ST. GEORGE - In a highly entertaining affair, Hurricane and Dixie softball kept spectators guessing to what was going to happen next Tuesday afternoon. With both teams clinging to fading playoff ambitions, every at-bat took on added significance. After eight innings of offensive explosions and late-game heroics, the Tigers had enough ammo to keep their postseason prospects strong with an 11-9 win at Dixie.
"Our offense came up big when it needed to. É We got behind early but this team never gave up," said first-year Hurricane coach Krista Nugent. "We're a young team with a lot of heart. To get the win today was crucial for our season. And we wouldn't have gotten the win if our play didn't pick up after the first inning."
With Desert Hills losing to Canyon View Tuesday, Hurricane (3-5 region, 6-10 overall) temporarily secures the last seed (No. 3) from Region 9 for the time being. Yet, the Thunder and Tigers could settle things in Friday's region duel at Hurricane. If Desert Hills is successful they will clinch its season series sweep over the Tigers.
Nugent said the Tigers will need to have a playoff mindset in each contest from here on out.
And against the Flyers (2-6, 3-13) they did just that.
Trailing 3-0 after the first inning, Hurricane chipped away slowly, scoring two runs in the second, fifth and seventh to take a comfortable 6-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
Michelle Muri highlighted the run, going 2-for-3 with a walk, two doubles and two RBI.
"That girl (Muri) loves to bat. She's got patience and a great eye at the plate," Nugent said.
Even though 20 runs can give the impression of bad pitching, this game proved quite the contrary as defensive lapses added to the inflated run total.
Dixie's Sheila Gelter and Hurricane's Paisley Pearson threw complete games, Gelter punching out 10 batters while Pearson fanned four.
But they did tire in the last two innings.
The Flyers' bats made enough contact to force the Tigers' infielders into several defensive stops, which forced extra innings. Hurricane bounced back in the eighth to produce five runs to get the win, an impressive inning that could alter its 2010 fortunes down the road.  Dixie scored three runs in the eighth, but Lindsey Erickson's groundout to shortstop Carly Stratton ended the Flyers rally, and potentially, ending the defending region champs' playoff hopes.
"I'm really proud of the way our girls fought back," Dixie coach Becky Leavitt said. "But honestly our defense hurt us today. And it's hurt us for most of the season. You can't make numerous errors each game and expect to win. We still have a lot of season left and anything's possible. But my message to them is keep improving and just go out there and have fun. And we'll see what happens."