5A softball championship: Salem Hills takes a tough 6-5 loss to West Jordan
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- Salem Hills senior Kenaya Murray hits the ball during the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills senior Kenaya Murray throws a pitch during the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills sophomore Audree Stokes catches a fly ball during the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- The Salem Hills shortstop throws to first during the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- A Salem Hills baserunner dives back to third base during the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills junior Jocile Norman throws a pitch during the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills players celebrate a big play during the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills players react after losing the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills players receive the second-place trophy after losing the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills players wave to their fans after losing the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills players and coaches talk things over after losing the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills head coach Kaleb Stokes consoles his players losing the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills players console each other after losing the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills players console each other after losing the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
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- Salem Hills players and coaches pose for a photo with the second-place trophy after the 5A championship series against West Jordan at BYU’s Gail Miller Field in Provo on Friday, May 23, 2025.
Salem Hills softball’s standout season came to an unfortunate end on Friday with a hard-fought 6-5 loss to West Jordan. Despite setting the pace with a 3-0 lead early, the Skyhawks yielded six runs in the fifth inning that ended their championship run.
“We got off to a great start, held them down in that first inning like we knew we needed to, but West Jordan is a really good team and they battled back to get us in the end,” said Salem Hills Coach Kaleb Stokes. “West Jordan maintained their composure and we weren’t able to capitalize late with a few opportunities, but wow, that was a dog fight and West Jordan definitely earned it.”
Playing big for Stokes, much like she has all season was senior Keyana Murray, who worked from the pitching circle to quiet the Jaguar bats, giving up no runs in her first four innings pitched. Her effort worked in stark contrast to game one of the championship series, where the Skyhawks gave up five runs in the fifth before taking a 13-7 loss.
“Keyana was amazing, and she’s been that way all year. We’re really going to miss her next season,” Stokes said. “We don’t have a lot of seniors on this team, but players like Keyana, Camryn Guest, who has started for us for four straight years, and then all the rest of our seniors have been a big part of our team and aren’t easy to replace.”
Guest was central to Salem Hills’ effort from the plate in the loss, singling through an RBI in the second inning to help jump start her team, much like she has all season. Other RBI hits came from Jocile Norman and Shay Loveridge as the Skyhawks took control of the game immediately.
The fifth inning proved pivotal, however, with the Jaguars stringing together five straight singles after a leadoff walk to take a 6-3 lead. Those singles provided four runs before a controversial sacrifice fly hit gave the Jaguars another run. Skyhawk coaches argued that West Jordan’s runner didn’t tag long enough before leaving third base for home, but the call stood and the inning continued.
Salem Hills refused to go quietly, however, and strung together two runs in the bottom half of the fifth to cut the lead to 6-5. Highlighting the scoring was a leadoff double hit by Emmery Wilson.
“We battled back and didn’t give up, and we can be proud of that,” Stokes said. “Grit and belief is what this team has and it showed all of that today. That’s what got us here. We’ve believed that we can play with anybody on any day. It takes everybody and everybody on this team has that same grit and belief.”
Salem Hills also has a lot of underclassmen, with about half of Stokes’ regular starters consisting of sophomores.
“We’re young and there’s a good chance we’ll be back here next year,” Stokes said. “We’re building something great here at Salem, we believe, and we’ll be at least as hungry this next year.”
With standouts like Norman, Wilson and Leila Stevenson returning, it’s easy to be bullish on the Skyhawks’ chances.
“I’ve been coaching here three years now and every year we’ve gone deeper and deeper in the playoffs,” Stokes said. “We have some great young players and we’re very excited about our future. But right now it’s tough. It’s tough to lose, and it’s particularly tough for our great seniors, but I believe we’ll have a great chance to come back and get a different result.”
