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SPANISH FORK — Parowan left no doubt in Friday's one-loss semifinal, where the team piled on 19 runs over San Juan in a 19-3 blowout victory.
"We've worked a lot in the last few weeks about our mindset at the plate," Parowan head coach Shelby Bartlett said. "We're here to hit, we're here to get the job done. We made the plays we needed at the plate and in the field, which was huge for us."
Layni Williams and Saydee Jensen each slugged two-run home runs for the Rams, and Brynlee Anderson drove in four runs, as well. Nine different Parowan batters recorded an RBI in the afternoon game, with the Rams smacking eight doubles.
Parowan starter Madison Adams was dominant on the mound and struck out 10 Broncos batters in the winning effort.
The Rams are now set to face Duchesne in Saturday's second one-loss semifinal at 10 a.m. for a chance to face Enterprise in the state title game at 12:30 p.m. MDT.
"Now's the time to peak, and we're hitting that peak right now," Bartlett said. "I'm super excited about that."
Enterprise stuns Duchesne in thriller
It just ain't over 'till it's over.
Enterprise was down to its final out and trailed by a run. The Wolves clawed back from a 4-0 deficit, but it seemed they would fall just a hair short yet again on the season.
Not only was Enterprise an out away from defeat, but it would come at the hands of the dastardly Duchesne Eagles, who a year prior had stolen back-to-back wins over the Wolves to claim the state championship.
This loss would sting even more.
But Duchesne never ended up getting that final out.
With their backs against the wall, the Wolves took advantage of an unraveling Eagles pitching staff to load the bases and tie the game up at four runs apiece, bringing Enterprise pitcher Blakelee Christiansen to the plate.
"I knew if I put the ball in play, something good would happen," Christiansen said.
Good may be an understatement — Christiansen's contact practically saved Enterprise's season. Christiansen cracked a hard grounder to shortstop, which took a surprising and awkward hop through the legs of an Eagles defender to score the winning run and send the Wolves faithful into a frenzy.
"We worked all season long knowing we would probably meet up with (Duchesne) here again in this game," Enterprise head coach Katye Jones said. "We had our ups and downs, but we told them to keep chipping away little by little throughout the game; and as we put the ball in play good things happened."
Christiansen also earned the win on the mound, where she pitching seven innings of a six-hit effort, while striking out three and surrendering two runs. She also added a double in the contest, with Kylah Humphries hitting a two-run blast in the fifth inning to put Enterprise on the board.
Christiansen's heroics earned Enterprise a third straight trip to the state title game, where it won the championship in 2021 before falling to Duchesne a year ago. The Wolves will play the winner of Duchesne and Parowan's one-loss semifinal at 12:30 p.m. MDT in Spanish Fork.
"Everybody just wants it," Christiansen said of the state championship. "We're gonna take it."
