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Woods Cross • If anyone on the Bountiful or Woods Cross softball teams was thinking about getting a quick start on spring break Thursday afternoon, the schedule-maker didn't do any favors.
The rivalry between the Braves and Wildcats was a higher priority than any hidden urgencies to wrap things up early, as the teams played until early evening before Bountiful came away with a 9-7 victory.
Through five innings, neither team retired the other side in order. And it wasn't happening in the bottom of the fifth either, when Bountiful (7-0-1, 2-0) replaced starting pitcher McKenna Alley with reliever McHailee Stone.
Stone got into trouble with her team leading 9-5 as she threw a pair of wild pitches, walked three batters and hit another. But Stone gradually worked her way out of the frame after allowing two runs, and struck out a pair of batters with the bases loaded.
Stone then set down the Wildcats in order in both the sixth and seventh innings to seal the win.
"I expected it to blow open," said Bountiful coach Butch Latey of Stone's initial struggles. "She gets out on her front foot too hard and the ball dives on her, so she finally flattened her foot out."
Scoring runs wasn't an issue for the Braves, who had runs in each of the first four innings. Bountiful shortstop Landi Hawker had hits in her first three at-bats while third baseman Brook Dickerson did the same.
"Last time I checked, (Hawker) is hitting .692," Latey said. "And (Dickerson) had a couple of injuries last year — her ACL and her back. She's lost a lot of muscle mass because of that. I feel so bad for her, but she's finally pain-free."
Woods Cross (2-7, 1-1) won Region 5 last year, but starts this season with new pitchers to replace graduated ace Hanalee Robinson. Before Thursday, all of the Wildcats' losses this season were to out-of-state teams in tournaments.
Leadoff hitter Brooke Brown and outfielder Noel Rogers had multiple hits for the Wildcats.
"I think we're ready to make another run this year. We're going with young freshmen and juniors," Woods Cross coach Chad Lythgoe said. "It's just a good learning curve to play at that level and then come back and get into region. It just feels like that's our best preparation."