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West Valley City • The day was all about Wes Haymond, because the softball field at Hunter High was officially named after the Wolverines' longtime coach.

But, at least on this day, the field — and the win ­— belonged to the visiting West Panthers.

West (10-2, 1-0 in Region 2) started region play by beating host Hunter 13-8 on Tuesday as the Panthers plated runs in every inning except one.

"The girls are working hard and they're hitting the heck out of the ball," said West coach Keith Lopati after the win.

The visitors collected their first run off of hits from Bri White and Shayna Alofipo in the opening inning. The Panthers then led off the second with a home run from Molini Vailahi to left.

In the third, West got another homer from Breah Ava and eventually collected 15 hits as the lead grew from inning to inning.

"Our preseason has been really good. We executed our games in St. George," said Vailahi of a recent tournament in which the Panthers only lost one game. "We had to come hard because this was our first region game."

West's most recent venture, before the Region 2 opener, was a disappointing 10-0 loss to Copper Hills.

"We struggled in our last game, but the girls did a good job bouncing back," Lopati said. "Playing a great team, a great program like that, it's something our girls have to adjust to."

In the top of the fifth, West got singles from Alofipo, Raehi Aiono, Aubree Smith and Makayla Shimazu in a four-run frame. Alofipo pitched a complete game for the victors.

Although the Panthers didn't need any help, Hunter (7-5, 0-1) helped their cause by committing six errors in the game.

But the overall mood, even for the defeated Wolverines, was upbeat as a large group of former players showed up for the field dedication.

Haymond is in his 15th year as Hunter's head coach.

"I feel very blessed to have been part of the program here at Hunter. It was very comforting to see those players come back," Haymond said.

"I remember them as ball players, so when I see them I see them in uniform.

"Every graduating class was represented today," he added. "I even had two off the original team [in 2001]." —

West 13, Hunter 8

• Hunter named its softball field on Tuesday in honor of current coach Wes Haymond, who is in his 15th year of coaching the Wolverines.

• West (10-2, 1-0) got home runs from Molini Vailahi in the second and Breah Ava in the third.

• It was the Region 2 opener for both squads, and the visiting Panthers tallied 15 hits in the win.