Cedar falls in rematch with Spanish Fork, finishes 3rd in state 4A softball playoffs

Cedar's Denim Henkel is congratulated at home plate after hitting one of her two home runs during the Lady Reds' 13-7 loss to Spanish Fork, Spanish Fork, Utah, May 19, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Jennifer Weaver, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Cedar High lost to Spanish Fork 13-7 in the penultimate game of the 4A softball playoffs Saturday morning.

Although Cedar was able to beat Spanish Fork 2-1 Thursday, the Lady Dons’ offense was much more productive this time around.

Cedar shortstop Dream Weaver steps on second base to force out Spanish Fork’s Trinity Benson, Spanish Fork, Utah, May 19, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Jennifer Weaver, St. George News / Cedar City News

Neither team scored the first two innings, but Spanish Fork managed to bring three runs across the plate in the top of the third, thanks to four singles and a fielding error on Cedar.

Cedar shortstop Dream Weaver hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third to narrow the deficit to 3-1.

The Lady Dons scored another run in the fourth and three more in the fifth to pad their lead to 7-1. Briley Young and Aislyn Sharp hit back-to-back homers during the Dons’ fifth inning rally.

Cedar’s Allie Meisner then hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth, but no other Lady Reds reached base.

Spanish Fork added four more runs in the top of the sixth, after which Cedar’s Denim Henkel hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to make it 11-3.

In the seventh and final inning, the Lady Dons scored two more runs off reliever Sage Oldroyd, but Cedar rallied to score four runs in the bottom of the inning before running out of chances. Henkel belted another homer to account for Cedar’s final three runs.

Cedar’s Allie Meisner hits a solo home run against Spanish Fork, Spanish Fork, Utah, May 19, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Jennifer Weaver, St. George News / Cedar City News

Cedar head coach Chris Weaver credited Spanish Fork for using a different pitching strategy than they had on Thursday.

“I think what happened was they scouted us that second day when we played, and they saw that we were a little susceptible to the change-up, and that was our downfall,” coach Weaver said.

The Lady Reds only struck out three times, but had 11 fly outs, including several popups.

Cedar used all three of its main pitchers against Spanish Fork, starting with Kenzie Waters, then moving to Bryton Holyoak, then Oldroyd for the final two innings. Young, who started and pitched most of the game before being relieved by lefty Jordyn Bate near the end, picked up the pitching win for Spanish Fork.

“Our pitching was good, but we found out that their pitching was just that much better,” coach Weaver said.

Still, Weaver praised his team for not giving up, even when heading into their final at-bats down by 10 runs.

“We just didn’t quit,” he said. “I think our girls did great. I can’t say enough about the girls today. We have eight seniors, and at the end of the game we had them all on the field. There’s not a better way to close for the seniors. They started together, they came together. We’re just so proud of them.”

Cedar High seniors Shaun Bauman and Dream Weaver pose with head coach Chris Weaver after they were named to the UHSAA Academic All-State Team, Spanish Fork, Utah, May 19, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Jennifer Weaver, St. George News / Cedar City News

Cedar finished its season with an overall record of 22-8, including 12-0 in region play and 3-2 in the playoffs, giving them a third place overall finish at state.

Shortly after its Saturday morning win over Cedar, Spanish Fork faced Bear River for the state championship. The Lady Bears ended up winning the game, 5-4, ending Spanish Fork’s three-year reign as 4A softball champions.

After Cedar’s game Saturday, seniors Shaun Bauman and Dream Weaver were named, along with eight other 4A players, to the Utah High School Activities Association’s prestigious Academic All-State team. The cumulative GPA of the 10 players named to the 4A classification’s team is a perfect 4.0.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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1 Comment

  • uprightandmovingforward May 20, 2018 at 8:28 am

    Way to expand our vocab with penultimate. Had to look that one up! Unfortunately, I’m sure I’ll forget it by tomorrow and probably never hear again.

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