It would’ve taken a herculean effort from any team to take down Herriman in Friday’s Game 2 of the 6A state championship series. The Mustangs looked nearly unstoppable in their goal to force a Game 3 as they surged to 15 runs on 15 hits.
Things looked especially bleak for Riverton as Herriman held a 15-11 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, but if anything was made clear on Friday, it’s that Riverton isn’t just any team.
It took eight innings, nearly four hours and a game-saving grand slam home run, but Riverton won its third straight 6A championship with a 16-15 barn-burner victory over Herriman.
“These kids, I don’t even have words,” said Riverton head coach Whitley Haimin. “Our kids are so awesome. I’m so proud of how they respond. Like, are you kidding me?
“I feel like (it was) back and forth all game, and they held their composure. They believed in each other. That was one of the most phenomenal games that I’ve been a part of.”
Despite the storybook ending, the start of the game was a nightmare for the Silverwolves.
Herriman’s Jaylee Hansen opened the game with a double, but pitching woes led to six Mustang runs runs in the first inning, four of which were scored on wild pitches.
But like it did all game, Riverton responded. Maggie Hamblin, who is a Utah commit, pulled the Silverwolves right back into it with a grand slam home run.
“When I hit the grand slam, we all got really hyped, and I think that’s just what we needed to get us going,” said Hamblin. “Once we get going, we will continue and we just never give up.”
Hamblin kept it going and got a two-run home run in her next at-bat. She finished with two home runs and six RBIs. However, Herriman learned its lesson and intentionally walked her the rest of the game.
Still, Riverton was playing catch-up through most of the contest, and a five-run sixth inning from the Mustangs looked like it was the nail in the coffin.
But Bre Mackay had something to say about that.
First, the Riverton defense kept it within striking distance after holding Herriman to no runs in the seventh, then the Silverwolves got some luck.
Hamblin was intentionally walked, and two batters after her were walked to load the bases.
With two outs and a championship on the line, Mackay drove the ball down right-center field past the 220-foot wall for the grand slam and forced an eighth inning.
“I just knew the game wasn’t over,” Mackay said. “I knew that whole game, even if they were up, I knew that the game was still going.
“I knew there was still a chance, and I trusted all my teammates to finish it...I was just thinking, ‘Do my job. Get a hit.’ I was just so happy. It was such a great opportunity. It’s what you dream of.”
Mackay’s heroics may have forced extra innings, but they didn’t end the game. Once again, it was the defense’s job to step up, which it did by holding Herriman scoreless in the eighth.
Then, with a runner on second, Grace Leary delivered the walk-off double to win the game and the third consecutive state championship for Riverton.
“It was super stressful that (seventh) inning, and we had to score four,” Leary said. “Bre did so good and hit her home run, so there’s no pressure on any of us. We just played our best.”
Riverton’s championship was saved with its at-bats. It had 15 total hits, six of which were doubles and four were home runs (two of which were grand slams).
“Our offensive lineup is insane, one through nine,” Haimin said. “We’ve even got kids on the bench who have had such a successful year.
“I think them just trusting each other, at no point was there doubt, even when they had that five-run inning. I think it would have been easy to be like, ‘OK, let’s reset and come to the next one,’ but they came off the field and were like, ‘Hey, I believe in us, let’s go, let’s get it.’”
Riverton has now won five championships in the last six years.