Just cooking: Spanish Fork softball rallies to beat Springville twice, wins fourth straight 5A state championship
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players and coaches celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork senior Lucy Evans attempts to tag out a Springville runner at home during the 5A state championship series at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork sophomore Lia Higginson scores a run during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players cheer from the dugout during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork senior Lucy Evans throws a pitch during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork senior Tatum Hall attempts to get Springville sophomore Allyx Haveron out at first during the 5A state championship series at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville senior Ryann Haveron hits the ball during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork junior Jade Romero just barely beats the throw to first during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork senior Tatum Hall bunts the ball during the 5A state championship series at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate score runs during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville senior Allie Fowler catches a fly ball during the 5A state championship series at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville senior pitcher Ryann Haveron throws a pitch during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork sophomore Audrey Overturf celebrates beating out a hit during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork sophomore Audrey Overturf slides safely into second during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville players celebrate scoring some runs during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville senior Ashlynn Cox catches a fly ball during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork senior Tatum Hall nearly runs down a foul ball during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville sophomore Allyx Haveron hits the ball during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork senior Lucy Evans attempts to tag out a Springville runner at home during the 5A state championship series at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the second game of the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the second game of the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork senior Lucy Evans attempts to tag out a Springville runner at home during the 5A state championship series at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork sophomore Audrey Overturf hits the ball during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- A Spanish Fork batter hits the ball during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork attempts to turn a double play during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- A Springville batter bunts the ball during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville senior Ryann Haveron watches a pitch during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville senior Brooklynn Zajac hits the ball during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville senior Ryann Haveron throws a pitch during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork senior Lucy Evans throws a pitch during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork sophomore Audrey Overturf slides into second base during the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville players celebrate scoring a run during the 5A state championship series against Spanish Fork at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Springville players congratulate the Spanish Fork players after the 5A state championship series at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork coaches celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the 5A state championship series against Springville at Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 24, 2024.
The theme for the Spanish Fork softball team in 2024 was all about cooking. The Dons had chef hats and giant whisks in the dugout, and had baked treats to celebrate after games.
But after dropping Game 1 to rival Springville on Thursday in the best-of-three 5A championship series at Gail Miller Field in Provo, Spanish Fork found itself needing to whip things into shape in a hurry.
“It was definitely a little nerve wracking because in the four years I’ve been here we’ve never had to go the third game,” Spanish Fork senior second baseman Tatum Hall said. “But these last few games were just the most awesome experience with the team environment and the chemistry and just the vibes we had going on. It was so much fun.”
Don senior pitcher Lucy Evans and the rest of the Spanish Fork team proved to be up to the challenge on Friday, cooking up a pair of masterpieces to rally the Dons to win their fourth consecutive state title.
“In this game, they went all out on every single play,” Spanish Fork head coach Natalie Jarvis said. “Emerie (Pintar) was diving after the ball and Jayeda (Carter) said she was going to run through the wall to get to a foul. Their whole mentality switched. They were going to do everything they could to win these games.”
Evans credited her Don teammates for coming up with big plays at the plate and in the field throughout the day to make it possible to come back.
“I was just trying to spin the ball as hard as I could and luckily my defense had my back,” Evans said. “I just threw it and let my defense do their job. And I love cheering for the hitters too, especially when they make it easier to do my job. Having those runs gave me all the confidence I needed.”
The drama came in the first game of the day, a back-and-forth contest that came down to the final out.
Spanish Fork went up 2-0, only to see Red Devil senior Allie Fowler smash a bases-clearing triple to put Springville up 3-2.
But the Dons answered with a run on a sacrifice fly by senior Olivia Carroll to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth, then surged in front in the sixth.
With two outs, Spanish Fork freshman Jayeda Carter drove in two runs with a single, then Don senior Tatum Hall scored from third on a passed ball to put her team up 6-3.
The Red Devils weren’t done, though, plating two runs of their own on a couple of pitches that got away and putting the tying run on second with just one out.
As she has so many times this season, Evans came through for Spanish Fork in the circle — but she needed just a little luck.
The next Springville batter hit a sharp liner past third that easily would’ve easily tied the game, but it was just foul by an inch or two.
“If that one was fair, the whole game would’ve been different,” Jarvis said. “For me, nothing went our way on Thursday (in Game 1). Today, it went our way. We lucked out that it was foul.”
Instead, the Don senior was able to record a key strikeout and then got the final Red Devil batter to fly out to secure the 6-5 win and force Game 3.
“It was surreal to get that last out, to celebrate with the girls and have the hard work pay off,” Evans said. “It was such a fun moment.”
That was when the Dons pulled out their signature theme-based baked goods in the form of cupcakes to provide an added boost heading into the final game.
The winner-take-all contest between the two Region 7 rivals turned out to be a very different game as the Spanish Fork bats got rolling and the Springville bats went virtually silent.
The Dons smashed 11 hits and scored eight runs in the first four innings, compared to just a single hit and no runs for the Red Devils as Spanish Fork built a huge lead.
Springville never gave up, getting its first run in the top of the fifth, but Evans was pitching too well for the Red Devils to dig out of the hole and Spanish Fork won, 9-1.
“This was their game and they were going to take it,” Jarvis said. “Springville is such a great team. They are so well-coached and they beat us when we didn’t show up on Thursday. But I knew today was going to be different.”
Springville head coach Jill Thackeray said her team had its opportunities.
“It was an amazing experience,” Thackeray said. “These last two weeks that they truly have just come together. It just always felt like they were never out of it, that they could always come back and make something happen. There were so many chances.”
Even though the Red Devils ended up as the second-best team in Class 5A, she said she was proud of what Springville accomplished this season.
“I’m super-proud of their fight,” Thackeray said. “Our players coming back have a little bit of a taste of it now. They know what it takes to get here. It’s coming together and doing all the little things they did in the last few weeks.”
For the Dons, however, getting the final out meant it was time to celebrate once again, something the five Spanish Fork seniors did every year of their high school careers.
“I don’t even know how to describe it,” Hall said. “It’s crazy. I never thought I’d be here and have four rings and four state titles but I do and it’s pretty awesome. It’s really exciting.”
Jarvis said she loved seeing this group of Dons continue the program’s impressive winning tradition.
“Every year I always think, oh my gosh, this is the most special team,” Jarvis said. “You lose players to graduation and you think how are we going to make it without those seniors? But this year’s seniors are just a unique group. They’ve had so much fun. It was fun all the way through the entire group of 18 girls. They left no one out and we just had a great year, a year of being a team.”
It was particularly special for Evans, who finally got to experience being a championship-winning pitcher.
“It was incredible just to be able to carry on the legacy that Spanish Fork is,” Evans said. “To just be such a small part of it was just so fun.”
Hall said that the genesis of the 2024 team theme for the Dons started months ago.
“We were talking about it before the season and we’re like, what theme should we do this year?” Hall said. “I was like, why don’t we just do chefs because we’re cooking up a win? I felt like that theme was matched up perfectly to the team this year and having a theme like that always just brings like a little bit more fun.”
And at the end of a long day of softball on Friday, all of the Spanish Fork players got to enjoy living up to their team theme when it mattered most.
“They made everything happen and we cooked up a championship,” Jarvis said.
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Just cooking: Spanish Fork softball rallies to beat Springville twice, wins fourth straight 5A state championship
Free bases: Maple Mountain rallies for 12-9 victory vs. Brighton in Game 1 of 5A series
