Ronan takes two

WHITEFISH — The Maidens finished the regular season 13-5 overall and 10-2 in conference after two final wins. They beat Frenchtown in an 8-7 thriller at home on Tuesday and won 9-1 on Saturday at Whitefish.

The Frenchtown game was a battle and it took seven innings to get the job done. Ronan had the 5-4  lead going into the seventh and then things got interesting.

With two outs, the Broncs found their bats and scored three runs before Ronan pitcher Kaylee Larson and her defense could close things out.

Ronan was down two.

A couple of Frenchtown errors let Ronan tie things back up before senior hitter Kelsey Clairmont got up to bat with two outs.

She nailed a line shot to right and drove in the go-ahead run.

It was a typical clutch Kelsey play, Ronan coach Lucky Larson said.

“She’s been a great hitter and a good senior leader,” he said. 

Ronan’s other big hitter was April Soukup, who went 3-4 and knocked in a deep double off the wall in the fourth for two RBIs.

Kaylee had 12 strikeouts in the game. 

The win tied Ronan for first with Butte Central in conference. Due to a run differential in Butte Central’s favor, the Maroons get the first place seed at state, Lucky said.

The win also finalized a remarkably improved season for Ronan.

“We went from the cellar to first in one year,” Lucky said. “That shows what hard work can do.”

He said the assistance of coaches Steve Woll and Andy Luedke also helped get the team on a winning track.

At Whitefish, Ronan notched a few runs here and there early then opened things up in a big way late.

Kaylee hit a home run in the fifth to spark the rest of the Maiden bats. That spark erupted in the seventh.

Lucky contributed four runs in the seventh inning to reading the Whitefish pitcher. His big bats made some adjustments and finished things off.

“We finally caught up with her,” he said. “We finally figured her out.”

Kelsey and Kaylee each had two RBIs and Jordan Strozzi went 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Katie Andrews and Amanda Bartel each added an RBI for Ronan as well.

Kaylee finished the regular season with 128 strikeouts and a 13-3 record on the mound.

Ronan plays Libby at 11 a.m. today for its first game of state in Polson.

Libby is the defending state champ but Ronan beat the Loggers 5-0 this season.

“We’re feeling good,” Lucky said. “We’ve won nine of our last ten games and seven in a row.”

But Lucky said state is always a new ball game.

“It’s a whole new season in this post-season. Everyone starts 0-0. Everything else is out the window,” he said.