Box Elder came out of the losers bracket to beat Bountiful twice in Thursday’s Class 5A softball championship, 12-7 and 5-4. The Bees claimed the state title over a team that had beaten them four times before Thursday’s games.
Nyah DeRyke, who also hit two home runs on the day, took the mound in the bottom of the seventh aiming for a complete-game victory. But she had to get through the heart of Bountiful batting order first. No. 3 hiter Dashani Purcell reached first base on an error, and after back-to-back outs, Alyssa Bowels hit a single into left field.