TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (May 16, 2023) – The No. 12 Salt Lake Community College softball team's bid for a Region 18 championship is still alive but its chances are thinner after Tuesday.
 
Hosing the Region 18 tournament at Norma Carr Field, the Bruins dropped a () decision to Southern Idaho to open the day, then responded with a 10-5 win in a losers' bracket elimination game. SLCC is now 42-11 overall after the day's games.
 
The Bruins and Golden Eagles will play for the Region 18 championship Wednesday. Salt Lake will have to win both games to claim the title.
 
Southern Idaho 2, Salt Lake 1: In a low-scoring affair, the Bruins couldn't overcome an early CSI lead.
 
Southern Idaho took a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning, thanks to a pair of home runs. Salt Lake responded with a solo shot in the sixth inning, courtesy of Mikelle Anthony, but it proved to be too little, too late. 
 
Anthony and Ry Binne posted SLCC's only hits in the game. Taylor Hagen took the pitching loss, throwing 6.1 innings. 
 
The loss dropped SLCC into the losers' bracket in the tournament.
 
Salt Lake 10, USU Eastern 5: A six-run fifth inning boosted the Bruins into championship Wednesday.
 
SLCC trailed early, with an Alyssa Mighell solo home run being their only score. The Bruins caught fire in the third inning, with Miranda Mansfield hitting an RBI double to left field in the third inning to start a SLCC rally that saw the Bruins scored eight unanswered runs.
 
Kendyl Purdy went 3-of-4 in the game, while Mighell and Mansfield both had a pair of RBI's. Tiffany Hermansen earned the pitching win, throwing a pair of strikeouts.