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SPANISH FORK — After a brutal 0-7 start to the season, Manti's softball team finished the season as the 3A champions.
Not only did they win a state title, they dominated Saturday's contest at the Spanish Fork Sports Park, with a 10-run rule enforced in the fifth inning of play with the Templars (23-9) up 13-0 over the South Summit Wildcats (21-11).
Manti lost in the championship game last season and in 2019, so the victory was a special one for the seven seniors on the team that have been so close each year.
The Templars only allowed five runs across their five playoff games and never lost a game in the double-elimination tournament.
"They just had a goal," Manti head coach Susan Hatch said. "That goal was to stay focused and play one inning at a time."
Manti pitcher Tiffany Hermansen built off a strong semifinals outing with a clinic that featured six strikeouts. She allowed just a single hit all day, while adding a double and one RBI of her own.
"It goes back to those early morning workouts," Hermansen said. "When it gets mentally tough and we know we can do one more — one more pitch, one more inning. We definitely did it as a team."
Her performance was the icing on the cake for a Manti team that looked better in almost every phase Saturday afternoon.
Adalee Olson hit a double that brought a runner home, and Kathrine Crouch finished with three RBI.
The Templars scored in bunches throughout the game, putting up six runs in the first inning, four in the second inning, and three in the fourth inning.
Hatch's team took home its first title since 2016 and the last of the coach's career. Across 18 total seasons, Hatch led Manti to six state championships.
"(Coach) Susan believes in us, so she pushes us to our max because she knows we can do it." Hermansen said. "And this is her last year so we did it for our coach Sue."
Such a fast start may have been too much to overcome for the Wildcats who were playing in their second game of the day. South Summit had to defeat Grand 6-3 earlier Saturday morning in order to advance to the championship.
In addition to their batting struggles, South Summit was unable to slow down the Templars defensively.
After Manti jumped out to a 6-0 lead at the bottom of the first inning, the Wildcats were playing with their backs against the wall. Multiple errors led to stolen bases that eventually turned into more runs.
2A Bracket
In the 2A bracket, the Duchesne Eagles won the championship game. Duchesne beat Enterprise twice on Saturday (2-1, 5-4) in order to secure the title after falling to Enterprise in the semifinals.
Duchesne entered the playoffs as the top team in the 2A bracket. They won their first three games with a combined score of 34-4 before falling to Enterprise 5-2 on Friday afternoon.
After Friday's loss, Duchesne had to beat Millard Saturday morning before they could have a shot at redemption.
Once they got past Millard 5-0, the Eagles had to win twice against the team that had bested them the day before.
Facing elimination, the Eagles won the first game in a 2-1 battle. Those two runs came in the fourth inning for Duchesne's only scores of the day.
In the second game, Duchesne jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the first inning. They watched as Enterprise scored runs in the third and sixth inning to take the lead 4-3. Having last ups, the Eagles scored the winning runs in the final inning and walked off as the 2A champions.
Hallie Nielsen finished with a double and three RBI in the final game while pitcher Kelsey Grant threw six strikeouts.
