Players on this team participated in the Grantsville recreation league at the Deseret Peak Complex in the spring. They live in Erda, Grantsville, Stansbury Park and Tooele. They have been practicing together since June and are coached by Ron Zander, Lani Hathaway and Larry Sandberg.
In pool play at the state tournament the Stars defeated the South Jordan Sizzle 20-2 and the Nephi Xplosion 17-2 with Maddie Riolo hitting a grand slam.
Saturday morning they met the Nephi Xplosion again in bracket play. They spent the entire game playing catch up after allowing four runs in the top of the first inning. The Stars battled hard and went ahead by one run when Autumn Dzierzon hit a two-run homer in the third inning. The lead changed again when the Xplosion scored two runs in their at bat. The Stars tied the game 6-6 and forced an extra inning. Zander hit a line drive up the middle with two outs to score the winning run.
After a short break the Stars faced the Bountiful All-Stars and had a lot of fun at the plate. Brown and Sydney Barney each hit home runs and the Stars won 21-0.
Next, the Stars faced the Vernal Mighty Flames. The team from Uintah County jumped out with four runs in the first inning and the Stars never matched their fire. The 4-9 loss sent the Stars to the loser’s bracket to fight their way back to the championship game.
Game four for the day brought the Manti Shockerz. The Stars looked good at the plate and in the field. Dzierzon hit a triple that cleared the bases, Brown caught a fly ball in center which turned into a double play and Nicholas struck three straight batters out in the final inning. The Stars won 10-2.
In the championship game against Vernal, Zander led off with a single to give the Stars something to cheer about from the start, but she was picked off a few pitches later attempting a delayed steal. The Stars didn’t have another base runner that game. The Stars’ defense struggled as well. They gave up eight runs in the second inning, but in the third came out stronger and held Vernal with the bases loaded. Their efforts came too late and the game ended 0-8.
At Riverton, the Grantsville team faced the Oquirrh Mountain Purple Diamonds in the opening game. The Stars lost a five run lead in the bottom of the third inning. The Diamonds tied the game 6-6 as the Stars struggled to get their third out. Then the Stars broke open a two out rally when Courtney Hathaway bunted and Sarah Sandberg scrambled from third to score. The game ended 12-6 in favor of the Stars.
In their next matchup the Stars played the Vernal Mighty Flames. Grantsville scored four runs in the first inning when Jade Callister hit a single up the middle that scored two runs and Kim Brown hit a home run that scored two more. Strong pitching by Alicia Zander kept the Mighty Flames scoreless. The Stars won 7-0.
Zander threw another tough game against the West Valley Blue team allowing no runs again with the help of her defense. Outfielders Natasha Landon and Ketra Dekanich both had big plays for outs. The Stars’ offense was led by Sydnee Simmons who had two RBIs off a single and a double. The Stars came out on top 5-0.
The West Valley Blue team battled their way back to the championship game to face the Stars again. The Stars took an early lead in the game scoring three runs in the first inning. Isabella Nicholas started on the mound for the Stars and had five strikeouts in two innings. Zander was brought in to close out the game. The Stars held on for a 3-2 victory to remain undefeated and bring home their first tournament championship.
The Stars have two more tournaments this summer in Kaysville and West Valley.
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