Region 10 schools take high hopes, high expectations to 4A state tournaments in St. George

Sean Ellertson, St. George Spectrum & Daily News
·7 min read
Jenna Thorkelson struck out eight batters in a complete game effort against Desert Hills on April 12. Thorkelson has helped guide Snow Canyon to a Region 10 Title.
Jenna Thorkelson struck out eight batters in a complete game effort against Desert Hills on April 12. Thorkelson has helped guide Snow Canyon to a Region 10 Title.

With the Utah state 4A tournaments for both baseball and softball starting this week, local high school teams are in a solid position to contend for titles. And with the finals for both sports scheduled next week in St. George, athletes can hope to have a chance to play for a championship in front of a home crowd.

The Snow Canyon Warriors softball team clinched a Region 10 title with a sweep over Hurricane last week to wrap up the 2022 regular season.

The Warriors have won 10 in a row to fend off Crimson Cliffs for the region crown.

Meanwhile, Crimson Cliffs shook off a walk-off loss to Hurricane to sweep Desert Hills. With the pair of losses, the Thunder have lost seven in a row.

On the boys' side, Dixie High's baseball squad didn't settle after securing the region title, keeping its foot on the gas with two wins over Cedar, once again riding the arms of a stellar starting pitching staff.

Dixie has been named the #1 seed in the 4A State Tournament.

Crimson Cliffs and Desert Hills split a pair of meetings last week, with the Thunder using a stellar outing from star pitcher Payton Gubler to shut out the Mustangs.

Gubler’s performance followed up an 11-inning marathon that resulted in a 4-1 win for Crimson Cliffs on Tuesday.

Snow Canyon’s offense continues to produce, plating a season-high 22 runs on Cedar on Tuesday night.

Baseball

Dixie

The Flyers (21-4, 11-1 in Region 10) put a bow on its stellar regular season with two wins over Cedar last week.

The #1 seed in the 4A State Tournament got a home run and five RBIs from Derek Kesterson in Wednesday’s 8-1 win.

Malcolm Bartholomew allowed just three hits over six innings while striking out 10.

Cayson Bell struck out seven over five innings on April 29 to lead Dixie to a 4-2 win over Desert Hills and officially clinch a Region 10 title for the Flyers. Dixie, Desert Hills and other Region 9 schools are competing for the 4A state title with the state tournament starting this week.
Cayson Bell struck out seven over five innings on April 29 to lead Dixie to a 4-2 win over Desert Hills and officially clinch a Region 10 title for the Flyers. Dixie, Desert Hills and other Region 9 schools are competing for the 4A state title with the state tournament starting this week.

Bronson Thorpe went yard with two RBIs in Friday’s 4-2 victory.

Cayson Bell pitched a complete game, striking out seven.

Dixie rides into the state tournament on a five-game winning streak.

Pine View

No games last week.

The Panthers (19-4, 8-4) enter the state tournament on a seven-game winning streak.

Crimson Cliffs

In the longest game of the year in Region 10 play, the Mustangs (18-4, 8-4) outlasted Desert Hills 4-1 in 11 innings on Tuesday.

Beau Sampson and Aaron Morris combined to strike out 16 Thunder batters, while Petey Soto and Jayz Estridge each knocked in two.

Crimson Cliffs’ offense was held to just one hit by Payton Gubler on Friday, as the Thunder earned a split with a 7-0 win.

Trey Evans had the only hit for Crimson Cliffs.

Desert Hills

Following the extra-innings loss, the Thunder (13-11, 6-6) got a vintage performance from Payton Gubler in the season finale.

Gubler dominated from the start, allowing only one hit and striking out 15.

The senior right-hander helped his own cause with an RBI as well.

Kyler Terry was the big bat for Desert Hills, driving in four runs. Cole DeCastro had two RBIs.

Desert Hills faces Cedar in the Super Regionals on Thursday and Friday.

Snow Canyon

The Warriors (16-9, 6-6) scored 35 runs in two games against Hurricane last week.

Snow Canyon’s offense broke through for 22 runs on 21 hits on Wednesday, blowing out the Tigers 22-5.

Talan Kelly and Jake Johnson each had four RBIs. Preston Frei, Logan Mendenhall, and Luke Anderson each had a pair of RBIs.

Ryder Harrison had three hits and three RBIs.

Kyson Goates had 11 strikeouts in five innings on the mound.

Kelly added three more RBIs during a 13-3 win on Friday over Hurricane.

Sam Lindsey led the way with five RBIs and a home run.

Jake Johnson, Ethan Anderson, and Andrew Lyon combined for seven strikeouts.

Cedar

The Reds (7-18, 2-10) were held to just three hits in Tuesday’s 8-1 loss to Dixie.

In Friday’s 4-2 loss, Kyler Callister had both RBIs. (7-18, 2-10).

Kason Crandall pitched all six innings allowing eight hits and striking out four.

Hurricane

In Tuesday’s 22-5 blowout loss to Snow Canyon, Josh Wright had four RBIs for Hurricane (9-15, 1-11) in the loss.

Wright went 2/4 with a home run and a triple to lead the offense. Grant Scholzen added two hits of his own.

Hurricane’s offense only had four hits on Friday, with two coming from Jaxon Jones.

Jones and Anthony Guzman each had RBIs.

Softball

Snow Canyon

Snow Canyon senior Jenna Thorkelson readies a pitch during the Warriors' 19-4 win over Cedar Valley on Friday, May 14, 2021. The Warriors went 11-1 in Region 10 this year and are among the favorites heading into the state 4A tournament.
Snow Canyon senior Jenna Thorkelson readies a pitch during the Warriors' 19-4 win over Cedar Valley on Friday, May 14, 2021. The Warriors went 11-1 in Region 10 this year and are among the favorites heading into the state 4A tournament.

Winners of ten in a row, Snow Canyon (20-7, 11-1) continues to rise as the state tournament lingers.

Aided by six errors, the Warriors knocked off Hurricane 7-2 on Tuesday, and 11-1 on Friday.

Avery Thorkelson and Erin Gunn each had two RBIs on Tuesday, while Emma Daniel punched out six over five innings in the pitching circle.

Anyssa Montano belted a home run and had five RBIs to lead the Warriors on Friday night.

Meah Stafford had three hits and two RBIs in support of Montano and Jenna Thorkelson in the pitching circle.

Thorkelson pitched all six innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out seven.

Crimson Cliffs

The Mustangs (20-3-1, 10-2) scored five innings in both the fourth and fifth innings on Tuesday in a 12-10 win over Desert Hills.

McKenna Cahoon and Ashlyn Cowdell swung the big bats for Crimson Cliffs, driving in four runs apiece.

Abigail Swanson added three hits and two RBIs.

An eight-run fifth inning on Friday powered the Mustangs to a 14-4 (F/5) win to close out the regular season.

Morgan Stout races into third base. Stout would later score her second run of the game on an RBI groundout from Abbigail Stout.
Morgan Stout races into third base. Stout would later score her second run of the game on an RBI groundout from Abbigail Stout.

Ellie Brinkerhoff had a home run and four RBIs, while Cowdell hit her second home run in as many games against Desert Hills pitching. Cowdell allowed just one earned run over five innings

Desert Hills

The Thunder (11-17, 7-5) saw a seventh-inning rally fall just short against Crimson Cliffs on Tuesday.

Trailing 12-6 entering the bottom half of the inning, the Thunder scored four to cut the gap to 12-10 before the Mustangs finally shut the door.

Jenelle Jones went 4/5 with three RBIs in the loss. Aisey Gargano hit a home run and had two RBIs.

In a 14-4 loss on Friday, Saidey Spencer, Laci Jones, and Payten Benson all had RBIs.

Jones and Hallee Heath each had two of the Thunder’s eight hits.

Desert Hills has dropped seven in a row heading into the 4A state tournament.

Hurricane

In Tuesday’s 7-2 loss to streaking Snow Canyon, the Tigers (13-8, 5-7), didn’t help Abbigail Stout in the pitching circle, committing six errors.

Hurricane had eight hits, but Kymbal Jones had the only two RBIs on the night.

Kaitlyn Rasmussen had the only RBI in an 11-1 loss on Friday night.

Anniston Hutchings was tagged for the loss from the pitching circle.

Dixie

The Flyers (13-12, 5-7) belted four home runs in an 8-5 win over Cedar on Tuesday.

Chloe Ellison, Alivia Arp, Elle Anderson, and Vanessa Scarborough all went deep. Scarborough and Arp each had two RBIs. Ellison and Scarborough had three hits.

Ellison allowed three hits and no runs in three innings of work in the circle.

Scarborough hit another home run in a 14-6 loss on Friday. Jamelle Mullins had three hits and three RBIs.

Cedar

The Reds (11-13, 4-8) saw a 5-0 lead after three innings dissipate on Tuesday, as Dixie’s offense exploded for five runs in the seventh inning to earn the win.

Haylee Campbell led the Cedar offense with three hits and two RBIs. Kodi Nelson added two RBIs of her own.

Cedar traveled to Dixie on Friday and made sure no comeback was in store, jumping out to a 12-1 lead after three.

Kodi Nelson led the charge with a home run and five RBIs. Braylee Peterson had three hits, including a solo home run.

Shaylee Johnson drove in three.

Pine View

A 4-1 loss to Beaver on Monday was Pine View’s (3-19, 0-12) seventh in a row.

Abby Rosenberg drove in the lone run for the Panthers.

Eight Panthers recorded hits against the Beavers.

Avery Gustin pitched six innings, allowing six hits and striking out two.

Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.

4A state tournaments in St. George

Both the baseball and softball 4A state tournaments are scheduled to finish in St. George next week, with the finals slated for May 20 and 21 at Dixie State University. To see the full brackets for both sports, check out this article online at www.TheSpectrum.com.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Region 10 Round-Up: Snow Canyon claims region crown heading into state