Desert Hills dominates as early softball season warms up

The six Desert Hills players who hit home runs during the March Warm-up tournament March 16-17 in St. George. L-R: Toni Hinton, Savannah Wright, Addi Betts, Oakley Giacoletto, Codi Olds, and Abby Black. St. George, Utah, March 17, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Melissa Hinton, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Desert Hills High softball team’s offensive dominance was on full display during the March Warm-up tournament in St. George as the Lady Thunder won all five of their games in decisive fashion.

Oakley Giacoletto of Desert Hills belts a double during 18-1 win over Grand County High, St. George, Utah, March 16, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

After starting with an 18-1 win over the Grand County High Lady Devils of Moab at the Canyons Complex Friday morning, Desert Hills went on to post a 22-0 victory over Beaver and a 16-0 win over Rigby, Idaho, later that day.

Then, Saturday morning at the Little Valley Fields complex, the Lady Thunder defeated Skyline, Idaho 16-1, then capped off their tournament with a 6-1 win over Carbon High.

In outscoring their opponents 78-3 over the five games, the Lady Thunder collectively belted 75 hits, including six home runs, three of which were bases-loaded grand slams. Addi Betts had a grand slam vs. Grand, Tori Hinton hit one against Skyline, and Oakley Giacoletto hit one in the second inning of the Carbon game to give the Thunder an early 5-0 lead.

Desert Hills’ next scheduled contest is their region opener March 20 at Hurricane at 4 p.m.

Here’s a quick look at other action this past week featuring Region 9 softball teams:

Cedar

Cedar’s scheduled home contest Thursday, March 15, against Bear River was canceled due to rainy and snowy conditions, but the Lady Reds went undefeated in March Warm-up tournament action in St. George on Friday and Saturday, winning all four of their games.

Friday, the Lady Reds defeated Boulder City, Nevada, 17-5 and also outdueled Juab 10-4. Saturday, Cedar beat South Summit 11-1 and outlasted Knight, California, 7-5.

The Lady Reds will start region play Tuesday, March 20, at Dixie at 3:30 p.m.

Snow Canyon

The Lady Warriors went 1-2 this week, playing games on three successive days during their own home invitational tournament. Snow Canyon defeated Northridge 9-5 Thursday, with Marly Moala belting a home run to help lift the Warriors.

Friday, Snow Canyon lost to Bountiful by a score of 7-5. Freshman Emma Bingham hit a homer for Snow Canyon in that contest.

Cedar High outfielder Denim Henkel, Cedar City, Utah, March 2018 | Photo courtesy of Jennifer Weaver, St. George News/Cedar City News

Then, on Saturday, the Lady Warriors lost to Clearfield by a score of 11-3.

The Warriors will begin region play Tuesday, March 20, when they host Pine View at 4 p.m.

Hurricane

The Hurricane Lady Tigers also had a successful weekend at the March Warm-up tournament in St. George, winning all four of their games over the two-day event.

Friday, the Lady Tigers defeated Eldorado High of Las Vegas 8-2, with Mesa Jones hitting a homer for Hurricane. Later that day, Hurricane beat Emery 9-4 and Morgan 4-3.

Saturday, the Lady Tigers fell behind North Sevier 4-0 early on, but bounced back for a 10-5 victory over the Lady Wolves.

Hurricane’s first region game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20, at home against Desert Hills at 4 p.m.

Canyon View

Canyon View canceled its scheduled home game with Manti on Thursday, March 15, due to bad weather, but the Lady Falcons were able to open their season with three games the following day at the Dixie Tournament in St. George.

Friday, Canyon View broke open a tight 2-2 contest with Olympus with a six-run rally in the fourth inning, and the Lady Falcons held on for an 8-2 win over the Titans.

Also on Friday, the Lady Falcons lost to Oaks Christian, California, by a score of 14-0 and lost to Wasatch High by a score of 9-6.

Canyon View will begin Region 9 play at home against Hurricane on Friday, March 23, at 4 p.m.

Pine View

Pine View split a pair of non-region home contests Thursday, March 15. The Lady Panthers defeated the Gunnison Lady Bulldogs 13-5, but then lost to Carbon later that evening by a score of 18-10.

Friday and Saturday, the Lady Panthers played five games in the March Warm-up tournament in St. George, winning three of them. Pine View defeated Summit Academy 11-1, then lost to South Sevier 10-0 Friday afternoon. Saturday, the Lady Panthers started off with a morning loss to Rigby, Idaho by a score of 8-5. Pine View then beat Moapa Valley, Nevada 16-13, after which the Panthers eked out a 5-4 win over Page, Arizona.

Pine View’s first region game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20, at Snow Canyon, starting at 4 p.m.

Dixie

Dixie, picked up its first preseason win with a 14-4 victory over Piute during the Dixie Tournament Friday. Also on Friday, the Lady Flyers lost to Olympus, 9-7.

Saturday, Dixie was scheduled to play both Spanish Fork and Manti, but results of those contests had not yet been posted as of late Saturday night.

Dixie’s first region game will be at home vs. Cedar on Tuesday, March 20 at 3:30 p.m.

Update March 18, 2 p.m. Article was updated earlier to include the results and scores of  Pine View’s weekend games, and now includes information about Desert Hills vs. Skyline, including corrected scoring and hit totals for the weekend.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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