At the end of every year, a few moments stick out more than the rest. Here's the memories that will last from the 2011 softball season.

Roy redemption • After a cataclysmic collapse against Bingham in 2010, the Royals pledged a return to the title game to win it all.

With the work of some serious power pitching from senior MaCauley Flint, Roy stormed through the Class 5A bracket, drawing Murray as its final opponent.

But something happened: Flint, cramping in her arm, looked vulnerable for the first time all season. The Spartans took an early lead, and the Royals looked to be flirting with disaster once again.

Then the bats did the work for Flint and the defense, knocking in nine runs to ultimately take the title. Bryce Mitchell, Jordynn Barrera and Megan Parker all hit homers to help Roy get past Murray in a 9-7 win.

Spanish Fork goes the distance • The Dons looked a bit lost after falling to Mountain Crest in the third round of the Class 4A playoffs. The road back to the title game seemed long and treacherous.

But to their credit, Spanish Fork did not roll over. The Dons knocked out Salem Hills and Uintah before dominating the Mustangs in a rematch. The streak gave them a date with defending champ Tooele, which beat them last year.

Kailey Christensen, who had hit the final out the year before in the championship, did all she could on the mound to hold the Buffaloes, and the Dons backed her up with run support. After taking the first game 10-5, Spanish Fork eked out a 6-5 win in the second contest to take home the trophy.

Bear River prevails in extra innings • It was hard to imagine the game would end.

The Bears were locked in a nine-inning slugfest with Canyon View, a rematch from the previous day. But pitcher Jordan Theurer hadn't been able to shut the Falcons out the second time around. In the bottom of the ninth, Bear River found itself in a 7-7 tie.

That's when Aleisha Taylor stepped up, singling to center field to bring in the game-winning run. It gave the Bears their fourth consecutive title and a collective sigh of relief.

kgoon@sltrib.com —

The teams

All-State softball teams (pdf) • http://bit.ly/l8WEX6

All-State softball MVPs (pdf) • http://bit.ly/lRAmQJ