BOUNTIFUL -- It could have been a long afternoon for the Bountiful Braves softball team when they faced the Timpview Thunderbirds in the first round of the state softball tournament on Tuesday. But the afternoon ended up being shorterÖtwo innings shorter. Timpview started hot by sending the first Bountiful pitch into the sky and out of the park, to take an early one-run lead. The Braves didn't panic. They kept their composure and responded by preventing the Thunderbirds from scoring again.

The Braves then beat up on Timpview by scoring 11 unanswered points and handing the shell-shocked Thunderbirds an 11-1 defeat.

Bountiful head coach Kelly Anderson said his team might have had some nerves to start the game.

"I thought they were more relaxed and we were a little tight," Anderson said. "I knew that they would come ready to play."

Coach Anderson said that the early home run the Thunderbirds hit might have been good for his team.

"It got our girls' attention," Anderson said. "They started to dial in a little better (after that) and started making plays."

The score was 4-1 going into the fifth inning and then the Braves' bats came to life. In the bottom of the fifth, Bountiful scored five runs before registering their first out. Bountiful scored once more before Kyli Flanary hit a home run to push the Braves' lead to ten. The game's mercy rule was then enforced and the contest ended in the fifth inning with the Braves getting the victory.

"We stared making good swings," Anderson said.

Anderson was right; the Braves did make good swings, and connected on seven hits to complete a monster fifth inning that ultimately won the game.

Timpview coach Debbie Dodds agreed that the Braves great hitting was one of the reasons for the loss.

"You have to give Bountiful the credit," Dodds said. "They started hittingÖ it's roughÖand you can't do much when you start getting down."

Errors and mental mistakes plagued the inexperienced Thunderbirds throughout the game and contributed heavily to the loss.

"I think we left a lot of runners on base," Dodds said. "We gave them a lot of runs early in the game. We could have been tied all the way through the fifth inning had we made the plays we were capable of making. We just didn't make plays."

The Braves did make playsÖa lot of them, and they seem to be peaking at the right time.

"I just think our kids are starting to believe in what we're trying to do, and we're making plays," Anderson said.

Coach Anderson said that players like Taylor Austin and Shelly Stuart were key to Bountiful's win.

"They were unbelievable today at getting on baseÖsetting the table and getting everything rolling." Anderson said of Austin and Stuart. "I was really proud of those girls and how they started us off that way. That was a big-time start when we got those two rolling."

The Braves will now look forward to their next challenge, which begins today on their home field against Cypress.

Coach Anderson knows that as his team progresses in the tournament, the competition will only get tougher.

"The next game (will be) a little bit bigger and a little bit harder," Anderson said. "We'll have to come ready to go."



thatch@davisclipper.com