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Taylorsville • The momentum seemed to be with Davis in the middle of Tuesday's Class 5A softball state playoff game, despite the the Darts only leading by a pair.

But it's the little things that can cause change quickly — like a home run by a freshman or even a triple play.

Copper Hills (19-11) got both of those and remained unbeaten in the double-elimination tournament with a 5-4 victory in nine innings.

The Grizzlies won the game in the bottom of the ninth, the second extra frame of the day, when Alyxx Estrada came home on a wild pitch. The international tiebreaker rule for softball was in effect, so Estrada started the inning at second base.

She moved to third on the first pitch of the inning, a passed ball, and Davis opted to intentionally walk the next two hitters to load the bases. The Darts recorded one out before Estrada scurried home to end the game.

"It makes it a lot easier for the next game," said Copper Hills' center fielder Makaiya Gomez about not having to play a do-or-die game Wednesday.

Gomez helped make that a reality when the ninth-grader slugged a ball over the fence in center to tie the game at 2 in the fourth inning. The Grizzlies' Portia Price had singled to start the frame, but Davis pitcher Mia Cullimore then induced two ground outs before Gomez came to the plate.

"When I got in the box, I just thought, 'I'm the best person in this situation just to get us going and potentially win the game,' " Gomez said. "The first pitch was a ball, but the second was in my zone and just hit the crap out of it."

Gomez also hit two home runs in Copper Hills' previous game, a win over Fremont last Thursday.

"She tends to come up big in the big games. She's stone-cold — nothing affects her," Grizzlies coach Jentry Johnson said. "She plays like a veteran player and leads like a leader."

Another crucial play also was a repeat from the Fremont game.

Davis (21-4) got a leadoff double from Cullimore in the fifth and Carley Crowshaw followed with a walk.

Abbie O'Brien then hit a hot shot that was snagged by Copper Hills third baseman Nelly Villalobos, who tossed to first behind Crowshaw for the second out. Grizzlies first baseman Kaci Bobo then threw behind the runner at second to complete the triple play.

"This is the second time we've got a triple play. Against Fremont, we were down and that was our last game," Johnson said. "And we get another triple play and it sparks another inning."

Davis coach Mylei Zachman also point to the triple play as a turning point.

"That is usually what changes it, a game of inches," she said. "Little things make all the difference." —

Copper Hills 5, Davis 4

R Copper Hills ties the game at 2 when freshman Makaiya Gomez socks a two-run homer in the fourth.

• Davis, trailing 3-2, sends the game into extra innings when singles by Paige Reynolds and Mia Cullimore result in a run in the seventh.

• After both teams score a run in the eighth, the Grizzlies win the game when a wild pitch sends home Alyxx Estrada in the ninth inning.