The Emery Lady Spartan softball team has been in Spanish Fork for the 3A State Championships since Thursday. Sporting the No. 1 spot in the RPI, They have been playing just like it making it through day one without a loss. Day two started with a win over Morgan and ended with a loss to Grantsville putting them in the one-loss bracket to face North Sanpete, taking a 4-3 win and advancing to the Championships Round.
In their first game against Region 12 foe Canyon View, Emery claimed the 5-4 victory. Next up was the Morgan Trojans, and the Lady Spartans earned a 9-3 win. In their last game on Friday night they faced the Grantsville Cowboys in a game that went back and forth until the final inning when the Cowboys would erupt for 8 runs handing Emery their first loss 17-11 and dropping them into the one-loss bracket, meaning it was win or go home against North Sanpete.
The contest against North Sanpete was a battle with the Hawks putting up a pair of runs in the first inning, Emery would come back and cut that deficit to 2-1 by the end of the inning. Then things would go quiet for the Spartans until the fifth with the score 3-1 when Kali Jensen hit a grounder to center and reached on an error that allowed Elli Stoker to score from second. Then in the bottom of the sixth with two outs and the bases loaded Tailynn Minchey would earn a walk and bring in Brooklynn Ekker to tie things up at 3-3. Rheagan Rhoten would hit a pop fly and reach on an error that drove Ekker home and gave the Spartans the win 4-3.
Ekker earned a pair of hits and two runs scored for Emery. Kaitlyn Nielson had two hits and an RBI, Jensen had a hit and scored a run and Rhoten collected one hit in the Lady Spartan win.
Kallee Lake got the start for Emery going four innings giving up seven hits, three runs, one earned, and struck out five. Rhoten came in going three surrendering a hit and struck out two.
Emery now gets another shot at Grantsville in the championship game.
The first game will start at 12:30 p.m., if Emery loses their season comes to an end. A win means they will play The Cowboys once more at 2:30 p.m..