By Josh McFadden | [email protected]

As the 2019 campaign began, Bingham softball coach Mikki Jackson knew she had a challenging road in front of her.

Bingham was breaking in several new players at practically every position on the field. As one might expect, the Miners had some early season struggles, but the team appears to be getting its footing and gelling into a strong unit. 

The Miners went 2-2 at a tournament in St. George to start the year. Following this, Bingham suffered four consecutive losses, two of them by double-digits. Heading into an April 2 games at Kearns, the Miners were just 2-6, having lost nearly as many games (eight) as it had the entire previous season. 

That’s when Jackson’s team began to turn the tables.

Bingham recorded four wins in a row heading into a home game with Pleasant Grove on April 23. Included in the streak was a region victory over Westlake on April 12 by the count of 9-2. In that outing, the Miners registered hit after hit, tallying 12 on the day, including a triple from Eliza Chapple. A quartet of other players—Aubree Hogan, Averi Hanny, Emily Dority and Paige Braunbeck—each hit doubles. The nine runs tied a season high, which Bingham had matched in two other games. 

Another nine-run effort came in a 9-7 win over Bear River on April 4. Bingham managed to hold on for the victory despite getting outscored 5-0 in the final two innings. The Miners had 11 hits in this game, highlighted by a home run from Hogan.

Bingham’s other victories during its four-game winning streak came against Kearns by the count of 7-3 and against Springville, 4-0 on April 5. Hogan hit a double and a triple against Kearns and hit another double against Springville. In that shutout victory, Hanny got the win, helping to limit Springville to just two hits the entire game. 

Individually, Hogan has put up some nice numbers, belting three home runs and adding eight doubles and a triple. Dority has added a pair of home runs, while Hanny is a perfect 5-0 on the mound.

The Miners were off for Spring Break during the week of April 15–19. By the time they returned to the diamond, they brought their 1-1 Region 4 mark into the final eight-game stretch. Six of these games will be league matchups. The team will also take on non-region foes Clearfield (May 3) and Tooele (May 7). 

Bingham faces off with every region opponent twice and must finish in the top four out of five teams in order to once against qualify for the state tournament. Last season, the Miners went undefeated in Region 4 and then won their first three games at state before dropping a pair.