The Grand County High School Lady Devils softball team split a pair of non-region contests at Moab against the Cyprus High School Lady Pirates last weekend.
Despite holding an early 6-0 lead on Friday, March 8, the Lady Devils ultimately lost that game by the score of 14-12. Cyprus, a 4A school in Magna, managed to score eight runs in the seventh inning to take the lead and ultimately win the game.
“We gave up 17 hits during the game and had five fielding errors,” said GCHS head coach Stephanie Cluff.
On a more positive note, the Lady Devils hit four home runs during the contest, including back-to-back shots over the fence by Linda Minor and Donna Snow in the first inning. Torrie Lopez added an inside-the-park homer later in the game, and Minor also belted a second home run. In addition, Amanda Sheets hit a double and a triple in the season-opening loss.
“We were ahead 6-0 and we started falling apart thinking we had already won the game, and we started making errors and ended up losing. It was definitely an eye opener for the next game to come,” said Teaven Fredericks, a junior on the Lady Devil squad.
When the two teams met again for a rematch Saturday morning, Fredericks got the Lady Devils off to a good start. She blasted a home run over the fence in the first inning, also bringing teammate Sheets across home plate to score and giving Grand an early 2-0 lead.
Despite being ahead 8-2 after two innings, the Lady Devils had to withstand another Lady Pirates rally, but managed this time to hold on for a 13-10 victory.
Donna Snow picked up the pitching win for Grand. Among the Lady Devils’ 15 hits in the contest were doubles by Sheets and Morgan Dalton.
“We are hitting the ball well,” Cluff said. “It was a great weekend to see what we need to work on and get back in the swing of things.”
This week, the Lady Devils were scheduled to play Duchesne High in a non-region contest on Tuesday, March 12, followed by a weekend tournament in St. George on March 15 and 16. At that tournament, the Lady Devils are scheduled to play Wasatch, Hunter, Union, and Bountiful high schools.
“It should be another great weekend of ball games,” Cluff said.