TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (May 9, 2019) - The No. 6 Salt Lake Community College softball program continued their run of nearly-unstoppable momentum Thursday, rolling through a longtime Scenic West Athletic Conference rival to earn a berth in the Region 18 championship game.

The Bruins earned a 12-1 win over the College of Southern Idaho Thursday in the Region 18 semifinals at Norma Carr Field, sending SLCC to a championship game to advance to the NJCAA championships. SLCC finished with 10 hits, scoring consistently and often in the win. The win boosts Salt Lake's overall record to 46-6. 

Tarni Stepto hit a three-run home run in the first inning to give SLCC an early 3-0 lead, a quick momentum boost for the Bruins. Savanna Montoya had an RBI triple in the second inning, followed up by a Paige Reynolds RBI single and an unearned run. Southern Idaho scored a run in the fourth inning on a home run to cut SLCC's lead to 7-1 but Salt Lake quickly responded with five runs in the fourth inning to earn the run-rule victory.

Mallory Barber hit an RBI double to start the scoring in the fourth inning, followed up by a Breah Ava RBI single that scored Barber. Dayna Hokanson closed the scoring with a two-run triple. 

SLCC's pitching allowed only two hits in the game as Stepto earned the win with a one-hit, four scoreless-inning performance. She finished with nine strikeouts. Hokanson finished with a 3-of-3 performance at the plate. Stepto had three RBI's. 

Salt Lake will play in the Region 18 championship game on Friday at 11:00 a.m. A team will have to beat Salt Lake twice on Friday in order to down the Bruins in the quest for the Region 18 title. An updated bracket and other information on the Region 18 tournament can be found at www.scenicwestsports.com.