There were plenty of people who doubted us, but that doesn’t faze my team. It just pumps us up. – West third baseman Breah Ava
TAYLORSVILLE — Breah Ava has spent plenty of time daydreaming about what it would be like to make a run in the state softball tournament.
As it turns out, living it is a lot more satisfying than dreaming about it.
“It feels way better,” said the junior third baseman after the unranked, unheralded West High Panthers upset the top-ranked, defending 5A champion Lehi Pioneers 5-4 in eight innings. “There were plenty of people who doubted us, but that doesn’t faze my team. It just pumps us up. One of our greatest motivations is to have people doubt us.” The Panthers won the Region 2 title, but acknowledge many still doubted how good they really were until they upset Region 3’s second seed, Taylorsville, a perennial softball power. The Panthers trailed the Warriors 9-1 before coming back and winning 12-11 to advance to Tuesday’s quarterfinal round.
West head coach Keith Lopati said the team has been dealing with high-pressure situations all season.
“We’ve been fighting through this the whole year,” Lopati said as his team celebrated. “The way our attitude is, when we face adversity, it’s going to dictate what happens in the outcome. If we can stand up tall and have each other’s back, then we’re going to get exactly what we got tonight.”
The Panthers scored first thanks to singles from Kamora Masina, Huntyr Ava and Molini Vailahi. Vailahi’s single allowed both Masina and Ava to score, and in the fourth inning, Masina hit a home run. Riverton answered in the third inning with two runs, after Abby Padilla drew a walk, and then Rylin Roberts hit a home run scoring them both. Masina’s home run gave the Panthers a 3-2 edge, and then Mikala Ulibarri scored on a throwing error in the fifth for a 4-2 advantage.
The Pioneers managed to score in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings while holding the Panthers scoreless. Pitcher Syd White threw an impressive game, including two strike-outs in the bottom of the sixth.
Masina took over pitching duties after Shayna Alofipo threw for six innings. While Alofipo earned the win, Masina threw an impressive seventh and eighth inning, including two strike-outs to end the game.
The freshman said the Taylorsville game prepared her for the kind of pressure she faced Tuesday.
“It was scary at first,” she said. “But I do a lot better when I’m under pressure.” Lopati said the team doesn’t resent being overlooked by most, but instead, they play for each other.
“Nobody really believed in us,” he said. “We’re not relevant, but that game against Taylorsville kind of helped us a little bit. We’ve got some great kids who work hard at their craft.”
He said he was “going nuts” watching his team battle a powerhouse like Lehi.
“Our girls really, really look forward to playing teams like Lehi because we’re trying to elevate our program to that level. Tonight was a good testament to where we need to be, and we’re two games away.”
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