High school softball: Mountain Crest defeats Hillcrest in Game 1 of 4A playoffs

In the opening round of the 4A softball tournament, Mountain Crest was able to grab a Game 1 victory over Hillcrest Friday by a score of 6-3 in their best of three series.

“Our team came to play today. The first inning was a little bit rough, but after that they clicked and they got their minds right in the box and on defense. They started to have a lot more energy on defense and they just came together, and Morgan (Coulam) threw a great game out on the mound,” said Mountain Crest head coach Emilee Erickson.

Mountain Crest’s offensive was on full display, with a total of 11 hits. The team was led at the plate by leadoff hitter Dani Alexander, who went 3 for 4 with an RBI.

Coulam had a dominant performance on the mound for Mountain Crest, pitching a complete game and striking out eight while walking just three.

“Morgan is such a workhorse,” Erickson said. “She’s used to starting and pitching a lot of innings for us throughout this season and she definitely stepped up today.

“Her ball was moving a lot, and she was able to fool some of their best hitters, so that was awesome to see.”

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Though Mountain Crest won, it was Hillcrest that jumped out to an early lead when Nyomi Houston crossed home plate on a fielding error in the bottom of the first inning.

Mountain Crest quickly answered the following inning though, putting up three runs, and didn’t look back.

Mountain Crest increased its lead in the third inning when, with two outs, Izzy Laughery ripped a single into right field to score Allee Carlston.

An infield single in the fifth inning scored Leila Brown to make it a 5-1 margin, and after Hillcrest scored two runs to cut into the deficit and make it a 5-3 game, Mountain Crest got a vital insurance run in the final inning on an RBI sac fly by Laughery that scored Carlston.

Erickson knows that if her team wants to take Game 2 and advance to the next round of the tournament, it will need to showcase the same energy and focus it had in the opening game.

“Winning the first game is huge because that sets the tone for tomorrow and we were just saying after the game that we need to carry this into tomorrow,” Erickson said.

“It’s not over and we got another game tomorrow so we have got to go and take it. We can’t give them an inch we’re going to have to be determined to go and take it.”