The Gunnison Valley softball team travelled to play North Sanpete to defeat one final bigger school to cap off the regular season. Next, the team kicked off the 2A state tournament with a big victory over Utah Military Academy – Hill Field (UMA).
The Bulldogs defeated the 3A North Sanpete Hawks on Tuesday, May 4. Playing as the No. 2 seed, Gunnison Valley defeated 15-seed UMA 16-1 in the first round on Saturday.
Kennedi Knudsen prepares to throw to first base at North Sanpete High School. Teammate Raven Pickett, having just made an effort to make the play herself, looks to see what happens at first base.
North Sanpete took a first-inning 1-0 lead, but the Bulldogs scored five in the third and never looked back.
Rilee Dyreng, Kennedi Knudsen and Lexee Keisel each had multi-hit games with extra-base hits. Knudsen’s was a home run. Dyreng had three RBIs.
Knudsen pitched the whole game and struck out four batters.
Unlike the state baseball tournament, no team got a bye in the 2A state softball tournament. Duchesne is the top seed and the only one placed higher than Gunnison Valley. Duchesne’s regular-season record was 16-7, whereas Gunnison Valley’s was 16-8.
During the regular season, Duchesne won the only game the two teams played in Gunnison, 6-5. The Eagles scored all six of their runs in the fifth inning of that game.
After trouncing UMA, Gunnison Valley earned a spot in the second round facing North Sevier. In two games during the regular season, the Bulldogs won both by a combined score of 37-5.
The North Sevier game will take place tomorrow in Spanish Fork at 12:15 p.m.
For a full bracket of the UHSAA 2A softball state tournament, visit uhsaa.org/softball.
