{"id":498,"date":"2026-05-23T04:08:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=498"},"modified":"2026-05-23T04:08:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:08:47","slug":"high-school-softball-salem-hills-wins-tight-defensive-game-over-box-elder-for-first-5a-crown-since-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=498","title":{"rendered":"High school softball: Salem Hills wins tight, defensive game over Box Elder for first 5A crown since 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The 5A championship series was not a high-flying one with lots of runs. Instead, it was a battle of inches. <\/p>\n

Read more Jaxson Dart introduces Trump at New York rally<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s thanks to the two pitchers, Box Elder\u2019s Kennadie Blackmer<\/u> and Salem Hills\u2019 Jo Norman<\/u>. <\/p>\n

Game 1 Thursday revolved around the SkyHawks adapting to Blackmer\u2019s riseball to get the win, but she adjusted in Game 2 early Friday, striking out 10 as the Bees won 2-1 to tie the series.<\/p>\n

Game 3 Friday evening was much of the same story as Blackmer finished with eight strikeouts and allowed only three runs, but the SkyHawks\u2019 defense was just a hair better, and they squeezed out a 3-1 Game 3 victory to win to win their first state championship since 2014.<\/p>\n

Salem Hills\u2019 head coach, Kalab Stokes, was hired in 2015, now has a title of his own after 11 seasons with the program. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been something that we\u2019ve been working on for 12 years, since I\u2019ve been at Salem,\u201d Stokes said. \u201cEvery year we\u2019ve won more and more games, and that puts 32 in the win column for us this year, the most in one single season at our high school. <\/p>\n

\u201cCouldn\u2019t be prouder of our community for showing up today and these girls for believing in what we\u2019re doing as coaches and putting in the work every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Blackmer\u2019s strong performance, Salem Hills got its offense going early. <\/p>\n

Coach Stokes\u2019 daughter, Audree Stokes, opened the contest with a home run in the very first at-bat of the game. In her excitement while running the bases, she pulled her hamstring. <\/p>\n

She refused to exit the game and went to the athletic trainer to get wrapped between every inning. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was coming around the bases, and I just felt a pop in my hamstring,\u201d Audree Stokes said. \u201cI just immediately went to my athletic trainer and said, \u2018I need you to wrap me right now. I have to play this game.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIn between every inning, I was on my stomach getting re-wrapped and figuring out how to make the pain less so I can grit it out and finish the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more New charges in Minnesota add to crackdown on fraud<\/a><\/p>\n

She got on base one last time in the fifth inning on a walk, and Samaya Haveron hit her home. That, plus an RBI double from Shay Loveridge, gave the SkyHawks the 3-1 lead. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love this team so much,\u201d Audree Stokes said. \u201cTeam has my back. I have their back. We would not be anywhere without every single one of the players in the dugout, whether they\u2019re on the field or not. They\u2019re all part of this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sole run of the game for Box Elder came on a home run in the fourth inning from Blackmer. <\/p>\n

Norman got the win in the circle, and while her defense backed her up all game, she had to pull through in a sticky situation in the sixth inning. <\/p>\n

Box Elder hit three singles and had only one out. With the bases loaded and just the two-run lead, Salem Hills desperately needed to get out of the inning. <\/p>\n

With the pressure of the championship on her shoulders, Norman delivered back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the inning without giving up a run. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really stressful thinking about the bases loaded,\u201d Norman said. \u201cThey could score, and then they could win the game, but I trust my team with anything. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d do anything for them, so I know that if (the Bees) scored more, then they\u2019d have my back.\u201d<\/p>\n

All series long, Blackmer\u2019s pitching lowered Salem Hills\u2019 margin for error, but the SkyHawks matched the task for their first championship in 12 years. <\/p>\n

Read more High school boys soccer: Bountiful prevails in double OT on PK to win 5A state title<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 5A championship series was not a high-flying one with lots of runs. Instead, it was a battle of inches. Read more Jaxson Dart introduces Trump at New York rally That\u2019s thanks to the two pitchers, Box Elder\u2019s Kennadie Blackmer and Salem Hills\u2019 Jo Norman. Game 1 Thursday revolved around the SkyHawks adapting to Blackmer\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nHigh school softball: Salem Hills wins tight, defensive game over Box Elder for first 5A crown since 2014 - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=498\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"High school softball: Salem Hills wins tight, defensive game over Box Elder for first 5A crown since 2014 - American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 5A championship series was not a high-flying one with lots of runs. 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