TAYLORSVILLE — Riverton senior Katie Adler has been in a hitting slump, and she showed a bunt in the top of the seventh with no outs to try to rally the Silverwolves by West in the Class 5A state tournament.

In one pitch, she decided against it. She squared her shoulders, readied for the delivery and — with all “five-feet and all clutch” of her diminutive frame (per her coach) — she swung for the fences.

Adler’s two-run shot over the centerfield fence in the seventh inning proved to be the go-ahead run as Riverton stunned West, 11-9, with a six-run seventh inning Wednesday at Valley Softball Complex.

“We knew we needed to just get hits, string them together one at a time, instead of trying to do it all yourself,” Adler said. “It was a team win.

“It didn’t feel that good,” Adler added. “I didn’t think it would go over. I just decided to hit away. I had confidence in myself. I’ve been struggling with confidence, but I got it back.”

It’s safe to say Adler’s confidence is back.

The two-run shot that also drove in teammate Taylor Eakle from first sent the Silverwolves (23-5) into Thursday’s 5A state championship game, where they will face the winner of Taylorsville and West at 4 p.m. MT. The Warriors (20-9) and Panthers (27-4) will face off in an elimination game at 1 p.m. MT at Valley Complex.

West, which knocked off defending 5A champion Lehi on Tuesday, took all the momentum via a 9-5 lead into the final frame. The Panthers scored three runs on two homers in the bottom of the first inning, including a two-run blast by Huntyr Ava and a solo shot by Brea Ava, to jump out to a 3-0 lead early.

“That was fun. They are a heck of a team,” Riverton coach Katelyn Elliot said of West. “It’s fun to come back and win like that.

“I expected that — I knew they were hitters. They attack balls that you shouldn’t be able to hit, so I just told my pitchers to keep them in the park and we’ll make plays on defense.”

After Riverton took a 4-3 lead on Eakle’s grand slam in the top of the third, Ava answered with a slam of her own to go up 7-4 and steal all the momentum.

“We lost focus against a great team like Riverton, and we didn’t do the little things right,” West coach Keith Lopati said. “Part of the game plan as to jump on her early, and we managed to do that. But we didn’t finish it with the girl they brought in.

“We got spurts, but left way too many girls on base. We just didn’t capitalize.”

But momentum is a funny thing in softball.

“That’s what is fun about this game: it has its ups and downs,” Elliot said. “You’ve got to learn how to stay steady with your emotions and how to stay steady by always attacking even when it doesn’t fall your way.

“I think they did a good job of staying on that even keel.”

Eakle set up the final-frame heroic with a two-RBI double in the seventh on no outs, and Adler drove her home two batters later.

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After Madison Tuft pushed across another run before the end of the inning, the Silverwolves went from trailing by four runs to nursing a two-run advantage in the bottom of the seventh.

“She’s capable of hitting them out of the park,” Elliot said of Adler. “She’s a kid that comes through in the clutch; she’s a gamer, and it’s fun to have those on your team. I knew she would come through in one way or another. I’ll take the home run.”

The Panthers threatened, bringing the winning run to the plate with runners on first and second in the seventh inning. But Riverton tallied the final out on a short hit back to the circle to end the inning and the game.

“It’s the best feeling,” Adler said. “I can’t believe it.

“We were all saying to leave it on the field. We had nothing to lose.”

If Riverton loses the first game Thursday afternoon, a second will be played immediately after. That means the Panthers’ overall goal of a state title is still within reach, Lopati said.

“No matter how we look at it, our goal is still in sight,” he said. “Now we’ve just got to play three games instead of one.”

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