It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Payson had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They came out on top against the Mountain Crest Mustangs by a score of 9-4. This was payback for the Lions, who suffered a 9-3 loss the last time these two teams met.
Peyton Staheli
| 05/08/25 vs Mountain Crest | 16 |
| 04/28/25 @ Uintah | 6 |
| 04/26/25 vs Hurricane | 6 |
| 04/24/25 vs Orem | 12 |
| 04/21/25 @ Mountain View | 16 |
| + 5 more games |
Peyton Staheli spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on four hits and racked up 16 Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in ten consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Payson got a massive performance out of Mahaila Buys, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most stolen bases Buys has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Aydrie Christensen, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.
Payson was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .469. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mountain Crest only posted a batting average of .167.
Payson's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-6. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Mountain Crest, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-17.
Payson will have a chance to go back-to-back against the Mustangs: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 1:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
