High school softball: Batting eye of the Tigers is fierce in final inning

OREM — The Orem Tigers finally showed their fans a glimpse of the type of team they can be when they put their minds to it and let themselves play.

Though the Tigers won just their third contest in Region 7 competition with a pair of victories over Timpview and the blowout they handed the Mountain View Bruins on Tuesday, the region had better watch out if Orem can continue to swing the bats the way it did against its cross-town rivals in the 10-3 victory.

With Tuesday's win, the Tigers threw themselves into the playoff mix when it seemed they were going to be on the outside looking in this season. Five teams from Region 7 make it to the state softball dance, and up until now, Orem was easily the sixth team in the league.

Now, the Tigers have a great deal of hope, if only they can keep up the defensive play they showed throughout the game against the Bruins and the bats they brought to life in the seventh inning.

"Our bats just unloaded. I've seen glimpses of their bats, but they finally strung them together. They just established the standard of what Tiger softball should look like," said first-year head coach Theresa Barney, who knows what championship softball looks like after playing for Spanish Fork and coaching with the Dons as well.

Both teams started things off with a little scoring punch, as the Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the first inning. But then neither squad could string anything together through the next five frames, and the Bruins maintained that same 2-1 lead heading into the top of the seventh. That's when the Tiger bats broke loose and scored nine Orem runs in the final stanza.

Things started off with a walk. Then freshman Madison Albach, who knows her way around the batter's box, knocked an RBI double to deep center field, evening things at 2-2. That's when the momentum seemed to take a huge turn in the Tigers' direction.

"I think that hit was the turning point of the game," noted Barney, who was nothing but smiles after her team's victory.

Another walk, followed by a fielder's choice that tagged the runner heading home, kept things going. A walk, an error, and a pair of fielder's choice plays that missed on the outs at home plate gave the Tigers a huge lead with still only one out.

A pair of singles by Halee Clement and Albach finished off the Tigers' hitting outburst, but by then, the damage had already been done. The Tigers picked up nine runs in a huge offensive inning.