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Cedar Valley catcher Lauren Hunsaker attempts to tag a runner at home plate during the 5A regional game against Skyline in Eagle Mountain on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Cedar Valley players celebrate after the 5A regional game against Skyline in Eagle Mountain on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Cedar Valley batter Mindy Ward hits the ball during the 5A regional game against Skyline in Eagle Mountain on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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A Cedar Valley baserunner slides into third base during the 5A regional game against Skyline in Eagle Mountain on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Cedar Valley pitcher Mikayla Bowling throws a pitch during the 5A regional game against Skyline in Eagle Mountain on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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A Cedar Valley baserunner slides into third base during the 5A regional game against Skyline in Eagle Mountain on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

❮ ❯

Step by step.

Cedar Valley head softball coach Katie Mayer said that her goal for the Aviators is to see them improve each year.

That’s a mission the young No. 12-seeded Cedar Valley squad accomplished with a pair of impressive home wins over No. 21-seed Skyline as the Aviators blasted to an 18-3 win on Saturday and a 14-3 win on Monday to sweep the best-of-three series.

“It’s been awesome,” Mayer said. “They showed up. We told them on Friday night that we had to come out, put our foot on the gas pedal and not look back. It’s just been amazing. They strung hits together and have just kept up the intensity we needed to get through these games.”

Cedar Valley junior centerfielder Madilyn Leatham said she felt like her team came together and is peaking at the right time.

“We’ve given it all we’ve got,” Leatham said. “I feel like all of our attitude and effort was there. We all wanted to be there and we all wanted to win it. It was really awesome that we could come together as a team and play all as one.”

Mayer loved seeing the Aviator hitter repeatedly come through when scoring opportunities were there, as evidenced by the 32 runs her team scored.

“We had a lot of leaders out there getting hits in big moments where we needed them to get those runs,” Mayer said. “We talked about the things we needed to do at the plate, to stay back and try and drive the ball, not try to do too much. And they did great.”

The victory meant Cedar Valley advanced to the super-regional round, which is a step farther than it did when it was in 4A in 2021.

“Right now we’ve made it farther than we did last year and I think it is really driving this group,” Mayer said. “These girls just want to continue to get better. It’s fun to win and these girls love winning. It’s been such a great environment to come into as a coach.”

As a relatively new school, the Aviators are developing their own softball tradition, so every playoff win is big for Cedar Valley.

“It really means a lot because we’re kind of the underdogs,” Leatham said. “No one really expected us to do this well this season. I th;6ink it just it just shows how much we love it and how much we want it.”

Leatham grinned as she talked about how much she has enjoyed playing for the Aviators this spring.

“The girls are amazing,” Leatham said. “They have the best attitudes. It’s so fun to be around. Everyone looks forward to practice. It’s just such a good environment. Everyone loves playing and the coaches are amazing.”

This is a Cedar Valley team without any seniors, so there have been a few growing pains but for the most part it has played really well. Now Mayer just wants to see her girls continue to do that.

“Our message heading into the next round is that we’ve played awesome in region, we’ve played awesome in the preseason, we’ve played really good teams, we’ve beat really good teams and we are a really good team,” Mayer said. “We just need to continue with that mentality and use that sense of urgency in the games, do the things we need to do and just try our best. We are a good team and I believe we can hang with anybody.”

Since the state softball tournament is reseeded before the super-regional round, the Aviators didn’t know who they would be playing after defeating the Eagles.

Leatham, however, said she is confident that Cedar Valley will be ready to compete in the super-regional, regardless of who the opponent is.

“I feel like if we just come out with the same mentality we did this week, and just have fun and do our thing, I think we got it,” Leatham said.

The Aviators (16-8, 8-4) appear set to play at No. 3-seed Wasatch in the super-regionals, which will be a best-of-three series that will take place on May 19-20.

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