No one on Roy took last year's championship game well. After losing two straight games and the title to Bingham, the Royals were demoralized and discouraged by what felt like a brutal choke job.
But no one handled it quite like MaCauley Flint.
"Cauley has always had such an optimism that I've never had," says coach Amanda Koford, who is also Flint's aunt. "She was talking to me about it and was saying it was fine — we'd win it all next year. She wasn't going to dwell on that loss or allow it to damage her."
No one worked harder than Flint to ensure that promise was kept this season. The senior pitcher started almost every game and became one of the best hitters on a team that dominated a lot of opponents on its way to a title.
Flint's dedication to a championship makes her The Tribune's 5A softball MVP.
"I was going into all of our playoff games expecting to win," she said. "We've got girls who have been there, and each one of them could help us win."
But Flint played no small role, losing only one game the entire season with a .84 ERA and about 200 strikeouts. The Royals ended up with 11 shutouts this year and boasted the best defense in 5A.
In the one instance she could've melted down — as she struggled to hit her spots against Murray in the championship — Flint responded to her off-day by calmly telling the team they would need to score a few more runs. The Roy batting order answered the call, and the Royals earned redemption for their 2010 loss.
Flint will continue playing at Salt Lake Community College. But she'll always have a corner of her heart dedicated to her high school career, when she got to play for her aunt, father and grandfather.
"It was a blast," she says. "It was a lot of emotion, and I knew they couldn't be easy on me — sometimes they had to be harder on me than anyone else. But I loved every single second." —
The teams
All-State softball teams (pdf) • http://bit.ly/l8WEX6
All-State softball MVPs (pdf) • http://bit.ly/lRAmQJ
Class 5A first team
Catcher • Hope Curtis, Sr., Taylorsville
First base • Taylor Tann, Jr., Syracuse
Second base • Payton Palmer, Jr., Roy
Third base • Maddy Woodard, Sr., Murray
Shortstop • Jordynn Barrera, So., Roy
Utility • Shelbi Everett, Sr., Brighton
Outfielder • Tanisha Anderson, Sr., Murray
Outfielder • Malia Campos, Sr., Murray
Outfielder • Meagan Parker, Sr., Roy
Outfielder • Whitney Wallace, Sr., Fremont
Pitcher • Katie Greenberg, Sr., Taylorsville
Pitcher • Bree Ordiway, Sr., West Jordan
Pitcher • McKenna Bull, So., Weber
Pitcher • Ashley Ostler, Sr., Syracuse
Class 5A second team
Catcher • Dallas Vega, Sr., Copper Hills
First base • Whitney Haimin, Sr., Riverton
Second base • Jamie Aiken, Jr., Roy
Third base • Cyndee Clarke, Sr., Weber
Shortstop • Sara Park, Sr., Murray
Utility • Jaycee Liechty, Sr., Weber
Outfielder • Markii Ashton, So., West Jordan
Outfielder • Hailey Jensen, Jr., Skyline
Outfielder • Haley Pardo, Sr,, Weber
Outfielder • Dakota McDaniel, So., Bingham
Pitcher • Braylee Butcher, Sr., Murray
Pitcher • Elise Johnson, So., Murray
Pitcher • Angela Mikalauski, Jr., Pleasant Grove
Pitcher • Sierra Nielson, Sr., Brighton
