High school softball: MVPs each made a strong pitch

Not only does Flint have the legacy of her aunt to live up to, she has the expectations of her father and grandfather, both of whom are assistants for the Royals.

"Her dad calls the pitches for her and they read each other very well," Koford said.

Flint pitched five straight shutouts in leading the Royals to the 4A title. The honor student earned 143 strikeouts without a loss in 13 games pitched. She finished with a 0.74 ERA and gave up just a single home run all season.

"She's a determined soul," said Koford. "Anything she really, truly wants to do, she's going to do. She doesn't stress out about things. She knows what she has to do and she just gets it done."

3A MVP: Josi Summers, Bear River

Josi Summers has the right build — tall and strong — to be a pitcher, but she also has the right mindset.

The junior loves softball so much she spends a lot of her free time "honing her pitching skills," said her coach, Calvin Bingham.

"She is as hard to hit as anybody on the state," he said. "She has a lot of movement on the ball and has a great rise ball and curve. Currently, when anybody thinks about Bear River softball, they think of her."

Summers finished the year with 188 strikeouts and a 0.55 ERA. She also hit fourth for the Bears and was a team leader in the squad's run to a 3A title.

"She knows softball — both her parents are coaches," he said. "She is well respected by the players and she tries to encourage people and help the younger girls."

Summers has several colleges interested in her, but she's working hard this summer to make her senior season her best.

"She works hard," Bingham said. "She can really get after it and she spends a lot of time after practice going to a pitching coach."

2A MVP: McKenzie Hatch, Manti

McKenzie Hatch is such a great, selfless leader that when her own desire and the team's best interest came into conflict, she asked her coach to put the team first.

When the San Juan Broncos began to hit her in the 2A title game, she asked her coach to replace her with her cousin, Kaitlyn Hatch. The result was a victory and a 2A state championship.

"She is just a great leader," said Susan Hatch, who is an aunt to both players. "Whatever we needed, she's just come through. Especially the last half of the season, she was really awesome."

One of the Templar team captains, McKenzie took it upon herself to help the team defensively with consistently solid pitching and offensively with some big hits.

"She can help the younger girls with fundamentals, and she can help the team with pitching or hitting. She's one of those leaders you want on the field. A lot of times, when another team has had a rally, she's smart enough to bring the team together, help calm them down and re-focus them. "

McKenzie is a high honor student and was a mistress for the Manti Drill Team. She will play softball for Snow College next year.

"She works really hard," said Susan. "She works as hard at home and at school as she does on the field."

E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com