Lady Spartans go 2-2 at Payson Tournament

By GARY ARRINGTON Sports Writer

The Emery High Lady Spartan softball team hosted the Carbon Dinos in a non-region contest on Tuesday and San Juan in a region contest on Friday and lost both games.
The Carbon score was 8-3 and the San Juan score was 9-1. Emery traveled to Payson on Saturday and played in an all-day tournament where they went 2-2 playing against bigger schools. Emery defeated West Lake 9-8 and North Sanpete 10-6 and lost to Wasatch 20-3 and to Cedar 13-3.
The San Juan Lady Broncos came to town with an undefeated region record and possessing maybe the top pitcher in all of 2-A softball with Tatianna Sue’Sue’. For four innings it was a pitchers duel between Tatianna and Ashton Bell. It was 2-1 for San Juan through four and both pitchers were dominant but in the fifth inning San Juan scored four runs with the assistance of some Emery errors and the Spartans never recovered.
Emery had six singles in the game with Taylor Payne hitting two of those. Kambrie Hinkins, Amber Petersen, Jessica Mason and Skyler Sitterud each had one. Bell pitched six innings and Payne closed out the game by pitching the seventh.
Carbon scored five runs in the final three innings to break open a close game up until then. Emery outhit the Dinos in the game 6-5. Bell had two homeruns in the game and Jarica Huntington had two singles. Peterson and Jacie Huntington also each had a single. In the two Emery wins on Saturday, Emery and West Lake each had eight base hits but Emery scored five runs in the bottom of the final inning to grab the win.
West Lake scored their runs in the first three innings while Emery had scored four times in the fourth inning. Gentry Noyes had a triple and two hits in the game and Payne hit a double. Hinkins also had a pair of hits.
Bell started the game pitching and Payne closed it out.
In the win against North Sanpete, Emery scored once in the first, twice in the second, four times in the third and three times in the fourth to get the win.
Bell and Hinkins each hit a homerun in the game. Noyes and Jacie each hit a double and Jacie led the team with three base hits. Jarica Huntington had two hits in this game. Payne was the pitcher.
In the two losses, Wasatch dominated Emery as they did each of the other teams they played that day.
Emery managed just four base hits while the Spartan pitchers of Shaylee Jewkes and Jacie Huntington gave up 13 hits. Hinkins had a homerun for one of those hits and Payne, Mason and Jacie each had a single. In the final game Emery lost to Cedar High 13-3.
Payne started on the mound and Jewkes closed out the game. Hinkins had a homerun in this game and led the team with three base hits.
Bell had a triple and Noyes and Mason had the other hits. Emery will play Carbon this Tuesday in Price and will travel to North Sevier on Friday for a region game.