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PROVO — Lulu West didn't have a pitch she would take back in Friday's first game of the 4A softball championship series.
Well, maybe just one.
The Desert Hills senior who has signed with Connecticut allowed just one run on three hits with 14 strikeouts as the Thunder took the advantage with a 3-1 win over Bear River at BYU's Gail Miller Field.
"I felt good, my team felt good, and we were just really hyped," said West, a three-time first-team all-state player who started as a middle infielder. "We just came out and played our game."
Her coach was a bit more overstated — with a catch.
"Lulu didn't miss today. She was good," Desert Hills coach Heidi Taylor said. "I'll take back; she missed one pitch, and I'd bet that batter wants it back. But she was fantastic, against a potent lineup. There isn't a batter you can relax on, and she did a great job."
Riley Greene paced the Thunder's offense, which will try to finish the job Saturday at 4:30 p.m. MT.
The senior who has also signed with Connecticut opened the scoring with an inside-the-park home run, finishing an extra-base hit down the left-field line that got lost in the corner to give Desert Hills (27-6) a 1-0 lead after the first inning.
If defending champion Bear River (30-4) wins the second game, a winner-take-all game 3 will immediately follow. The Thunder know that path well after the Bears won Game 3 in last year's 4A championship series to clinch their state-record 12th championship in program history.
"They know after taking it to three last year and losing the heartbreaker," Taylor said. "But we did business today, we'll have fun with the rest of the deal, and then we'll be ready to focus for our game at 4 tomorrow."
West echoed her coach about the importance of winning the first game of a best-of-three series.
"It's huge," she said. "It just shows that if we come out and play our game, we can do it. It gives us a lot of confidence going into tomorrow."
Desert Hills will spend much of the rest of the day at Kearns, where the Thunder's baseball team will play for a 4A state title against Region 9 rival Snow Canyon. It'll be a deserved break, after the school's baseball team filled up the stands behind home plate supporting softball in the morning game.
"I knew they were coming. But I didn't know that they were going to be such a loud presence," Taylor said. "Honestly, it probably made a huge difference.
"I know that it makes the girls happy to see the rest of the school cheering them on," she added. "Desert Hills is pretty much a family; it's just hard when we're far from home. It was nice to have them here."
3A softball: Grantsville slugs way to 4th straight title
Grantsville's bats were flying in Thursday's 3A softball championship at BYU's Gail Miller Field.
Eden Ressell smacked a pair of doubles with two RBI as the Cowboys scored 12 runs on 10 hits in a 12-0 five-inning victory over North Sanpete to capture Grantsville's fourth-straight 3A championship.
One of seven seniors, Ressell was one of three Grantsville players with a multi-hit game. Haizlee Hall, Payten Bytheway and Brynlee Anderson also added a pair of RBI for the Cowboys (25-6).
Hayden Bytheway spun a three-hit shutout, collecting five strikeouts in the circle to clinch the win, which was the eighth state title in the past nine years the Utah High School Activities Association has held state tournaments.
2A softball: Enterprise sweeps San Juan for 5th title in 8 seasons
Taryne Rupp had a triple, Maddie Carter added a double, and five Enterprise drove in a run as the Wolves beat San Juan 7-4 in the final game of the championship series at BYU's Gail Miller Field to collect their fifth 2A state title in the past eight seasons.
The Wolves (24-13) finished off a whirlwind seven wins in three days for their latest championship, including an 11-6 victory to set up a marathon Saturday at BYU that ended well after sunset.
1A softball: Milford rallies to win first-ever state championship
Jaidyn McMullin spun a no-hitter in three innings with four strikeouts as Milford marched to its first state title with a 15-0 win over Altamont in the second game of Saturday's 1A championship series at BYU.
Miley Wilden and Lydia George each drove in three runs for the Tigers (22-9), who rallied from a 7-3 deficit with four runs in the fourth inning of Saturday's first game to force a winner-take-all final with a 12-10 win.
