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West Field High player Brylee Leatherwood sees a Fremont grounder into her glove during a Region 5 softball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Taylor.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Fremont High pitcher Adelaide Johnsen winds to throw a pitch to a West Field batter during a Region 5 softball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Taylor.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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West Field High's Rylee Andreasen snags a Fremont fly ball during a Region 5 softball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Taylor.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Fremont High's Olivia Broadbent tries to get around on a West Field pitch during a Region 5 softball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Taylor.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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West Field High pitcher Brinklee Hadley pushes off to throw a pitch to a Fremont batter during a Region 5 softball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Taylor.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Fremont High's Jocie Johnson (13) high-fives a coach after scoring a run against West Field during a Region 5 softball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Taylor.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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West Field High's Brinklee Hadley swings at a Fremont pitch during a Region 5 softball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Taylor.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Fremont High's Cara Henrie runs the bases during a Region 5 softball game against West Field on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Taylor.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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West Field pitcher Brinklee Hadley ranges under a Fremont infield fly during a Region 5 softball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Taylor.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

❮ ❯

TAYLOR — Keeping in mind that high school softball basepaths measure 60 feet, West Field catcher Ellie Koford’s 65-foot single was just enough against Fremont on Tuesday.

Koford, a left-handed hitting sophomore, nubbed a fifth-inning, bases-loaded floater down the third-base line that barely made the grass. It drove in two runs, giving the Longhorns a 4-2 lead.

“Obviously, it wasn’t the best hit, but it worked out. Not my favorite hit, but that’s OK,” Koford said. “I got up and thought, ‘Please, please score a run; I’ll do anything to score a run.’ I just want to win this game so badly. It’s Fremont; they’re like mad at us and were starting a rivalry, so it’s kind of fun.

“Mostly I want to do it for my team,” Koford said.

West Field scored two more runs in that fifth inning and captured the first-ever meeting with Fremont, 6-2, in a memorable rivalry matchup that kept the Longhorns unbeaten in Region 5.

All four runs came with two outs against Fremont senior pitcher Adelaide Johnsen, who had been brilliant to that point.

“She was good today. Being accountable; being patient. Wait for your pitch,” Koford said. “Two-out rallies are my favorite. I think they’re so cool. The thought of, ‘Oh, my gosh, we scored four with two out.’ That’s crazy. We’re pretty good at it. We do it a lot.”

Centerfielder Rylee Andreasen led off the West Field (16-4, 10-0 Region 5) fifth with a single and pitcher Brinklee Hadley and first baseman Kam Bell walked, setting the stage for Koford’s dinker.

Second baseman Alena Lynch followed with another two-run single for the 6-2 lead that Hadley protected to the end.

“I know my team will always come through. I had to keep us in the game until we could push a couple across,” Hadley said. “We were a little slow at first, but I knew once we started getting hot and getting baserunners … we weren’t disciplined, but we made adjustments.

“I have a lot of trust in my team,” Hadley said.

Hadley got the complete-game victory, scattering six hits, walking two and striking out one.

“Moving it up and down and keep them offspeed for the most part. Keep them off balance,” Hadley said about her approach. “My pitching coaches are amazing; they’ve taught me my job isn’t to strike people out, it’s to get pop-ups and groundballs for my team. We’re an amazing defensive team. Never a worry.”

The Silverwolves (11-13, 6-4) managed the 2-2 tie through four innings using the same formula: right fielder Jacie Johnson got on base twice (single and a double) and Himelright batted her in with a single and a run-scoring ground out.

In contrast to Hadley, Johnsen dominated the first three innings on her own, striking out six West Field batters, giving her defense a break as she and catcher Brooklyn Himelright played pitch and catch.

“We all really, really wanted this game. I had the mentality, ‘I’m going to go throw hard and throw strikes.’ It was a fun game. I know a lot of the girls on the other team,” Johnsen said. “We were affected by little errors and didn’t come out on the right side.”

Johnsen was her own worst enemy, walking three, throwing three wild pitches, and hitting a batter, while her defense also committed two errors in the fourth and fifth innings when West Field scored all of its runs.

Fremont coach Liz Bennett was disappointed in how her team handled the adversity after the big West Field four-run fifth inning.

“I’m mad at my team; they came off blaming other people for what was going on. They need to own their mistakes. We had some big errors with two outs,” Bennett said. “We have to learn to play the whole game. We have to play as good in the last three innings as we do the first four. Finish it.

“We’ve been really good at coming back and never giving up. We’ve played a lot of close games, just haven’t been able to come out on top. That’s where I think our grit is missing,” Bennett said.

Grit came through for Koford on Tuesday, as she delivered in the clutch, albeit with a whimper rather than a wallop, for her team and her mom, head coach Mandy Koford.

“My mom’s pretty good. I’m already so hard on myself; I don’t need more. I love my mom; she’s my best friend,” Ellie Koford said.