Lady Pirates look strong in 12-2 win over Libby

Whatever resentment the Polson Lady Pirates must have felt toward Libby for ruining their bid for another state title during last year's tourney was probably exorcised last week, as Polson won handily 12-2 in their home opener.

The Lady Pirates had their typical offense in high gear, but made some spectacular plays on defense to keep Libby in check.

Libby got on the board in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead, and threatened with more runners in scoring position, but catcher Brittany Jones threw out a runner stealing second and pitcher Dylen Zetterberg got a strikeout to end the inning to get the team out of trouble.

Kyla McDonald then reached on an error, and Zetterberg was the beneficiary of a close roller up the third baseline to put two on. Lindsey Rafter then hit a drive to center to score McDonald, and then both Zetterberg and Rafter scored on wild pitches to make it 3-1.

After that, the team never looked back.

Zetterberg added two more strikeouts in the second, and Jaelin Vandeberg snagged a solid hit at third to take way a sure double. In the bottom of the second, McDonald singled Kendra Woldstad in for the 4-1 lead.

Later in the inning, NaTesha Arlint was called out on a foul ball, after the umpires said she attempted to bunt.

Coach Larry Smith makes the slap-hit — in which the player slaps the ball up the opposite baseline — a staple of the Polson offense, but it's a fine line between a slap-hit and bunt, depending on how the batter executes it. Basically it's an umpire's judgment call.

The umpires ruled Arlint had attempted a bunt, in which case she was out for hitting a foul ball with two strikes against her.

"I'm hoping that was an isolated situation," Smith said, referring to the call that he felt was a slap-hit attempt [in which case Arlint wouldn't be out for hitting another foul ball].

But he noted teams have asked umpires to keep a special eye on Polson batters in the past because the slap-hit is such a part of their offense, although he didn't accuse Libby of putting any pressure on the situation.

In the top of the third, Libby had a runner on third with no outs, and Rafter snagged a line drive to double up the runner at first. Another K by Zetterberg, and the team got out of a jam to preserve the 4-1 lead.

Amanda James turned a single into a double in the bottom of the third with her second solid hit of the game, and then RBI base hits from Jones, McDonald and Zetterberg made it 7-1.

James follows Vandeberg in the line-up, which has really helped the team and Vandeberg, Smith noted.

"Amanda is a very confident hitter. It really complements Jaelin, too, because they can't pitch around her because Amanda is right there," Smith said. "We've had strong hitters in the past that they've been able to pitch around but they can't do that now."

Nicole Brasher had a fantastic diving catch in centerfield to end the top of the fourth, and then Woldstad ran for a snowcone catch behind first in another great defensive play.

Vandeberg reached third on a bases-loaded hit in the fifth to make it 10-1, emptying the bases.

Frosh pitcher Sarah Newton came in in the sixth and bounced back after giving up a home run to get the strike out and keep Libby from getting any momentum.

"That was her first hitter [of the game] but she came right back and got the next three," Smith said. "I always tell them 'It's not the mistake you made that counts - it's the play afterwards that counts.'"

In the bottom of the sixth, Woldstad laid down a beauty of a sacrifice bunt, and then a hit by Newton loaded the bases for McDonald, who hit a shot to center to give the team the 10-run victory.

"I'm sensing that this year, we don't just have to depend on our short game. We can hit away now," Smith said. "Teams used to come up with their tight defenses to shut down our 'small ball' but we can hit the ball over their heads now."

Zetterberg finished with six strikeouts to go 4-0 on the year, after being under the weather earlier this month.

"Dylen had a lot of pop on the ball. She had good rotation on her pitches again. Libby basically got only one hit on her," Smith said.

McDonald was 3-for-5 at the plate, Zetterberg was 3-for-3, Vandeberg and James were 2-for-4, Jones was 2-for-3 and Newton was 1-for-1.

Polson will host Ronan on Thursday afternoon, with the JV starting at 4 p.m. and the varsity at 6. The team travels to Whitefish Saturday. The Lady Bulldogs spilt a series with Havre and have lost to Columbia Falls, Smith said.