High school softball: Riverton earns walk off victory in Game 1 of the 6A softball title series

In Game 1 of the 6A softball best-of-three championship series Thursday at BYU, No. 1 seed Riverton eked out a 9-8 victory over No. 2 seed Herriman in a tightly contested matchup. The Region 2 foes went back and forth all night before Riverton senior second baseman Kenzie Anderson broke an 8-8 stalemate with a walk off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give the Silverwolves the win and a 1-0 series lead. “(I’m) super proud of our kids,” said Riverton head coach Whitley Haimin. “That was quite the game, but overall just super proud of our kids and their presence and their response.” The Silverwolves had to respond on multiple occasions throughout the night, the first being after they gave up three runs in the first inning before fighting back to take their first lead in the fourth. “Right off the bat, (Herriman) had a great first inning,” Haimin said. “It’s really easy to feel the pressure and get a little bit tense or maybe on your heels, but our kids responded.” The pressure was on Riverton again after losing the lead in the top of the sixth before it scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to regain momentum. The Mustangs would tie the contest in the seventh before the Silverwolves won the game on Anderson’s clutch hit. Riverton senior third baseman Maggie Hamblin got on base with a leadoff double, then stole third and easily scored on Anderson’s single to left field. “Every single kid played selfless ball today regardless of what their role was,” Haimin said. “(So) good things happened.” The two schools are familiar with one another, as they face off in multiple games each year in a very talented Region 2. 6A’s two top teams met twice in the regular season, with Herriman winning the first contest by four runs before Riverton got even earlier this month in a 15-2 blowout victory. “Our region is the best region in the state,” Haimin said. “I can’t say enough great things about our region. Six of our region teams were (seeded) in the top eight, so that’s huge.” Herriman and Riverton finished 1 and 2 in the region, the Mustangs taking the top position and the Silverwolves right behind them in a tie with Copper Hills for the next spot. Despite that finish, the seeding in the state tournament flip-flopped the schools, giving Riverton the upper hand. That ultimately gave the Silverwolves the last at-bat Thursday evening in a game that came down to the final at-bat in the last inning. One game away from the title, Haimin remains focused on getting the best from her team. “At the end of the day, our team is so talented. We got to just be ourselves and then good things will happen,” the third-year head coach said. If Haimin’s team can win one more game, she will win a third straight state title with the Silverwolves in as many years leading the program. The two schools will resume their state title series Friday, with Game 2 beginning at 1:30 p.m. at BYU. If Herriman wins Game 2, Game 3 will begin Friday at 7 p.m. at BYU.