Photo courtesy of Melanie Childs
On Tuesday afternoon, Emery and Canyon View squared off in Cedar City. The Lady Spartans used the long ball to jump out to a lead. Tylee Norton went oppo for a two-run shot. Two batters later, Taija Olsen hit a solo blast to right as well. The Falcons answered back with a two-run home run of their own, cutting the lead to one.
Canyon View then took the lead in the bottom of the second with three more runs. Emery would score one run in the fourth and another in the fifth to make it 5-5, but it would not stay tied for long. Canyon View came back with two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to double up Emery, 10-5.
The Lady Spartans never packed it in and continued to grind. Jalynn Fox singled in the sixth and Brynlei Luke doubled to put two runners in scoring position. With two outs, Brooklynn Ekker came through with a two-RBI hit to make it 10-7. Maddy Childs, who had come in as relief, continued to swing momentum in Emery’s favor with a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth.
It all came down to the final frame, where Emery needed at least three runs to extend the contest. Cambrie Jensen and Olsen led off the inning with a single, but a fielder’s choice and groundout later left Emery down to its final out. Luke’s clutch single brought home two runs and put the tying run on base. Madi Bunnell then walked, which allowed Ekker to deliver another clutch single that would tie the game.
Two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh had many thinking about extra innings until back-to-back walks put a runner in scoring position. Kamryn Allen, who had already homered twice in the contest, then came to the plate. Emery elected to intentionally walk Allen to load the bases. The gamble paid off as Fox snagged a liner at third to end the threat and send it to extras. After a quiet eighth, the Spartans broke through with four runs in the top of the ninth. Canyon View would score its extra-inning runner from second, but that would be all as Emery completed the comeback 14-11.
On a day not suited for pitchers, Childs was incredible. The wind was blowing out the entire game, which led to five Falcon home runs in five innings. Childs came in and pitched four and one third innings and only gave up one hit, a single in the ninth, and no runs. In addition, she struck out three batters and walked three. At the plate, Ekker (3-6 with a double) registered a team-high four RBIs while Luke (4-5 with a double) tallied three.
The Spartans (12-6, 4-2) will now look to build on their gusty performance with a home game on Wednesday against Gunnison Valley (13-8). It also marks the first game on Emery’s new field.