Prep softball: West avenges loss to Davis with 13-8 victory

Kaysville • Enraged might be a little bit strong to describe it. But the West softball team members were certainly not lacking in motivation when they paid a visit to Davis High on Thursday.

The formerly top-ranked Panthers had lost to the Darts in the last encounter, at West's home field, and topping that off was an unexpected loss to Syracuse in region play earlier this week.

"They were very ticked off, because we let that one get away," said West coach Keith Lopati of the loss to the Titans on Tuesday. "This should have been for first place (in region), but it is what it is."

It was Davis, the current No. 1 team in Class 5A and on top in Region 2, that felt the wrath of the Panthers.

West slugged two two-run homers in the first, tallying five runs in the inning, en route to a 13-8 victory on Thursday.

Sophomore Huntyr Ava was the first to go deep, belting her shot to left and driving in Jazmyn Rollin — who had been hit by a pitch. Then, with Keisha White on base, it was Kamora Masina's turn, and she also sent one over the left-field fence.

For Masina, it's been a gradual process to get back into the rhythm of softball after she underwent surgery on her right rotator cuff.

She also was the starting pitcher for West (19-6, 10-2), which then scored three more runs in the second inning for an 8-0 lead.

"We've been kind of waiting for her to make adjustments in the box," said Lopati of Masina, who ended up 4 for 4 at the plate. "We've still got some time to be able to work on it, but it was awesome. It was fun for me to see that again from her."

"It's been tough for us, but now that we've come together as a family — that's our motto for us right now," said Masina, only a sophomore for the Panthers. "We played as individuals (against Davis nine days earlier). We played great, but not our best."

Sisters Huntyr and Breah Ava both had RBIs in the second, but Davis (18-3, 10-1) fought back, starting in the bottom of the inning when Sidney Byke hit a two-run double. The Darts got three more runs in the third off three hits, with West contributing with a pair of errors.

West regained its footing in the last part of the game, tallying two runs in both the fifth and seventh innings.

Despite the loss, Davis can do no worse than tie for first in region as the Darts host Layton on Friday in their regular-season finale. West finished its region slate with the win and will be at Bountiful on Friday in its last contest before the playoffs.

"How could they not be motivated? That's just a good team," Davis coach Mylie Zachman said. "I think we expected them to come out ready to play. We expected a battle and right from the gun they came out and hit some balls hard on us." —

West 13, Davis 8

R West bursts to an 8-0 lead after two innings and Davis never gets closer than three runs the rest of the way.

• The Panthers' Huntyr Ava and Kamora Masina each blast two-run homers in a five-run first inning.

• Davis sophomore Paige Elkins goes 3 for 3 with a double and a sacrifice fly RBI to lead the Darts' hitting attack.