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Lehi • When Riverton beat Lehi in a softball game earlier this season, it might have seemed like a changing of the guard was in store for the two-time Class 5A state champs.
But with their favorite venue, the state tournament, fast approaching, the Lehi Pioneers took sole possession of first-place in Region 4 by nipping Riverton 3-2 on Thursday.
Senior Stefani Zimmerman pitched all seven innings for the win, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the seventh and giving up only one run in that last Silverwolves rally.
"I was just going to throw outs and I knew my team totally had my back," Zimmerman said. "I was feeling pretty relaxed but a little nervous. Just a little bit on edge."
Zimmerman allowed one hit in the third, fourth and fifth innings. In the seventh, with one out, Riverton's Kaitlyn Adler singled to right-center field and moved to second when teammate Alysson Houston followed with a single of her own that deflected off the glove of Lehi second baseman Abby Padilla.
After Hailey Jo Hansen drew a walk and loaded the bases, Zimmerman recorded the final two outs. One was a sacrifice fly by Madison Tuft to score a run, before the Pioneers pitcher induced a groundout to end the game.
"We have two aces on our staff, so we use them both interchangeably," Lehi coach Tim Kennedy said. "Just depends on who we play and we're going to see these guys in state again."
Sydney White, the other primary pitcher for Lehi (22-6, 10-1), was right in the thick of the pivotal play of the ballgame.
Down 1-0 and showing little hitting prowess against Riverton pitcher Jordan Lockhart, who shut out Lehi 10-0 on April 12, the Pioneers sent White up to start the bottom of the sixth inning.
White singled to left for Lehi's third overall hit of the game.
Bailey Tahbo bunted toward third intending to send White to second base, but White ran home when the throw to first went into the right-field foul area.
The speedy senior challenged the throw back and scored Lehi's first run as the return toss got away from Adler, Riverton's catcher. Tahbo also crossed home and the Pioneers went up 2-1.
Later that inning, singles by Rylin Roberts and Brogan Kirby led to another Lehi run.
"I had her halfway," said Kennedy, waving forward White from the third-base box. "She's a smart player, so she just took over from there. The ball came in quicker than I thought. In my mind, I was saying 'Put the brakes on.'
"But in a game like that you have to take a chance like that," he added. "It was bing, bang and she went hard."
Riverton (16-5, 8-2) slipped back into a tie for second with Herriman in the region race. The Silverwolves nipped Herriman in a wild 14-12 game only the day before to break up what was a three-way deadlock at the top.
Lehi hosts Herriman on Tuesday for the last week of the regular season.
This week was long for Riverton, which played four games in a row, starting on Monday.
"I don't feel like that was a setback at all. The score shows it, that the game came down to one play," Silverwolves coach Katelyn Elliott said. "We just have to make the plays and get the hits."