On Tuesday, the Emery Lady Spartan softball team welcomed the Manti Templars for a region contest in Castle Dale. The game turned into a slugfest, with 31 hits and 33 combined runs, going into extra innings for the Lady Spartans to collect the 17-16 win.
The Spartans sit at 4-14 overall, with a 3-2 record in Region 13 play, and hold the No. 9 spot in the latest MaxPreps rankings.
The Spartans were down 4-0 in the bottom of the third with one out when Aleeyah Cowley came up to the plate. During her at-bat, Elly Stilson would score on a passed ball to get Emery on the board 4-1.
After holding the Templars off the board in the 4th inning, the Spartans would come up, and Hailee Barnett would set a single to left field, bringing Hadley Grimm into score. Two batters later, with two outs, Cowley hit a pop fly and reached on an error by the second baseman, with Barnett scoring on the same error, and in the next at-bat, Elli Stoker would double to center, allowing Cowley to score as the Spartans would tie things up at 4-4.
The Spartans would once again hold Manti off the board in the 5th and then come up with one out and one on. Grimm would send a home-run ball over the center field fence, driving in Zadriee Norton to give Emery a two-run lead. Two batters later, with two outs, Hadley Larsen came to the plate, hitting a fly ball and reaching on an error by the second baseman, Barnett would score, pushing the Lady Spartan lead to 7-4. The next batter up was Cowley, who would send a double to center field, bringing Larsen in for the score, and in the next at bat, Stoker, sent a pop fly, reaching on an error, and allowing Cowley to score to give Emery a 9-4 lead headed into the sixth.
Manti would add a pair of runs in the sixth inning to cut into the Emery lead, and then in the bottom of the sixth, the Spartans would come up to the plate as Brielle Tuttle would hit a ground ball reaching on an error by the second baseman, and Bailey Luke would score. One batter later, Barnett would hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Grimm as the Lady Spartans doubled up the Templars, 12-6.
In the seventh, the Templars found their offense, tying up the Spartans 12-12. Emery was unable to plate any runs, taking the game into extra innings.
The Templars came out in the eighth, adding three runs to take a 15-12 lead. Then, in the bottom of the inning, Stilson stepped into the batter’s box, and during her at-bat, Norton stole home. Stilson would then send a line drive double to center, bringing Barnett into score. Three batters later, and with the bases loaded, Morgan Tuttle was hit by a pitch, bringing in Larsen to tie the game at 15-15, as both teams would head to the top of the ninth.
In the bottom half of the inning, the score is 16-15, Manti. Stillson would come up to the plate with two outs and two on and sent a double to left field, bringing in Luke and Norton to score and giving Emery the 17-16 win.
Stillson had a day at the plate, going 3-6 with three RBIs and scoring one run. Cowley was 3-6, also scoring two runs and collecting one RBI for Emery. Stoker was 3-4 with an RBI, and Bennett was 2-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs in the win for the Spartans.
Stoker got the start on the mound, going six innings, giving up 13 runs, eight earned, on 13 hits, and striking out one. Aliee Wilde closed out the contest with four runs, one earned, on two hits.
The Spartans will be back on the diamond on Friday when they will travel to Mount Pleasant to take on the North Sanpete Hawks.