ST. GEORGE – By Justus Wise – March 15, 2021
Last weekend the Bear River High School softball team trekked south to St. George for the annual St. George icebreaker tournament, a usually sunny if not playable tourney that. But for the second year in a row the tournament was bombarded by unexpected snow and rain fall.
Despite the inclement weather, the Lady Bears battled the way Bear River Bears do and ended with a 2-2 record on the weekend - one of those losses not being a part of the tournament itself.
The first stop of the St. George tour found the Bears hash it out against the Snow Canyon High School Warriors in a non-tournament game. The six-hour bus ride, combined with the cold and rain, would prove too much for the Bears as they fell to the mighty Warriors in a tight 3-2 loss.
The next game, this time a game within the tournament itself, was against the Lehi High School Pioneers on Friday, March 12. The Bears took a late lead in the third inning, but the Pioneers would not take this laying down and scored in the sixth inning.
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The Bears sealed the win with two runs in the seventh inning for a final score of 4-1.
Bear River High senior Olivia Taylor went 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs and three doubles. Kynlei Nelson also went 3-for-4 at the plate and hit a triple.
Sophomores Baylee Sorensen and Kate Dahle both earned the win on the mound. Sorensen struck out seven in four innings and Dahle struck out four in the last three innings.
When asked about this victory Bear River High softball head coach Calvin Bingham said, “The girls executed the way they were supposed to… it was a nice win.”
Having now warmed up, the Lady Bears took their game to the Crimson Cliffs High School Mustangs where they put on an absolute hitting clinic against this relatively new school.
“They hit the way they were supposed to hit,” said Bingham.
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Junior McCall Maxfield had a great game. She hit a home run and had four RBIs - a run each time she went to bat. This combined with two runs from Nelson, four runs from Taylor, one from Haylee Farnsworth with a double and one from Kortnie Burton brought the Bears a decisive win.
The Bears throttled the Mustangs 12 to 2 with junior Jordyn Warren earning the win on the mound.
The final game of the day was against the Manti High School Templars, a team that, “can compete with the best,” Bingham said.
It was anyone’s game until the sixth inning where the Templars scored all three of their runs. The Bears retaliated in the seventh with a run of their own, but it wouldn’t be enough to claim the W.
Senior Cami Gibbs hit a double scoring the Bears' only run of the game.
The Bears hung with a team that Bingham thinks, “will win state,” but too many mistakes were the Bears’ downfall. They lost the game 3-1.
Although games were supposed to take place on Saturday, March 13, the tournament was cancelled due to inclement weather and dangerous field conditions. The weekend did not turn out quite the way the Lady Bears had hoped; there were close-calls and plenty of mistakes but also decisive victories and great wins.
The Bear River High softball team will face Bingham High School on Thursday, March 18, at 3:30 at home. They will host Taylorsville High School the next day, March 19, also starting at 3:30 p.m.
Photo coverage provided by Todd Burton
