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Everyone in the East lineup, except for the No. 9 hitter, got to experience a strikeout against Box Elder pitcher Nyah DeRyke on Monday.

And that last hitter in the order? She popped up twice and flew out in her three plate appearances.

DeRyke struck out 15 as the Bees clinched at least a tie for first in Region 5 with a 12-2 victory at the Leopards' home field.

"I felt good. I was throwing hard and my teammates had my back at the plate," DeRyke said.

Asked what's enabled Box Elder (18-4; 9-0) to roll through league play unbeaten, the junior's answer was two-fold but simple.

"We've had stellar pitching and our bats have been rocking," she said.

And DeRyke isn't just referencing herself.

That DeRyke is just one of three equally skilled pitchers the Bees have at their disposal should be plenty alarming for foes as the Class 4A state tournament approaches.

Technically, DeRyke's earned run average coming into Monday's game (3.57) is higher than both Bayleigh Merrill (2.92) and Brylee Marziale (1.54). But Merrill was recently injured, so Box Elder coach Taleas Marble was pleased to see DeRyke back in the pitching circle.

"The fun thing about our team is we've got three studs. We've had a couple injuries, Bayleigh's got a hurt shoulder and jammed her finger," Marble said. "She should be back in a week. Nyah just got back after a knee injury. All three work together and they don't get upset when the other is pitching."

The Bees gave DeRyke something to work with right away.

In the first inning, after Taylor Sorenson singled and Marziale doubled, Ali Ellertson drove home both by punching a single through the gap between third and short.

Two innings later, a double to deep left-center field by Maycen O'Neal sent home two more runs for a 4-0 lead. O'Neal then came home when Ellertson also clubbed a double to the left-center gap.

In the fifth, three more runs crossed as East (6-9, 2-7) helped out that rally by committing three errors in the frame.

Meanwhile, DeRyke was allowing the Leopards precious little. Through the first five shutout innings, the Box Elder pitcher fanned a dozen batters.

East finally broke through in the sixth when, with a runner on, Lexi Lokeni smacked a two-run homer to right to make the score 10-2.

But the Bees got that right back in the top of the seventh. After a single by Kyra Hardy, Sorenson lifted a shot over the left-center fence.

The bottom of the seventh turned out to be the only inning when DeRyke had less than two strikeouts.

"She's a gamer. She'll come to work, dig in and get the job done," Marble said. "That's all you can ask for out of a kid." —

Box Elder 12, East 2

• Box Elder clinches no worse than a tie for first place in Region 5 with the win.

• Nyah DeRyke fans 15 East batters and allows only four hits in throwing a complete game.

• East's Lexi Lokeni hits a two-run homer in the sixth for the home team's only runs, but Box Elder's Taylor Sorenson immediately answers with a long ball in the seventh.