Murray rebounds to stay in hunt for 4A softball trophy

TAYLORSVILLE — The Springville Red Devils came within one inning of wreaking vengeance on the No. 1 Murray Spartans and knocking the overwhelming 4A favorite completely out of the state softball tournament. But in the end Murray narrowly escaped with a 4-3 victory in the one-loss bracket.

The two teams battled in the second round of the tournament with the Spartans winning 4-0, but for most of the semifinal contest it appeared the Red Devils would finish off Murray as they maintained a 3-1 lead until the bottom of the sixth inning.

But one inning was all the Spartans needed as they used a pair of Red Devil errors, a single and a walk to string together three runs and take the slim 4-3 lead.

"We just hope we don't have that one bad inning," Springville coach Suzette Hartvigsen said before the game. "We always seem to have one bad inning that just kills us."

When Whitney Holm reached base on an error in the bottom of the sixth, that inning began. A passed ball advanced her to third and a dribbler by Jocelyn Clark scored the run as the fielder's choice just missed getting the out at home. Lyndi Miller smacked a single, Mindy Schvaneveldt walked and Keshia Catten pounded a fly ball into center field.

Two fielders ran after the ball with it ripping the glove out of the center fielder's hand. When the ball hit the ground, it sealed the Red Devils' fate as two more runs scored, including the game-winner.

"If she catches it, it's done. But that was a tough spot right there with two fielders coming after it," said Murray coach Lisa Parker, who gave her team a pep talk just before the sixth that seemed to work.

"I just said that the seniors might be playing in their final couple of innings. It was tense in the circle, but then they just exploded. They wanted it and played like they did," she added.

SPRINGVILLE 4, LEHI 0: Natalie Nance continued her amazing run through the 4A softball tournament with a one-hit shutout against region rival Lehi when the Red Devils moved on to the next round in the one-loss bracket.

They knocked the Pioneers out of the tournament with nine hits of their own, including four in a row in the fifth. Two hit batters in the second and third innings turned into the only runs Springville would need as Cassie Lee and Nance picked up the key RBIs against the normally tough hitting Lehi squad.

"I was nervous coming in because we beat them 9-0 before, and I thought they were going to be out for blood," said Springville coach Suzette Hartvigsen. The two teams split regular season games, and the Red Devils came through in the all-important rubber match.

Consecutive doubles by Kiley Carter and Ariel Jensen and a pair of singles from Sarah Clark and Nance finished off the Pioneers in the fifth as Jensen and Clark picked up the final two RBIs. But it was Nance's pitching that stopped Lehi cold, leading the Pioneers to think about next year as the team only graduates three seniors, including starting pitcher McKensy Hillstead, who will play softball for Snow next year.

---

E-mail: jolsen@desnews.com