Walking off proud: Salem Hills senior Rilyne Keck’s blast gives Skyhawks dramatic win over Maple Mountain (2024)

Talk about a storybook ending.

Salem Hills senior Rilyne Keck knew going into Friday’s 5A super-regional game against Region 7 rival Maple Mountain that it would be her final opportunity to play on her home field in Salem.

And, with maybe a little help from the gusty winds, she got to leave it as a hero.

Keck and the Skyhawks handled the Golden Eagles in the first game of the best-of-three series on Thursday but Maple Mountain came to play in Game 2, stymying the Salem Hills offense to build a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.

The Golden Eagles needed just three outs to force a deciding third game, but the Skyhawks knew the game wasn’t over.

“We challenged them going into the seventh,” Salem Hills head coach Kalab Stokes said. “We said, hey, what are we made of? Let’s show everyone right here what it means, all of us together. Our saying has been that it’s going to take all of us and it did.”

The Skyhawks game out aggressively, getting a runner on base and then slashing the deficit to a single run with a towering home run over the centerfield fence from sophom*ore Jocile Norman.”

Two of the next three batters got on base, putting the tying run in scoring position.

And Keck was headed to the batter’s box.

“I told Rilyne to just go with the ball,” Stokes said.

Keck said she didn’t want to get under the ball.

“There’s a lot of wind today so I knew I couldn’t really hit anything in the air because it would stay up,” Keck said. I got in the box and just stayed within myself. I was just thinking hit a hard line drive.”

She got a pitch on the outside and swung, sending the ball soaring toward left field.

“I was telling the runner to come from second because right when Rilyne hit it I knew it was going over the fielder’s head,” Stokes said. “Then I was like, man, that could go out. I started jumping up and down, but when it hit, my heart froze for a second.”

Aided by the stiff breeze, the ball kept sailing until it came down right on the top of the fence.

If it had bounced back into the field of play, likely the tying run still would’ve scored — but the ball bounced over, giving Keck and Salem Hills the dramatic 6-4 win on the walk-off home run.

For her part, Keck said she didn’t see the ball hit the top of the fence.

“I just knew it was down the left field line and hoping it went through,” Keck said. “When I realized it had gone over, it was pretty emotional. It was a big, big moment for me in the last game I’ll ever play on this field. It was a good way to go out.”

Her team exploded out of the dugout and waited for her to complete her trip around the bases before jumping all over the senior in celebration.

“It was just a flood of emotions,” Stokes said. “It was pretty awesome.”

While the Skyhawks savored the dramatic victory, in the other dugout the Golden Eagles had to face the fact that their season had just ended.

Despite the disappointment, Maple Mountain head coach Avery Leckie said she couldn’t be more proud of how her team battled.

“After losing the first game, I was like, either they’re going to come out fighting or they’re going to roll over and die,” Leckie said. “They definitely come out ready to win, so we’re really proud of them. They played great.”

It’s a young Golden Eagle squad this year and so Leckie hopes they learned that they are good enough to compete with great teams.

“I just want them to have confidence in themselves,” she said. “They’re young, so they’re still a little timid. But just knowing that they’re great players and that they can go out and beat these great kids makes a difference.”

Salem Hills now moves on to 5A bracket play as one of the top eight teams in the classification.

“We’re hitting our stride right now and we play for each other,” Stokes said. “We’ve got three really good pitchers and we’ve been working hard. When they get in the box, there’s no fear in their eyes and they’re hungry. They want to be great and can’t wait to get better.”

Keck believes that for the Skyhawks to continue to succeed, they have to stick to the same mentality.

“Ever since the beginning, we’ve said it was going to take the whole team to win,” Keck said. “We have a really good relationship with each other. It’s a huge family and we love each other. We’ve been preparing for this all season and we’re ready.”

Salem Hills, the No. 6 seed, will take on No. 3-seeded Bountiful in the first bracket-play game, which will take place at Valley Complex in Taylorsville on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

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