The Bees, after notching a 20th region title and the No. 2 seed in the 5A state playoffs, rallied from down five runs to defeat Spanish Fork in double-elimination bracket play for their first trip to the state finals in eight years.

Top seed Salem Hills awaited Box Elder on the other side, and, despite handing the Skyhawks just their second loss of the season, the Bees dropped the best-of-3 championship series in a 3-1 loss — despite outhitting arguably the best order in the state 9-6. Kennadie Blackmer represented the only run of the game with a fourth-inning home run.

After back-to-back semifinal falloffs, the Bees returned to the hive empty-handed again.

“We’re going to try and figure out a way to be back,” seventh-year coach Brian Merrill said.

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Box Elder is the 2026 Standard-Examiner All-Area Softball Team of the Year.

Last month featured the deepest postseason run of any Merrill squad since he first took the job. The softball coaching veteran already had a decade-plus of experience in Arizona, and, this spring, he finally put Box Elder back in Utah’s state championship round.

The Bees have seven state titles dating back to 1995 (the last coming in 2018 under former coach Taleas Marble), and it’s been the dream of players like the junior Blackmer, recently tapped as Gatorade’s Utah Softball Player of the Year, to simply compete for a state title.

Blackmer grew up a Bees fans, and wanted to deal strikes like Baylee Reeves, Miranda Stokes and even got the opportunity to learn under Kellie Malan, coming off her second season at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Oregon, during her freshman season.

“I would see girls warming up in bullpens and girls practicing on the field or getting to watch them play, and that’s just where I wanted to be,” Blackmer said. “I wanted to represent Box Elder on the front of my shirt and take them into battle wherever I go. It’s something to be proud of; Box Elder has a great history of great softball players, and I want to be part of that history and make history while I’m in high school.”

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Kailee Hall, the daughter of Bees alum and assistant coach Lisa Hall — who, as head coach, led Box Elder to its sixth softball state title in 2006 — has been waiting a long time to ink her own page of school history.

“(Lisa)’s been coaching for a long time, and I’d tell myself one day I’m going to be on that field and we’re going to get there, we’re going to win a state championship,” Hall said.

Box Elder waves off four seniors this spring, including ace Lucy Braegger, catcher Maclee Willard, infielder Katelyn Oki and outfielder Quincey Lish.

Blackmer, committed to play for Cody Thompson at Utah Valley, and Hall, headed for Gordon Eakin’s program at BYU, have another prep season ahead of them before they can spend their college careers just a few minutes apart.

A lot of underclassmen spend the offseason on the club softball circuit, making the rounds at home and nationally before returning home to begin another school year. Those offseason tournaments are good and fun, but, in Merrill’s opinion, it’s the high school season that makes the ultimate difference.

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“You spend all the months upon months building a unity of girls and blending the girls to represent your school and, when it really comes down to it, I believe high school teaches the girls how to be a part of something to achieve one goal,” Merrill said.

“… You put a high school championship on your table, and you put 10 rings that you won from (club) ball on your table from your softball career, and the memory of that high school championship is going to stand out.”

The effect of Box Elder’s championship series loss isn’t lost on anyone in the locker room.

“It’s a taste in my mouth that I don’t like, and I will be out for blood next year,” Blackmer said.

Understandably, Blackmer’s latest postseason experience hit hard. Her favorite memory, though, didn’t arrive during that state finals series.

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No, it came during bracket play against Spanish Fork. Blackmer struck out 27 Dons during the final two games of bracket play, but it was a fundamental bunt, succesfully shifting Izibel Mason into scoring position at second base, that sticks out in the junior’s mind.

Blackmer set two Box Elder single-season records with 68 RBIs and 26 home runs during her junior campaign, but laying down a simple bunt, a decision that routinely sees her thrown out at first, is a beautiful kind of victory that tells Blackmer she can do it all.

“It was really cool to have the sign called from my coach with a runner on first,” Blackmer said. “I laid down a bunt, and I ran it out, and it was the coolest thing ever because as soon as I got a speed-up runner on first, I ran into the dugout screaming.”

That kind of reaction only comes with chemistry, Hall said. Box Elder returns plenty of it next school year with familiar faces (Madeline Jeppsen, Lucy Griffin, and Olivia Daniels, to name a few) slated to return.

“I feel like the girls trusted each other a lot more this year and we were a lot more connected,” Hall said.

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The 2026 season, if nothing more than bulletin board material, only reinforces the work ethic Merrill’s come to expect at Box Elder.

“Our girls worked their tails off,” Merrill said. “Losing in the semifinals two years in a row showed our girls they had to put in more effort, more energy to get to the next level, and they did. They put in the time, they put in the reps, and they put in the effort.

“But now that we’ve got there, they’ve tasted, and we’re going to knock the door down to make sure we get there again.”

Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.