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PROVO — On the outside, Katelyn Wilson settled into her game during Game 1 of the 4A softball championship series Thursday.
But inside, the Bear River junior admits she was a bit of a wreck.
Wilson scattered six hits with eight strikeouts as the Bears took Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series 6-3 from Desert Hills at BYU's Gail Miller Field.
Aubree Fry went 3-for-4 with an RBI double for Bear River (32-2), which moved within a win of the Bears' first state title since 2023 — when Wilson was a freshman in the dugout, looking up to now-BYU pitcher Kate Dahle rally to win two games on the final day of the season for her third title.
On Thursday, it was Wilson's turn. Was she nervous?
"My nerves were pretty shot; I was pretty nervous," she said with a laugh. "I try to hide it the best I can, but I was kind of freaking out. ... I got pretty settled in with my team, though. They had my backs after getting two runs quick and easy. That was really great."
Marley Tisdol and Kendyl Archibald each drove in a run in the bottom of the first inning to give Wilson the run support she needed and help the pitcher put herself back in the game, too.
From there, Wilson just settled her nerves, grabbed her ponytail a couple of times to clear her mind, kicked up some dirty and relaxed.
Just like her team, who pounded out 11 hits to lead by as much as 5-1 when Londyn Gamble scored from third on a failed pickoff attempt with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the third.
Like their starting pitcher, the Bears might have been nervous playing on a college field with a chance at the program's state-record 12th championship. But they didn't show it.
"I think it's normal to have nerves. But their nerves were very locked in," Bear River coach Jordan Theurer said. "They kept them under control.
"Yesterday against Ridgeline, I think all of our nerves came to a head. Before this game, they just came in loose. I mean, they were dancing in the dugout and doing things that surprised me. But they were super loose, and honestly play better when they are loose."
Desert Hills' Riley Greene pulled one back with a run-scoring triple during a two-run fifth, and Bailey Lee added two RBI as the Thunder (31-3) tried to rally.
But the visitors from St. George could have had even more, when starting pitcher Lulu West crushed a ball in the third toward the left-field fence that seemed destined for a homer before Bostyn Lish met at the wall to save another score.
"Lulu put a swing on that ball," Theurer said. "Last year at state, Bos robbed two home runs for us at Spanish Fork in our first couple of games. We knew she could do that.
"But Lulu smoked that ball, and Bos got a good read on it. She was just able to stay locked in at the moment, find the fence, feel the warning track, and I think it was a huge benefit for her to get that catch."
West finished the game with four strikeouts.
First pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. MDT. If Desert Hills wins, a winner-take-all Game 3 will immediately follow at BYU.
