High school softball: Expect 16-team fight for 4A title

Parity and no clear favorite should make the 4A state softball playoffs one of the most exciting tournaments in years as things get under way between the 16 teams today.

Most softball coaches in the state agree there are a total of 10 teams that could sneak away with the championship, and none of them can agree on just one team out there that will be impossible to beat.

"There are 10 teams that I feel could win it all. I don't remember ever having this many teams in legitimate contention. One thing in common is each one of the ten teams I would pick have pitching, and if the pitcher falters, so will her team," said long-time Spanish Fork coach Don Andrews.

The Dons honestly didn't look like much competition for those other nine top teams out there when the year started, and they found themselves looking up at most competition from a 2-6 early record. But three main factors led to that record, including the Dons' youth and inexperience, the almost impossibly tough schedule Andrews put his team through in the preseason, and the loss of one of the state's top catchers in Lyndsey Healey due to a serious hand injury.

Since that time the Dons have gained a little experience, the tough preseason schedule has made the team better able to deal with adversity, and Healey has returned from her injury to lead the team. The Dons have won their last eight games and have gone 11-2 since their rough start, giving them a target on their backs instead of that early season rebuilding label most people across the state believed they would maintain all year.

"For us to do well in the tournament, we will have to play flawless defense, we won't score too many runs, so we must not give the other team any runs," said Andrews, once again referring to the tough pitching abounding through all of 4A.

"My team is so young that I don't think they are nervous (yet). I wasn't even sure that we would make the tournament (earlier in the year)," added Andrews, who is thrilled that his catcher has returned from the injury that threatened their entire season.

"(Healey) is very important to our team, not just physically but mentally, the players look up to her," said Andrews, and though a nice young freshman prospect did well from the catcher spot in relief, Andrews' and the rest of the Spanish Fork fans' relief is immense that their star has returned, albeit with a tad bit of rust.