4A softball playoffs: No. 1 Bear River slides by No. 9 Ridgeline, into title series
No. 3 West Field ends season with semifinal loss to No. 2 Desert Hills
-
- Bear River’s Bella Douglas steps into home plate after delivering a two-run homer versus Skyridge during the 4A state softball playoffs on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Spanish Fork Sports Complex in Spanish Fork.
-
- Bear River’s Kate Wilson fired up after a strikeout versus Skyridge during the 4A state softball playoffs on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Spanish Fork Sports Complex in Spanish Fork.
-
- West Field’s Rylee Andreasen connects with a pitch versus Cedar during the 4A state softball playoffs on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Spanish Fork Sports Park in Spanish Fork.
-
- West Field’s Brylee Leatherwood (5) races toward third base versus Cedar during the 4A state softball playoffs on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Spanish Fork Sports Park in Spanish Fork.
-
- Bear River’s Marley Tisdol rips one foul versus Skyridge during the 4A state softball playoffs on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Spanish Fork Sports Complex in Spanish Fork.
-
- Bear River’s Sami Theurer bunts versus Skyridge during the 4A state softball playoffs on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Spanish Fork Sports Complex in Spanish Fork.
-
- West Field’s Ella Doxey points toward the first base line after reaching second during the 4A state softball playoffs on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Spanish Fork Sports Park in Spanish Fork.
-
- West Field’s Brinklee Hadley delivers a pitch versus Cedar during the 4A state softball playoffs on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Spanish Fork Sports Park.
SPANISH FORK — Defeating No. 9 Ridgeline 6-4, top seed Bear River advanced to the 4A state softball championship series during a weather-hampered semifinal round Wednesday at the Spanish Fork Sports Complex.
Bear River (31-2) and No. 2 Desert Hills (31-2) play Game 1 of the state championship series at 11 a.m., Thursday, on Gail Miller Field at BYU. Game 2 follows Friday at 11 a.m., with Game 3 following Friday, if necessary.
Weather delays were a constant Wednesday morning, delaying consolation rounds necessary for the afternoon’s semifinal matchups. In the middle of it all, West Field stood firm through two lengthy delays for a 10-3 win over No. 6 Cedar for its semifinal seat beside Desert Hills.
A 4-1 loss to Desert Hills in the semifinals brought the Longhorns’ inaugural season to an end at 19-6.
BEAR RIVER 6, RIDGELINE 4
Bella Douglas, clearing the center-field wall in her first at-bat, produced a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. Wilson cleaned up on strikes through her first two frames, but let a run slip away on her own error in the top of the second.
With two runners on in the fourth, Aubree Fry doubled the Bears’ lead, 4-1, with a two-RBI double driven into left field. However, that midgame insurance would be short-lived as the Riverhawks surged back into the conversation.
Giving up a run to begin the fifth, Wilson intentionally walked Anne Wallace to fill the bags in a golden scenario for Ridgeline, now down two runs with one out. A sacrifice fly by Ava Hess and batter hit by Wilson knotted things up 4-all heading into the bottom of the fifth. That’s when the Bears plated a run on an error and another on a Bostyn Lish sac fly to retake the lead.
Bear River coach Jordan Theurer trusts her roster, up and down, to make the big hit.
“We knew this game was going to come down to a couple plays and we’re fortunate it went our way,” Theurer said. “You look at what that (Ridgeline) program is, they’re giants. They’re in our region, we root for ’em and it sucks it’s two teams from our region going at each other.”
DESERT HILLS 4, WEST FIELD 1
A long Wednesday for No. 3 West Field didn’t end with the Longhorns in the state championship as No. 2 Desert Hills held off Mandy Koford’s squad 4-1 in the state semifinals on Wednesday in Spanish Fork.
Koford, the Former Roy/Fremont coach and former Roy star working as the first-ever head softball coach at West Field, applauded her group for defying the odds surrounding their program’s inaugural season.
“You know they have talent, you know they have skills and heart, but you don’t know if they’re going to be able to put it together,” Koford said. “But they are just the most scrappy leaders I’ve ever coached, and I’ve coached a lot of teams. They put it all together themselves.”
Even so, the Longhorns had the first — and nearly — the final word.
Walking Kam Bell with the bags full, Lulu West gifted West Field the game’s first run in the top of the first. The Thunder tied things up in the bottom side, later drawing its first lead with a two-RBI single drove into right field by Riley Greene; Jayla Ybright earned another run off Hadley, singling into center field for a 4-1 lead before the fourth.
Carrying its deficit into the seventh, the Longhorns brought the tying run to the plate with singles by Abby Rudman and Hailee Ellsworth kicking off the final side. The opportunity collapsed as Mylee Gard grounded into a double play for two outs, and another groundout by Ayzlee Sessions, squashing another chance set up with Rylee Andreasen’s single, provided the third out.
Freshman Brinklee Hadley (6.0 IP, 9 K) finished two full starts on Wednesday, allowing just seven hits and four runs to the Thunder in her season finale.
WEST FIELD 10, CEDAR 3
Unloading early on Cedar early, West Field realized its state semifinal seat 10-3 after two delays pushed its play-in round back twice Wednesday morning.
Thunderstorms sweeping Utah County paused the first and third innings for two-plus hours as the contest, halted with West Field up seven runs in the bottom of the third, resumed around 2:30 p.m. on drier fields to the west of the original diamond at Spanish Fork.
Down 1-0 in the first, West Field evened things up courtesy of Ella Doxey with an RBI double registered shortly before the game’s first lightning delay. Ellie Koford, Brylee Leatherwood and Bell combined four RBI with two additional runs on error(s) for a 7-1 lead in the second.
Sadie Parson managed an RBI double off Hadley in the third, and Parson soon scored another run on an error by Rylee Andreason in the top of the third. Leatherwood, dropping one in center field for an RBI single, and Doxey, doubling into left field for another run, made it 10-3 Longhorns as the second lightning delay occurred around 12:30 p.m. with one out in the bottom of the third.
Resuming her start, Hadley (7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) allowed a single walk through the seventh. Claire Nessen robbed the Reds of arguably their best hit, a pop-up by Kyla Johnson in the fifth, diving for an out in the bottom of the fifth.
Leatherwood (2 RBI), Doxey (2 RBI), and Bell (2 RBI) led the Longhorns, outhitting Cedar 12-4 for nine total RBI.
Connect with sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
