Riverton ace puts on clamps for win

RIVERTON — It's no secret Jessie Cozzens has anchored Riverton's pitching staff all spring. In the sixth inning against Timpanogos, Cozzens gave an excellent demonstration of why her abilities inspire so much confidence.

Pitching with the bases loaded and no outs, Cozzens struck out three consecutive batters. Just like that she turned what looked like a disaster-in-the-making into an exclamation point on the Silverwolves' 3-2 comeback win over the Timberwolves at Riverton High Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the 5-A softball tournament.

Cozzens actually pulled off the same feat — fanning three straight batters — an inning earlier. She finished with a season-high eight strikeouts in seven innings of work.

With such impressive numbers, it's not difficult to see why Cozzens plays a key role in Riverton's success.

"She's our No. 1 pitcher, and we've had to ride her a lot this year — more than we have in the past," said Silverwolves coach Emily Cederholm.

It didn't look to be Cozzens' day, or Riverton's for that matter, after Jessica Rivers blasted a two-run double to put Timpanogos up 2-0 in the second inning. But the Silverwolves clawed back.

Sofia Gomez singled in Symbree Minniear, and Kylee Haimin drove in Sandi Bowles to knot the score at 2-2.

Then Brooke Olson scored the Silverwolves' go-ahead run in unique fashion in the fifth. Olson took first base on a wild pitch. Then she stole second. Finally, on the next at-bat, a fielding error at third base allowed her to reach home.

From there, Cozzens and her arm took over.

Now that it is safely in the second round, redemption will continue to be a postseason theme for Riverton. A Region 3 title slipped out from its grasp with a season-ending loss to Bingham.

Because of that, the Silverwolves are on a renewed mission to prove themselves against the 5A elite.

"That's all we think about," Cozzens said. "After that loss, it just fired me up. You want it so bad when you lose. I wanted to play the next day and go all out."

While their defense looked solid enough for extended run, Riverton's normally high-powered offense fizzled at crucial points against the Timberwolves. The Silverwolves left five batters on base in the third and fourth innings combined.

That's not what Cederholm would like to see from an offense that averaged 8.6 runs per game in its final five Region 3 contests.

"You never want to leave as many runners on base as we did," Cederholm said.