5A high school softball: Bingham finds way to easier road with opening win

TAYLORSVILLE — The Bingham Miners have decided to try something a little different this year. Despite winning last year's state championship title by coming up through a long and winding one-loss bracket road, the Miners wanted to take an easier route this season.

And to make it through to that simpler route, they had to go through the tough Syracuse Titans on Tuesday at Valley Complex.

Though they fell behind early in the game after highly-touted pitcher Tori Almond gave up a two-run home run, the Miners came back strong to defeat the Titans 4-2 and land themselves in the winners' bracket game tonight at 7:15 at Valley Complex.

"We took one path last year, and now we want to see if we can learn that other path this year. Last year taught the kids a lot, but there's nothing wrong with going the shorter route," said Bingham coach Mikki Jackson, who was happy with the way Almond held her composure after giving up the long ball.

"She did a good job and kept them off balance. She held her composure so well after giving up the home run — and she rarely gives up home runs — then struck out the next two batters. Almond finished with 13 strike outs in the ball game.

"I gave up that home run, and that just reminded me of what I had to do. We knew they were going to be good, and we didn't know anything about them. So it's good to get them out of the way," said Almond in relief after taking the win.

It was a classic pitchers' duel through three and a half innings as neither team was giving away anything close to a run. Then Almond allowed Timmarie Taylor on with a walk before facing Sarah Basinger, who wasted no time in smashing a dinger over the fence in left center, bringing in two runs for the Titans and making the score 2-0 in favor of Syracuse.

"I think any time when the bats aren't there at the moment and you're in a pitchers' duel you get concerned about a two-run deficit," said Jackson, who noted she told her team they needed to compose themselves and relax and let the bats come.

That's exactly what the Miners did in the top half of the fifth. And the Titans got a little tight in the field, committing three straight errors to start the inning. All three runners who reached base on those errors were able to cross the plate before the young Titans could resume their own composure.

Cearra Clawson was the only Bingham batter to get a hit in the inning, bringing home an RBI in the process after she blooped one into shallow left.

But Jackson was happy her team was able to put their bats on the ball and make the Syracuse fielders play defense.

Again in the top of the sixth, the Miners used an error to help them add the final run to the score after Whitney Lewis singled to the infield and Lauren Johanson laid down a bunt single for the final RBI to make the score 4-2.

Syracuse was able to put runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the sixth but couldn't push a run across the plate. The Titans dropped into the one-loss bracket and will play Taylorsville at 5 p.m. today at Valley Complex.

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