Polson Lakers take second place at state ASA softballtourney

Zach Urness

Leader Staff

All four Polson ASA softball teams competed last weekend in Billings for the state titles for 10 and under, 12u, 14u and 16u. The Polson 14u Lakers had the best result of the bunch, taking second place in the state and the 10u Polson Lil' Lakers also did well, taking fourth place.

The Polson 16u Purple Rain had a tough tournament, going 1-2 and missing out on championship Sunday for the first time all season. The 12u Purple Wave went 2-2.

Lakers (14u)

take second in state

The Lakers took home a second place trophy from the state tournament last weekend, bringing themselves into the championship before coming up just short to the Billings Bulldogs Red, a team featuring many varsity players.

"We had over 100 degree weather every day," said head coach Paul Noble. "But the team didn't complain once. They played very well for such a young team and came very close to winning the whole thing. The cool thing is that most of them will be back next year (on 14u)."

The Lakers started play on Friday, winning their first game against the Montana Madness, 11-10. In their second game on Friday, the Lakers pulled off the upset of the tournament, destroying the defending state champion Great Falls Select in six innings, 12-4.

"We were the talk of the bracket after that one," commented Noble. "They were favored to win it all."

The Lakers continued their excellent play on Saturday, beating the Billings Bulldogs White 9-1. In the next game they took on the Billings Bulldogs Red — a team that featured a varsity level pitcher and a former all-state player — and lost for the first time, 6-1.

Facing an elimination game, the Lakers rallied to a 1-0 victory behind pitcher Kendra Bouley, who pitched all of the games. The win put them in the championship game against the Billings Bulldogs Red, although they needed to win twice to claim the championship.

And in the first game it looked like it might happen, as the Lakers pulled off a 3-2 win in the first game. The second game didn't go quite as planned, however, and the Lakers took second place after losing 6-3.

The Lakers finished up the tournament with a 5-2 record and currently have a 20-6 overall record.

"It was the second year in a row that this group got second place in the state," said Noble. "Last year they did it for the 12u team, and over the two years they are 55-12."

The Lakers will travel to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho next weekend for the Regional tournament.

The team is composed of Kiley Knutson, Tana Ash, Heather Mathison, Kolie Clairmont, Breanne Kelley, Riley Kenney, Kodi Woods, Marlee Berry, Marissa McCrea, Kayla Duford, Sallie Sams and Kendra Bouley.

Lil' Lakers (10u) earn fourth place

Polson's smallest team put forward a big effort at the state tournament, taking fourth place among a crowd of teams from larger cities.

"Overall we did great," said head coach Lisa Kenney. "We were the only team left from a small town."

The Lil' Lakers got off to a rough start on Friday, losing their first game 9-0 to the Great Falls Heat, putting them into losers bracket right off the bat.

They refused to give in, however, and beat Glacier Green 11-2 in their second game. On Saturday they beat down Bozemen, 15-0 and in their first game on Sunday they beat Glacier White, 8-3.

But their tournament came to an end against the Great Falls Select, as the Lil' Lakers lost 6-2, landing them in fourth place.

"Our team came a long way in a short time," said Kenney. "Jaylin Kenney pitched 20 innings and had 35 strikeouts and we had some great defense."

Kenney also said that she would like to thank all of her assistant coaches for a great year.

The Lil' Lakers were composed of Jaylin Kenney, Taylor Davis, Kyrie Bitterman, Peyton Anderson, Veronica Marquardt, Skyla Krantz, Jenna Evertz, Kayla Forman and Jade Newman, Kaelen Wall and Kylie Murphy.

Purple Rain (16u) has a tough time

The Polson Purple Rain missed out on championship Sunday for the first time all season, finishing the tournament with a 1-2 record. They had a tough draw and lost their first game to the Great Falls Heat 13-2, putting them in a tough situation in a double-elimination tournament.

They rallied on Saturday to beat the Columbia Falls Kats, a team they previously had trouble with, 8-0. In a heartbreaking game the Purple Rain lost to the Ice Blue of Great Falls, 6-5.

"It was pretty disappointing," said head coach Larry Smith. "I expected us to be right up there. The teams in the championship were teams we played pretty well."

The silver lining is that the team was a young one for a 16u team and will lose only two players.

"I learned a lot about the team," said Smith. "I am already starting to put the puzzle pieces together for next year."

The team is composed of Rochelle Woods, Susan Perez-Tenas, Staci Benson, Sarah Newton, Dakota Peterson, Caitlyn Vassar, Christa Red Crow, Charlee Jenson, Daniel Burris, Melissia Delwo and Liz Simshaw.

12u Purple Wave go 2-2

The Polson Purple Wave put in a good effort, but lost in the wee hours of Saturday night. They went 2-2 on the tournament overall, but are young and showed great improvement.

"The girls seemed pretty nervous throughout the tournament," said head coach Brigit Johnson. "They were a much younger 12U team than most the other teams."

In their first game they lost to Great Falls Select 17-4, but followed that up with a 14-10 win over the Montana Madness. On Saturday they beat the Silver Storm, 12-9 but lost in an elimination game to the Electric City Heat 12-3.

"They have a lot of heart," said Johnson of her team, "and have shown great improvement within only one month of my coaching them."

The team is composed of Shay Duford, Jessica Bagnell, Heidi Rausch, Makaliah Wilson, Ashley Johnson, Amber Quequesah, Amanda Quequesah, Martina Marquardt, Kiley Webber, Jordyn Evertz, Colleen Jacobson and Ashlee Berens.