High school softball: Riverton belts five HRs to advance to 6A championship series, Bingham rallies to secure its berth

Since the addition of a sixth classification in Utah for the start of the 2017-2018 school year, a team from the current Region 2 has won all five state titles. Herriman went back-to-back in 2018 and 2019, Riverton went back-to-back in 2021 and 2022, and then Bingham won it last season.

The Miners will hope that back-to-back trend continues this season.

No. 2 seed Bingham rallied past region foe and third seed Herriman 10-6 in 6A bracket play at Valley Regional Complex in Taylorsville on Wednesday to secure its spot in the 6A state championship series that gets underway.

A Region 2 team is guaranteed to win the championship again as well as top seed Riverton also wrapped up a perfect 3-0 record in bracket play by trouncing No. 4 seed Pleasant Grove on Wednesday 16-5.

Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series gets underway on Thursday at 7 p.m., with Game 2 on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

Riverton beat Bingham in both region games this season and will have a leg up in the series.

The Silverwolves scored 37 runs in their three wins at Valley Complex this week, and overwhelmed Pleasant Grove from the outset on Wednesday with seven runs in the first. It hit five home runs, including two from freshman Jaydan Bushman, who hit the walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning.

“The approach is always to be themselves and be loose. I feel like, and it’s kind of cliché, but we do our best when we’re having fun,” said Riverton coach Whitley Haimin, who is in her first year as head coach at the school.

From the day she took over as head coach last season, this year’s Riverton senior class has had one focus after coming up short of reaching the 6A championship series a year ago.

“We have such a phenomenal senior class, it’s pretty impressive that three out of four years they’ve gone to the state championship these series these seniors. They’ve been here, and I think not making it to where they wanted to last year that it’s something they’ve been working towards,” said Haimin.

Bushman finished the game going three for four with four RBIs, as did Braylee Shields, who also hit a dinger and drove in four runs. Sophomore Peyton Sanchez earned the win for Riverton, pitching all five innings with two strikeouts.

While Riverton was in firm control of its game with Pleasant Grove from the outset, Bingham had to grind a bit. Tied 3-3 after the first inning, Herriman scored twice in the third to take a 5-3 lead and still led 5-4 after four.

Bingham coach Mikki Jackson made sure the mindset of her players didn’t drift to the possibility of the dreaded if necessary game.

“They’re gonna do damage with their sticks, we know that, we just have to come back with ours at the same time. I think that’s where the resiliency comes from knowing it’s going to be a heck of a game,” said Jackson.

The Miners scored three runs in the top of the fifth to go ahead 7-5, and then added additional insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Gracelyn Lemke drove in three runs to lead Bingham, with Brecka Larson having a solid outing going the distance with three strikeouts.