This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

At the end of a 11-4 win over rival Bingham, Copper Hills' pitcher Kylie Jones couldn't say who was next on the schedule for the Grizzlies.

While many players give lip service to the one-game-at-a-time adage, you can bet Jones really was focused on this one.

The junior was a member of the Bingham softball program just last year.

But on Thursday, Jones' new team took command of Region 3 as she got plenty of run support — and occasionally relinquished big hits to her former teammates.

"It was nerve-wracking. I was really anxious and nervous, but my team had my back through the whole thing," Jones said.

"This is the first time for Kylie facing her old teammates, and she's coming off knee surgery, so she's battling coming back from an ACL repair," Copper Hills coach Jentry Johnson said. "This was a bit of a surprise, because we're regional rivals and neighboring schools. All of our girls know their girls, and they know ours. They're always emotional games, always."

Copper Hills (13-8, 6-0) plated three runs in the top of the first without getting the ball out of the infield. Consecutive slow-rollers by Ashlee Anderson and Paige Watts to Miners shortstop Torre Glasker were the crucial plays in the frame.

But three Bingham (13-8, 4-2) errors in that one frame didn't help the home team get off to a good start. Miners coach Mikki Jackson later said her young squad's confidence was damaged from the wrong first step.

Bingham had won four straight since a tournament in Las Vegas three weeks ago.

"A few mistakes right at the beginning, and it's an uphill battle," said Jackson, who got two homers from Torre Glasker and another from Hanna Reid. "But [Copper Hills] came out strong and prepared, and they were very consistent. They made some great defensive plays, but mostly they stayed consistent and kept scoring."

With the exception of a Mikelle Magalogo double in the second, every other hit through the majority of three innings was an infield single.

Watts and Tabi Atwood got two more in the third, but then came the power for the Grizzlies. Jaici Bishop slammed a homer to left, scoring Watts and Atwood, as Copper Hills rolled out to a 6-0 lead.

In a four-run fifth, Jones and Magalogo struck for doubles and, one inning later, Ashlee Anderson went long with a home run to left-center.

"Just knowing that [Bingham's Nicole Wall] was a lefty pitcher and she was camping on the outside with a good change-up, I just told the girls to stay in the box a little bit longer," Johnson said.

"Just let it come a little deeper in the zone and drive it where it was pitched," the Grizzlies' coach added. "I think focusing a little bit more on that helped them to get the deep ball."

Copper Hills plays Snow Canyon in a Tooele tournament on Saturday for its next contest. —

Copper Hills 11, Bingham 4

R Copper Hills junior Kylie Jones stretches out seven hits against her former team to get the pitching win.

• Four of the Grizzlies' first five hits are of the infield variety. The streak is broken by a Jaici Bishop three-run homer in the third.

• Bingham junior Torre Glasker blasts two home runs in the loss.