Junior power: Orem’s heavily-weighted roster dispatches Mountain View 12-3
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- Orem players gather at the pitching circle during their big 12-3 win over Mountain View on Tuesday. April 28, 2026
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- The return of Sadie Groneman to the lineup after injury has boosted Orem’s play considerably. April 28, 2026
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- Orem’s Mina Powelson cleared the bases with a hit during the sixth inning of her team’s 12-3 win over Mountain View. April 28, 2026
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- Orem’s Jaileigh De Maria ropes an RBI hit during the Tiger’s 12-3 win over Mountain View on Tuesday. April 28, 2026
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- Orem senior Kiley Hoshnic pitched a gem during her team’s 12-3 win over Mountain View on Tuesday. April 28, 2026
Juniors, and then more juniors, with a few sophomores and a lone senior sprinkled in.
That’s the look of Orem’s heavily-weighted roster toward one class of players, and for all intents and purposes, the junior are getting things done.
On Tuesday the Tigers dispatched of Region 8 rival Mountain 12-3 in a type of performance that has become fairly typical versus opponents in region this season.
“I think we’re just a really good team and our bats are hot right now,” said Orem coach Pablo Valdez. “We’ve got our pitcher back, and you saw how dominant she was out there, so it’s a good time. It’s a good time to be a Tiger.”
Yes, pitchers can make a huge difference in softball, and the team’s lone senior, Kiley Hoshnic, is doing just that for her team since returning from injury a few weeks back. On Tuesday she held the Bruins scoreless through the first four innings as Orem mounted a commanding 8-0 lead.
From the plate it was pretty much everyone in the lineup providing hits throughout, although it was junior slugger Sadie Groneman who perhaps stood out most with her 4-5 effort which provided two runs batted in. Groneman has also battled back from injury, making her inclusion into the lineup late in the season a big one.
“Sadie is a big bat for us, so we’ve had two big injuries holding out two of our biggest players for most of the season,” Valdez said. “So adding both Sadie and Kiley back is so big for our team. It’s been a big boost for us.”
As mentioned, Groneman is part of a host of juniors that dominate Orem’s roster, which includes standouts like Jaileigh De Maria, Camber Hancock and Andlie Allen, among several others from that classification.
“It just kind of happened that way,” Valdez said. “They all just came up together after having a lot of success in the (development) leagues, and they’re a great group. We start seven juniors most games and you saw today what they’re capable of. We have junior coming off the bench, and yeah, juniors everywhere. Most of them grew up playing together and that’s been a good thing, too.”
Of course all those juniors will be seniors a year from now, which should make for a particularly potent team, although no one is focusing on what could be next year currently. For now, Orem seems to be peaking at exactly the right time with the regular season winding down.
“If we stay focused we’re going to make a good run,” Valdez said. “We’re a very dynamic team and we’re fun to watch, and it’s a different girl standing out every game. Today it was Andlie Allen hitting it hard and then making a great diving catch late in the game there. Everyone does their part and every game it’s someone else stepping up while others might not be having their best games. But it’s been great to see all of that develop.”
And they all have fun while doing it, too.
“What’s great about this team is that all the girls are just really good people,” Valdez said. “It’s a high character team that works hard together and they know what they want. They’re focused. They’re positive and they’re just really, really good people.”
With the win on Tuesday Orem improves to 15-11 overall and 8-2 in Region 8 play with everything coming together at the right time.
“We could improve a bit on staying in our zone a bit more,” Valdez said. “The hits will come even more if we do that better, but man, I’m very happy with most of what I’m seeing out there. It’s been a really fun year, and now with everyone back and healthy … we’re just excited to see what we can do for the rest of the season.”
