Don domination: Spanish Fork softball holds off determined Lehi effort, wins second straight 5A title
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate winning the 2022 5A state championship after Game 2 of the title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate winning the 2022 5A state championship after Game 2 of the title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate winning the 2022 5A state championship after Game 2 of the title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after Tatum Hall hit the ball over the fence during Game 2 of the title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Lehi players pose for a photo with the runner-up trophy after Game 2 of the title series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork pitcher Avery Sapp watch the ball fly toward the plate during Game 2 of the title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate winning the 2022 5A state championship after Game 2 of the title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- A Spanish Fork baserunner gets tagged out during Game 2 of the 5A title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate winning the 2022 5A state championship after Game 2 of the title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork senior Aubrey Leonard hits the ball during Game 2 of the 5A title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- A Lehi outfielder makes a catch during Game 2 of the 5A title series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate winning the 2022 5A state championship after Game 2 of the title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- A Lehi baserunner dives back to second base during Game 2 of the 5A title series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- A Lehi fielder catches a fly ball during Game 2 of the 5A title series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Lehi freshman Kanani Haunga slides safely into third during Game 2 of the 5A title series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork shortstop Jade Romero throws the ball to first during Game 2 of the 5A title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Lehi senior Kenadee Beck swings at a pitch during Game 2 of the 5A title series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Lehi pitcher Grace Humes throws a pitch during Game 2 of the 5A title series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Spanish Fork players prepare to take the field before Game 2 of the 5A title series against Lehi at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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- Lehi players prepare to take the field before Game 2 of the 5A title series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field at BYU on Friday, May 27, 2022.
When it came down to repeating as 5A state champs, it’s safe to say that the 2022 Spanish Fork softball team was “battery” powered.
While the Dons had dangerous hitters throughout the lineup and a solid defense across the board, what truly made the Dons special was its battery, the combination of junior pitcher Avery Sapp and senior catcher Ashlyn Losee.
“If you have a dominating pitcher and a catcher that calls the entire game, it’s amazing,” Spanish Fork head coach Natalie Jarvis said. “Ashlyn runs this field. Avery gets a lot of the glory but Ashlyn is a champ. She works hard and she fights.”
The duo capped a fantastic week at the 5A tournament for the Dons by shutting out Lehi, 4-0, in the second game of the championship series. That gave Spanish Fork the two-game sweep and its second straight title.
“It feels really great,” Losee said. “Winning a championship my senior year just makes it that much better. It was such a sweet win.”
Sapp said it felt amazing to win for the second straight year.
“We got a lot of hard work in and grew together, started to trust each other,” Sapp said. “That way we could come together as a team and match each other and work hard. It was a thrill to do it. It was awesome.”
Sapp added that knowing it was her final game with Losee made it even more emotional.
“She is so awesome,” Sapp said. “We talk before the game about our game plan because we have to switch it up every game. We just talk and work together. I love Losee. I was crying out there because I’ll miss her.”
Unlike in Game 1 when the Don offense was phenomenal (pounding out 16 hits and 15 runs), Friday’s contest was much more of a pitcher’s duel as Pioneer senior pitcher Grace Humes limited Spanish Fork’s success with the bats.
“She pushed a lot outside and I think that threw us off for awhile,” Jarvis said. “I got a little tense but they knew they were going to be OK.”
It wasn’t until the third inning that the 0-0 tie was broken when Don sophomore Tatum Hall blasted a double, then came home when her sister, junior Peyton Hall, drilled a triple to right field.
Lehi had chances to stay close or even take the lead, aided by several illegal pitches from Sapp as she adapted to what the umpires were calling.
“I’ve done it my whole life, so when it comes up I’m ready for it,” Sapp said. “I know I can bounce back and trust my teammates. I’m fine if it gets called because I can get the next out.”
But every time, she and Losee came up with the pitches that resulted in key outs and prevented the Pioneers from scoring.
“It made her stronger,” Jarvis said. “It made her show more fight, more grit.”
The single run would’ve been enough but Tatum Hall came through again when she blasted the ball over the fence in the bottom of the fifth with two runners on base. The three-run home run was trimmed to just two when the sophomore touched one of the team’s props before touching home plate, resulting in an out.
But Spanish Fork added an insurance run in the sixth and then prevented a Lehi rally in the seventh to secure the title.
“It meant the world to me to win,” Losee said. “It’s a great way to go out. I love these girls like my family. Being able to share it with all of them is just amazing.”
Lehi had a tough road but the Pioneers never stopped fighting or believing in what they could accomplish.
“It was hard being the higher seed because we never got to have the advantage of being the home team,” Lehi head coach Tim Kennedy said. “In this kind of atmosphere, I would’ve preferred to be the home team because then you have the chance to get some of the nerves out. But we had a couple of big seventh-inning rallies and we had a chance. They played incredible.”
He said he was proud of what his Pioneers accomplished this year.
“We expected to be here,” Kennedy said. “Hats off to Spanish Fork. It’s tough to be here. I’m so proud of the way the kids played today and yesterday and all year. Our goal was to get here and we reached that goal. But we wouldn’t have been here without our seniors. We appreciate their hard work so much.”
Jarvis said that when her squad registered that final out, she actually had mixed emotions.
“I was happy, but also sad,” Jarvis said. “You’re sad that this team, this era, is coming to an end. But I’m so happy to have been here and been part of something so great.”
But she was all smiles as she talked about how great it was to see her team savor winning another title, the eight in school history.
“This is such a great group of good kids,” Jarvis said. “We had our ups and downs this year, different from last year, but they had been here and knew what to expect from the leaders.”
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