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South Jordan • Plenty of big bats dotted the Bingham and Riverton rosters when the two softball teams squared off in a crucial Region 4 battle Tuesday.
But it was the traditional soft spot in the batting order that produced the decisive rally in a 2-1 Bingham victory.
The Miners got a two-run rally in the bottom of the fifth inning, spearheaded by hits from the Nos. 8 and 9 batters in the order. Bingham (12-3, 4-1) held on and now holds the tiebreaker advantage in the region over Riverton (14-3, 4-2).
"Our entire lineup has been hitting the ball really well, and we're just starting to come out as hitters," Bingham junior Taylor Clemens said.
It was Clemens who started the game-winning rally by hitting a double off pitcher Courtney Platt that Riverton center fielder Ashlynn Peterson just missed with a diving attempt to her left with one out in the fifth.
Clemens scored when the ninth-place hitter, Emily Lewis, tagged a ball to center for a single to tie the game at 1-1. Leadoff hitter Torre Glasker then punched a triple to left-center to score Lewis and give the Miners the lead.
"Riverton is great competition, and they always come to play," Clemens said. "We have to come ready too when we play them."
Riverton took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when one of those big hitters, Alysa Linford, rocked a Paige Reimann pitch over the left-center field fence. But Reimann strung out three hits over her remaining five innings of work to keep the Silverwolves' bats in check.
Riverton did put a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh when leadoff hitter Morgan Varoz started the frame with a single. Pinch-runner Alysson Houston stole second with two outs, but that's when Reimann induced a groundout to end the game.
"We've been talking a lot about being resilient and battling back," Bingham coach Mikki Jackson said. "I didn't think that they were discouraged at any point about the mistakes that had been made. They came right back and said, 'We're going to take care of it.'"
Bingham hosts Lehi, the only team to hand the Miners a loss in region this season, on Thursday. Riverton also will play Lehi one more time before the end of the regular season.
"It's definitely not over," Silverwolves coach Emily Bateman said. "There's chances for us to get back in it and to at least share that title." —