BEAR RIVER HIGH – By Justus Wise, Headliner Sports Editor, March 31, 2022
It comes as little surprise to most when they hear about the Bear River High softball team standing beautifully on top of a 7-2 record for the year, a solid second place spot in Region 11, third in the 4A classification and 13th throughout the entire state of Utah.
The Lady Bears are off to a great start of the 2022 season as fans are watching intently to see how the team will do in the coming months. Probably hoisting an 11th state championship trophy over their heads.
The girls cut their teeth at the beginning of the month at a tournament in St. George, March 11-12, where their only loss would come at the hands of the tourney champions, Crimson Cliffs High who is projected as number one overall in 4A. The Lady Bears would finish the tournament with a 4-1 record.
March 11:
Bear River 5, Desert Hills 4
Bear River 4, Manti 2
Crimson Cliffs 6, Bear River 2
March 12:
Bear River 5, Snow Canyon 4
Bear River 12, North Sanpete 7
The following week on March 15, the Lady Bears faced off against one of the best softball teams in the entire state, the Bingham High Miners. Despite running up the score within the first half of the game, and a legendary performance by senior Haylee “Bob” Farnsworth who went 3-for-3 at the plate with a homerun, the Bears could not stop an absolute hitting clinic in the fourth inning with the Miners scoring eight runs. Bingham would seize the victory, 9-5.
Fueled by the loss against the Miners, the Bear River softball team marched down to Pleasant View on March 21, to have a word or two with the next opponent in their way, the Weber High Warriors. To call it a game would be doing a disservice to softball games around the country. No. This was a reckoning.
The Lady Bears went up on the Warriors with six unanswered runs within the first half of the game. The Warriors retaliated in the third with two runs and a single run in the fifth. Bear River sealed the victory in the sixth with five runs, ending the game and any hopes the Warriors had of winning. The Bears would win 14-3.
Senior Carlee Miller went 5-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs. Farnsworth continued to dominate at the plate going 2-for-3 while knocking in three runs of her own. Kate Dahle went 3-for-4 with triple and two RBIs and lead-off hitter Kynlei Nelson went 2-for-4 with a double.
Dahle and senior Jordyn Warren shared the win in the circle for the Bears.
Having tasted victory the Lady Bears were eager to show what they could do against a team within their region and the Mountain Crest High Mustangs would present that opportunity on March 29.
The score remained zeros until the third when the Bears scored one run. The ‘Stangs, not far behind, scored their singular run in the fourth. Bear River continued running up the score and finally sealed the victory in the seventh with three more runs. Farnsworth and Miller once again led the way as the two powerhouse hitters both went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double. Nelson also hit a double for the Bears.
Bear River would win 7-1 in their first taste of Region 11 play. Dahle earned the win striking out 11 and giving up just one hit.
The following day the Lady Bears travelled to Taylorsville High School for a non-region match up against the Warriors. With Dahle continuing her hot streak in the pitcher’s circle, and the Bear’s hitting display at the plate yet again, they brought home a sweet 13-3 victory on March 30.
Nelson went 2-for-3 with a triple. Senior Kinley “KJ” Toone also went 2-for-3 at the plate while Warren and Baylee Sorenson each brought in three runs for the Bears. Freshman sensation Aubree “Small Fry” had two RBIs of her own.
Up next for the Bear River High softball team is another Region 11 road trip, this time to Logan High School on Friday, April 1. Varsity is set to start at 3:30 p.m.
