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Players, coaches from both Salem Hills and Desert Hills represented specific names of fallen soldiers on the back of their jerseys during Saturday's game. April 25, 2026

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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Saturday marked the fifth annual Fallen Soldiers game featuring Salem Hills versus Desert Hills. April 25, 2026

Courtesy Salem Hills High School

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Posters with messages for the honored fallen soldiers decorated the facility during Salem Hills game versus Desert Hills on Saturday. April 25, 2026

Courtesy Salem Hills High School

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Each participating player during Saturday's game between Salem Hills and Desert Hills made a poster giving thanks to their assigned fallen hero. April 25, 2026

Courtesy Salem Hills High School

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The Salem Hills softball team lost its first game of the season on Saturday by an 8-6 margin to 4A powerhouse Desert Hills, although the actual game result was a relative afterthought.

At the forefront for all involved were those who have given their lives for the United States of America in what was the Fifth Annual Fallen Soldiers Game. Families of the fallen were honored prior to the start of the game, posters were made by each participating player for each individual soldier with all of them grateful for the tremendous sacrifices made.

“This is our girls’ favorite game of the year,” said Salem Hills coach Kaleb Stokes. “We have special uniforms made wearing the names of the fallen soldiers on the back, and we ask them to look up and research their soldier. We want them to understand that, yeah, we’re playing a game and we want to win games, but that’s real life. That’s the things that matter the most. They understand it and they’re proud to play for the soldier that they get assigned each year.”

Indeed each participating player and coach had a name of an individual fallen hero emblazoned on the back of their jerseys, along with the umpires. Adding to the experience was each player decorating a poster with messages written for the fallen hero assigned to each of them.

For Stokes, Saturday’s game marked the fifth time his team has participated in such an event, and something he aims to do every year moving forward.

“We started doing this with Corner Canyon five years ago, and when they asked us to go up there and play this game with them, I just fell in love with it,” Stokes said. “I have a lot of family members that have served in the military, so it’s something that’s close to my heart. These soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and our freedoms.”

As for the game itself, it pitted the No. 1-ranked teams in both the 5A and 4A classifications and the high level of play exhibited by both sides didn’t disappoint. Ultimately it was a 3-run rally by the Thunder in the top of the seventh inning that secured an 8-6 outcome for the visiting team, and in turn handing the Skyhawks their first loss of the season.

But despite the loss, Stokes was generally proud of what he saw from his players throughout.

“We haven’t been tested like we were today for a lot of the season, so today was a good experience for us,” he said. “We beat these guys earlier in the year, and that was a great game, too. So it’s great to be able to go against a great pitcher and just a really well-coached team like Desert Hills. We’ll grow from this and you saw that we didn’t quit out there. We battled until the very end.”

That battle was evidenced by a bottom of the seventh inning which saw Salem Hills load the bases before a ground-out effectively ended the rally and the game itself.

With the loss Salem Hills falls to 22-1 on the season and will now turn back to the final three Region 7 games of the season before turning toward the postseason where Stokes’ team will likely be pegged as the overwhelming favorite. Making a run to the championship was something his players came very close to last season, advancing to the final round where they were upset by West Jordan. It was an experience that was tough to take at the time, but has perhaps proved a catalyst for Salem Hills’ remarkable play so far this season.

“They’ve each exceeded my expectations so far this season, and my expectations were high,” Stokes said. “Last year still stings, and we’ve absolutely used that for motivation this season. It’s not something we dwell on it, but it’s definitely motivated all of us to be better. But what I love so much about this team is how they truly play for one another. You see it on the field, you hear it from the dugout every single game. That’s our secret sauce right now and we’re hoping to take it all the way this year.”