There still are some games left to play, but the Grantsville softball team appears to be on the right track toward peaking at the right time.
The Cowboys made Bear River pay for a pair of mistakes in the third inning, racking up five unearned runs en route to an 8-4 win over the Bears at home on Friday.
“They didn’t really ever get down or get nervous – they had confidence,” Cowboys coach Heidi Taylor said. “They weren’t afraid when they got up to the plate, and that was really key.
“I’m super proud of their intensity and their focus.”
Grantsville (13-3, 4-1 Region 11) trailed 2-0 early in the game, as Brylie Marziale drove in Mercedes Call with an RBI single in the first inning and Oakli Rhodes scored on a fielding error by the Cowboys in the second.
The Bears (11-4, 0-3) looked like they might get out of the bottom of the third inning unscathed as well, as Autumn Dzierzon and Mariah Sweat each were retired on fly balls to open the frame. Bailey Critchlow then struck out, but Bear River catcher Kayla King couldn’t hold on to the third strike, allowing Critchlow to reach first base to extend the inning.
Sarah Sandberg then hit a towering fly ball just in front of the plate, bringing three Bear River fielders together. The ball dropped to the ground between them, keeping the inning alive once again.
Critchlow then scored on a wild pitch to pull Grantsville within a run, and Megan Cafarelli’s double to center field drove in Sandberg to tie the game. After Reannon Justice singled to shallow left, Sydney Barney blasted a 1-2 pitch deep over the fence in center field, giving Grantsville a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
“I just saw it coming right where I wanted it, so I took it,” Barney said. “I didn’t even take off running. I just knew it was gone.”
That was all the run support Barney needed in the pitcher’s circle, as she allowed just two baserunners over the next three innings. Meanwhile, Sandberg added a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to 6-2, and a double steal allowed Breanna Dzierzon to steal home in the top of the sixth. Critchlow added an RBI single later in the sixth to cap Grantsville’s scoring.
The Bears mounted a mini-rally in the top of the seventh, with Call hitting a one-out double and scoring on Bailey Trapp’s home run, but Barney finished the game without allowing another run.
Barney earned the win with a complete-game effort, allowing four runs on nine hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in addition to a 2-for-3 effort at the plate with a double, a home run, three RBIs and a run scored.
“Once we got up as a team, it was easier for me to stay up in the circle,” Barney said.
Sandberg was 3-for-4 with a home run, an RBI and two runs scored for Grantsville.
Call led Bear River with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Kylie Larkin was 2-for-4 and Marziale was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Marziale took the loss in the circle, allowing six runs in 4.1 innings, though only one was earned. She allowed eight hits and struck out four. Kenzi Summers allowed two earned runs on one hit and one walk in 1.2 innings of relief.
Grantsville will continue Region 11 play Tuesday at Ben Lomond, with difficult games looming against Stansbury and Tooele. The Cowboys also will face non-region foes Corner Canyon and Bonneville before the state tournament.
“We still have a long way to go,” Taylor said. “We have a lot of room for improvement, and we’re never good enough. I think we’ve got a ways to go, but are we coming together? Yeah, I think we’re getting there. Every single day is better.”