4A high school softball championship: Tooele takes title

TAYLORSVILLE — It was everything a state championship game should be and more.

The 4A state softball tournament culminated in a game of the ages, one people will be talking about for years to come.

It all came down to Tooele and Spanish Fork after the Dons had advanced by defeating Lehi in the final game of the one-loss bracket. And then it was a battle that showed just how much heart both teams had as comeback after comeback held the crowd breathless. In the end, it was the Buffaloes that finally came through on a spectacular catch by sophomore Brooke Slade, a catch that sealed the outcome of the 9-8 Tooele victory.

"I died a thousand deaths. It was an amazing game. All of a sudden things got a little crazy in the last couple of innings. They just kept coming and our girls never quit," said Tooele coach Steve Snow, whose team won its ninth title overall and its sixth in the last eight years.

It all started very simply. Tooele racked up three runs in the top of the first, capped by a home run to center field by Whitney Holt. The Buffaloes tacked on another run in the third to give themselves a 4-0 lead. Everything looked secure with Mattie Snow in the circle taking control.

But everything started getting a little shaky when the Dons scored a run in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a pair of Tooele errors and a single by Lyndsey Healey.

Things got even crazier as the Dons picked up four more runs in the sixth and snagged a 5-4 lead over the Buffaloes with three singles and two more Tooele errors, a rally which seemingly started to give Spanish Fork added confidence that it could possibly force an extra 4A title game.

"There's no quit in these girls," said Spanish Fork coach Don Andrews of his young squad.

Then it was the Buffaloes' turn to steal the lead back and do it in a big way. Three singles, an error and a double by Slade brought in five more Tooele runs, giving the Buffaloes the 9-5 lead.

"I thought that we'd taken a comfortable cushion going into the bottom of the seventh," Snow said. "But with Spanish Fork, nothing's ever safe."

The bottom of the seventh was all it took for the Dons to throw terror into the hearts of everyone on the Tooele side of the field and in the stands as they loaded the bases without an out on a walk and two singles. But they didn't score a run before the Buffaloes secured two outs. Then the pressure started mounting.