This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Spanish Fork • The dancing might go on for a while in Grantsville.

The Cowboys, whose only state title trophy came almost 20 years ago in Class 2A, faced tradition-laden Bear River and its eight state crowns Saturday.

Better make room in the Grantsville trophy case.

Jumping out to a lead helped calm the nerves, as did periodic episodes of dance exhibitions by players and even the coach, and Grantsville captured the school's second softball state championship, this one in Class 3A, with a 7-4 victory over the Bears.

"We like to have fun, and I think that's what keeps us light on the field," said sophomore shortstop Hannah Butler, who slugged a homer to left to lead off the fourth.

"I was really out of my comfort zone," said Grantsville coach Heidi Taylor, who was coaxed into joining several players dancing outside the Cowboys' dugout just before the seventh inning started. "But they do better when they're having fun and relaxed and being crazy. I used to be all-business all the time, but I learned that they're going to excel when they're relaxed."

Even more jumping around took place shortly after that.

Grantsville clung to a 5-4 lead entering the seventh but got a leadoff single from Alese Casper. Fellow senior Brayle Crosman blasted an opposite-field dinger to right to extend the lead two batters later.

That shot continued a game-long trend of Bear River (26-7) cutting its deficit to one run only to see the Cowboys extend it the next time Grantsville came up to bat.

Butler did that to the Bears in the fourth, and sophomore Addison Smith also did it with a home run to lead off the sixth.

It all started when Grantsville scored a pair of runs in the first and saw Bear River cut that in half with a run in the bottom of the inning. The Cowboys almost immediately got it right back when Maddison Peterson scored on a grounder to short.

It would have been a two-run rally in the second for Grantsville, but a second runner was ruled out at the plate. While Taylor argued the call, Crosman and teammate Reannon Justice engaged in an impromptu dance-off for some comic relief.

"We really wanted to jump on it, come out fast and score first," Butler said. "We knew we could shoot Bear River down if we scored first."

Bear River, the defending state champions, had beaten Grantsville twice in the regular season and scored a combined 22 runs in those contests.

But the Bears only faced the pitching of Casper in the playoffs. Despite home runs from Lynsey Valverde and Dacia Hobbs, Bear River's usual potent attack often fizzled in the form of pop ups as hitters couldn't get on top of Casper's riseball.

"I felt like we would come back, but you have to give them credit," Bear River coach Calvin Bingham said. "We beat them twice, they beat us twice when it counted."

"It doesn't feel real at all, honestly," Crosman said. "We talked about it last night, about it being just another game. But being here now, holding it [the trophy] with the people that we love, you just can't re-create it." —

Grantsville 7, Bear River 4

R Grantsville wins its second state softball title. The first came in 1998 in Class 2A.

• The Cowboys score two runs on three hits in the first inning to grab a lead they never relinquish.

• Addison Smith, Hannah Butler and Brayle Crosman all homer for Grantsville, while Bear River's Dacia Hobbs and Lynsey Valverde go deep.