SMITHFIELD—Sky View ended its regular season in style Friday, beating Valley rival Logan 8-1. The win not only locked up the season series for the Bobcats, but moved the Cats ahead of the Grizzlies in the region standings to lock up the final playoff spot.

Though the win was an all-around effort, it was a sophomore that shined the brightest on a sunny Senior Day. Shakiah Saltern started the game with a single and never really slowed down as she finished 3-for-4 on the day.

“Shakia Saltern had a great game at the plate, and when the defense has to worry about some good base running, I think it sometimes frees up a little bit the hitters,” said SV head coach Shane Jones.

The Bobcats struggled against Logan pitcher Michelle Einzinger in the teams previous meeting, but Saltern said the third time was a charm as the Cats were able to get a bead on her.

“I think we got her timing down and I think we just had to think about our confidence because we’d been lacking confidence lately,” she said. “I think we did a lot better at our defense and our hitting. We had more confidence in ourselves.”

After getting on base, Saltern was able to cross the plate when teammate Taylor Anderson ground out into a fielders choice. The run gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead—it was a lead they would never relinquish.

Despite the early momentum though, Logan was not about to let its playoff chances slip away so easily. In the bottom of the fourth inning a walk by Bobcat pitcher Jessica Pickett put Einzinger on base and a single by Grizzly Lindsey Peterson advanced her teammate.

Following Peterson’s single, both Logan runners advanced on a ground out before Pickett made a rare mistake that led to Logan’s first—and only—run.

Pickett pitched a complete game allowing only two hits while striking out six batters. However, a wild pitch in the top of the fourth inning allowed Einzinger to reach home for third base and knot things up at one apiece.

“Jessica Pickett pitched a great game,” Jones said. “If we play like that, I think that we can compete with anybody. Part of it is just getting that consistency down because we’re playing some really good ball.”

Following that error, Pickett would regain her form and the Grizzlies would no longer pose a threat.

With the score still tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Bobcats exploded. Sky View connected on three of their nine hits in the inning and the Grizzlies poured salt in their open wounds by committing multiple errors that allowed the Cats to pile up five runs and build a 6-1 lead.

“You just never know, little things can make a huge difference,” said Logan head coach Stacee Flygare of her teams mishaps in the fifth. “Then after that, they got the hits. Yeah, we had two throwing errors, but they got on base with great hits. So, you can’t be to disappointed in that.”

The Bobcat bombardment knocked the wind out of the Grizzlies, and Pickett retired six straight batters to extinguish any fight Logan may have had left.

“I think we were still confident at bat, but I think at that point in the game no one knew how the game was going to end up,” said Logan senior catcher Melissa Curtis. “No one was really excited to keep going.”

With the win the Bobcats keep their season alive—for at least four more days. After Friday’s win, Jones said he thought the Bobcats would end up playing Payson, though he wasn’t sure. Regardless of who Sky View plays, they’ll be fighting to keep their season alive this coming Tuesday.

“Beating Logan’s always fun, but we didn’t go to state last year and it was kind of like the season just ended. Now we go on, and I think that kind of means a lot to the seniors,” Pickett said. “I hope that we just keep this mentality, just go out and have fun. This isn’t the end of it, but we can always play like it’s the end, every game.”