Riverton ousts Bingham

SOUTH JORDAN — The Riverton Silverwolves may be Region 3 champs, but they can't shake that underdog feeling.

"I think people still underestimate us," said shortstop Amanda Jensen after the Silverwolves defeated Bingham 7-5 in their last region game. "But I think we'll go far."

The win didn't change the playoff picture for Riverton, but it did for perennial softball powerhouse Bingham. For the first time, the Miners will not play in the state softball tournament, a painful fact that punctuated a painful season for the team.

"We had our opportunities in this game, but we just didn't get the break we needed," said coach Tom Rodgers, who took over the squad about two weeks ago when coach Bob Lewis unexpectedly resigned. "We had bases loaded three times, and couldn't get it done. It's kind of the way our season has gone this year . . . We just never got a break, and it felt like everything worked against us."

Rodgers said he was proud of the players for sticking together and playing hard, despite the turmoil and the odds.

"They worked hard, even after some people were writing us off," he said shaking his head.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, it appeared the Miners had found their magic again when they earned three straight walks with two outs. Then a grounder was hit to Jensen, which she fielded cleanly and rocketed to first for the game's final out.

Jensen knows a little something about surprising skeptics as the freshman was asked to move up to the varsity squad mid-season.

"I was nervous at first, but you get used to it," she said with a shrug. "The girls help a lot. If I make a mistake, they back me up."

Jensen immediately impressed her coaches and teammates.

"She's really matured a lot," said Riverton coach Emily Cederholm, of Jensen who had an RBI, a single and a walk in the win.

First baseman Kelsi Baldwin said she and the other varsity starters were worried the changes would disrupt their chemistry.

"I was worried that we wouldn't be able to mesh, but we pulled it off," she said. "Amanda was a little nervous at first, but she was able to get it under control pretty quickly."

She said when the changes were announced, the team "freaked out. But then we just made it work."

With chemistry intact, Riverton now hopes to show the rest of 5A what region 3 already knows — the Silverwolves are for real.

"We're underdogs, but that's OK," Baldwin said with a smile.

Adds her coach, "We have nothing but high hopes."

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