickerson said of East’s pitcher. “I think we adjusted well at the plate.”
The Braves also kept the dangerous East hitters at bay. “If you can contain Suesue and [Kiki] Angilau, you are going to be OK,” Latey said. “I thought McKenna [Alley] threw hard and hit her spots against them.”
Alley struck out seven while earning the win from the circle. “I felt very good,” the Braves pitcher said. “Today was probably one of my better days. Part of it is who we played. We have a healthy rivalry with East. We’ve grown up with them and played against them in comp ball and in high school. There was more pressure because we know how good they are, but a lot more motivation.”
With the win, Bountiful (9-0; 4-0 Region 5) remaines unbeaten. East fell to 3-1 in Region 5.
David Pearce is general counsel with Beneficial Life Insurance Company.