5A high school softball playoffs: Miners send Dons packing

TAYLORSVILLE — The Bingham Miners came through in the eighth inning to knock out the Spanish Fork Dons 5-3 and keep their hopes alive in the one-loss bracket.

The Dons were ranked No. 1 for a good part of the season and had a couple of difficult games come tournament time, which sent them home long before they are used to leaving the Valley Softball Complex.

The Miners scored their first run in the top of the third as M'Liss Petersen and Katie Groves each picked up singles. The run looked like it might hold up for the victory as the Miners held Spanish Fork scoreless through five before Tina Ferguson came through with a double, and Ashley Chappel added the RBI single to deadlock the score.

"Ashley Chappel had one heck of a game," said Spanish Fork coach Don Andrews, who added, "That right there was a championship game. The first team that blinks loses, and we were the first team that blinked."

Then with Lauren Johanson starting on second base via the international tiebreak rule, the Miners set out with something to prove in the top of the eighth.

Petersen picked up a single, and Shaynie Phillips added an RBI single on a grounder up the right side. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners, and an error on a throw from the short stop allowed another run to score, followed by yet another on a sacrifice fly.

The Miners headed into the bottom of the eighth with a 5-1 lead, but their own error and a walk put a pair on with Chappel up to bat. She proceeded to single in two more runs, and the Dons had the winning run at the plate in both Katelyn Elliott and Whitney Holm, but neither could manage a hit, and the Dons were out of the tournament before the final day for the first time in four years.

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E-mail: jolsen@desnews.com

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