Polson wins state title in last at-bat

By Ethan Smith

Leader Staff

Hollywood couldn’t have come up with a better script, but the one difference is that these girls are for real.

The Polson Lady Pirates fought their way back through the loser’s bracket to emerge victorious in one of the most exciting state softball tournaments in history, after the team combined to score two runs in their last at-bat, with two outs against them, to beat Frenchtown 10-9 in a dramatic walk-off that left spectators and players breathless until the very end.

Down 9-8 in the bottom of the seventh, Polson had three outs to do the impossible — score two runs against Frenchtown, who suddenly had the momentum in the second half of the second championship game.

Kendra Woldstad blasted a line drive, hitting the shortstop right in the gut and dropping her to one knee, but she was able to throw Woldstad out, and things looked bleak. But then frosh sensation Staci Benson ripped a shot to the gap for a stand-up double, and all the sudden, the impossible seemed real.

At worst, they could tie it, but this team was going for all the marbles.

Things looked bad when Amanda James flied out, and all the sudden, they were down to their last out.

And that’s when three of the hottest hitters came to the plate, and did the unthinkable.

“There we sat with a runner on second with two outs, and Brittany comes out to the plate,” said head coach Larry Smith. “I just told her ‘You gotta rip the ball through the infield.’ She likes hitting against [Frenchtown pitcher] Mandy [Holleran] anyway, and that’s what she did.”

Brittany Jones stepped up and blasted a shot to right, moving Benson to third. It was a close call as to whether Benson could have made it home, and a slight hesitation at second forced her to hold up at third.

Meanwhile, Caitlyn Vassar was put in as a courtesy runner for Jones, in keeping with state tourney rules for catchers, which ended up being a blessing since Jones had suffered a knee injury earlier in the tourney.

“Maybe she [Benson] knew something I didn’t. She knew our two hottest hitters were coming to the plate, so maybe that was the smart move,” Smith said of the decision to hold up.

Kyla McDonald then hit a rope to tie it, 9-9, as Benson crossed the plate easily, but like Benson, Vassar hesitated at second to check where the ball went, and had to stop at third.

“Both of them probably could have scored [on Jones’ and later McDonald’s hits], but I had my two best hitters coming up, and I knew we were on fire,” Smith said.

And with that, Dylen Zetterberg stepped out of the dugout with that cocky grin on her face, and ripped the first pitch she saw, scoring Vassar as the team exploded out of the dugout and swarmed each other at home plate.

“I didn’t say anything to Dylen. She had the biggest smile on her face, from ear to ear when she walked to the plate. That was what she lived for, and she crunched it,” Smith said.

This was the third time in Polson’s four championship runs in six years that they clawed their way back through the loser’s bracket to win the whole shebang, taking seven games in a row after being humiliated by Frenchtown to open their tourney Friday morning.

Frenchtown 9, Polson 1

It was hardly they way they wanted to start, but maybe it was the kick in the pants they needed. Polson jumped out to a 1-0 lead Friday morning, but after that, it was all Frenchtown, as the two teams opened tourney play after their Thursday game was postponed due to rain.

Zetterberg cruised through the first couple of innings, going 3-upo, 3-down, as Jaelin Vandeberg and Kyla McDonald fielded ground ball out after ground ball out.

But in the top of the fifth, Frenchtwon scored seven runs on a seemingly endless series of bloop singles and errors by Polson, who suddenly could do no right, and Zetterbeg was taken out after a 9-1 drubbing.

In the top of the sixth, Jones had a diving catch on a fouled pop-up behind the plate, the lone defensive bright spot, as the team was held to one hit, and a solemn Lady Pirates squad filed off the field with their heads hanging.

It was now do-or-die, and Polson had the threat of humiliation hanging over their heads at the idea of going two-and-out, but a sacrificial lamb was waiting for them.

Polson 11, Billings Central 0

Woldstad got the team going with a stand-up triple in the first inning, and from there, they were off and running. A base knock by Benson made it 2-0, and then two more runs scored on BC errors as Polson led 4-0 after the first.

Jones gunned down a runner trying to steal second in the top of the third inning, and it looked like Polson was ready for action. Sarah Newton then hit her first home run of the tourney to make it 5-0, and Benson had another stand-up double later to make it 8-0.

Vandeberg hit a shot to center that missed being a home run by six inches, but the girls had wracked up an 11-0 lead to win by the 10-run margin rule.

“I knew we were on our way then, after the girls jumped back against Billings Central. That’s when I knew we had a shot at the title,” Smith said.

Benson, Zetterberg and Newton finished with perfect games at the plate, and McDonald was 3-for-4, and all the sudden, the Lady Pirates were on fire.

Butte Central would be their next victim.

Polson 14, Butte Central 2

Zetterberg led off with a stand-up triple, and Jones gunned down another runner trying to steal second in the bottom of the inning, but it was a close game until the late innings.

Benson stepped to the plate in the top of the fifth and hit a solo home run to center, giving the team a 3-2 lead, and that’s when Sarah Newton had had enough.

In the top of the sixth, she hit a grand slam to make it 7-2, before hits by McDonald, James and Woldstad made it 11-2. The team hit through the line-up, and Newton found herself at the plate again, this time with two on base.

Her three-run homer that followed gave her a total of seven RBIs in one inning, and the team finished with another 10-run game in the sixth, winning 14-2.

(The Montana High School Association website says the state record is nine in one inning, and Newton’s performance would put her tied for third overall.)

McDonald, Rafter, Vandeberg, James and Woldstad all had doubles to lead the team.

With the win, the team prepared for Libby, but by then, the momentum was so great that the Lady Loggers were going to need a lot of luck to avoid being routed.

Polson 13, Libby 5

If there was one constant during the tourney, it was Lindsey Rafter’s ability to lay down a bunt. Period. From either side of the plate.

And bunt she did. Rafter produced each time her team asked her to, helping them jump out to a 3-1 lead, and Libby never had a chance after the second inning.

A double by Zetterberg, followed by a hit from Rafter, a triple from Vandeberg, and a couple Libby errors, and Polson led 9-1 after three at-bats.

Libby had several scoring opportunities, but strike outs by Zetterberg stranded runners at second and third, before she turned the game over to Newton.

In the bottom of the fifth, Jones again caught a bunt pop-up, diving to make the play to keep Libby off the bases.

In the top of the seventh, Newton stepped to the plate and jacked a 3-run homer to make it 13-1. Libby scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, but it was too little, too late.

And with that, the team turned its attention to Saturday, with a long march still ahead of them, and the tourney’s finest teams waiting in the wings, itching to send the host team home with their second loss.

“With the way we rolled over Libby I knew we could do it. Libby was gunning for us, but we just came out and dominated,” Smith said. “That’s when we really had the title in our sights.”

Polson 4, Corvallis 0

And waiting for them Saturday morning was the best pitcher in the state, Kasie Conder, who had already held Butte Central scoreless in 12 innings, before losing to Frenchtown 1-0 the day before.

It was win or go home for both teams, and Zetterberg rose to the occasion. In a game featuring two great pitchers, one run could make the difference, and Zetterberg shut Corvallis down, completely dominating them with 3-up, 3-down innings throughout. She was backed up by great plays by Vandeberg and McDonald at third and short, who fielded multiple ground ball outs throughout the game.

In the second inning, McDonald dove to her right, fielding a sharp ground ball backhanded from her knees, and fired to Rafter to get the out at first - a feat seen only against Frenchtown in late April, when she did the same thing to her left.

Using slap bunts from McDonald, Rafter, and Zetterberg, the team took a 3-0 lead before Benson hit a shot to the gap to lead off the fifth, and Zetterberg drove her home to make it 4-0.

Next up was Hamilton.

Polson 6, Hamilton 3

Zetterberg led the game off with a triple, scoring McDonald, before crossing the plate herself to take a 2-0 lead, but Hamilton came roaring back to go up 3-2 in the third.

But Woldstad stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fourth and jacked a solo home run to tie it, 3-3.

In the top of the fifth, NaTesha Arlint had a chance to show here defensive skills, making a diving “snowcone” catch in right to preserve the tie in one of the best defensive plays of the tourney - in a clutch situation.

Errors haunted Hamilton, as James hit a bloop single and Woldstad reached on error - all with two outs. They then intentionally walked Newton, whose home run prowess had been emphasized the day before, and James scored on a shallow pop up dropped right in front of the pitcher’s mound.

Benson then reached on error, and Woldstad and Newton were able to score to make it 6-3. Hamilton’s Jessica Huseby hit a solo HR in their last at bat, but Polson was able to close it out with a 6-4 win, and turn their attention to the undefeated Lady Broncs.

And history, it would seem, was on their side. The Lady Pirates had fought their way through the loser’s bracket in 2001 and 2002, before sweeping the tourney in 2004.

“It was very boring,” Smith joked of the 2004 series in Whitefish, which made last weekend’s contest look easy.

And with Frenchtown undefeated, Polson had to win not one but two games in a row, and the Lady Broncs were on fire.

Polson 12, Frenchtown 2

The girls seemed to know that destiny was in their hands, while Frenchtown panicked - and it showed. Feeling the hot breath on their necks, the Lady Broncs committed a host of fielding errors, as the top of the Polson line-up, led by Rafter, Woldstad and McDonald, continued to get on base.

Meanwhile, Vandeberg had been frustrated at the plate all tourney, but came alive in the came to get four RBIs - all on groundouts and sacrifices that moved runners across the plate. Time and time again she stepped in and hit the ball hard, forcing Frenchtown to take the out at first as Polson runners scored.

In the bottom of the third, Woldstad hit a shot to the gap, scoring Newton from first, and the team opened up a 4-0 lead. While the batters were doing their part, Zetterberg carried a no-hitter into the top of the fourth inning, although Frenchtown managed to pick up two runs.

In the bottom of the sixth, Vandeberg legged out her second infield hit in a row, going 2-for-4 on the night, along with Woldstad. Newton reached on a fielder’s choice, and Benson and James both reached on error to make it 10-2.

Jones sealed the victory with an RBI knock up the middle, and Polson won its third game due to the 10-run rule, 12-2, but the next one was for all the marbles.

Polson 10, Frenchtown 9

The Lady Pirates came out like gangbusters, jumping all over the Lady Broncs in the third inning, as Rafter’s shot up the middle made it 2-1. A bunt by Newton took Frenchtown by surprise to load the bases, and hits by Woldstad and Benson made it 4-1. Fielding errors allowed James to reach base, and Woldstad to score, to make it 6-1 before the inning was over, but Frenchtown was not to be denied.

Zetterberg was pulled off the mound after giving up a three-run homer that tipped James’ glove in centerfield, and then Frenchtown hit another one that bounced off Benson’s glove and over the fence in left, as the Lady Broncs took a 7-6 lead.

Benson was visibly crushed, especially after diving into the crowd to make an incredible catch in foul territory, only to have the impact jar the ball loose — the same ball she tipped over the fence just a pitch later.

“I could tell she was hurting. The umpire said ‘Do you want to make sure she’s not hurt’ but I knew if I walked out there it would make it worse. Nobody’s a gamer more than Staci. No matter where she played, she was incredible, all tourney,” Smith said.

And Benson would get her revenge.

In the bottom of the fourth, Rafter had an RBI fielder’s choice to tie the game, after Zetterberg doubled and McDonald led off with a hit. Vandeberg again came through in the clutch, getting an RBI knock to give Polson the lead once again, 8-7.

In the top of the fifth, with Frenchtown runners on first and second with two outs, McDonald again came up huge snagging a line drive out of thin air for the third out.

But Frenchtown came roaring back, hitting a two-run shot off of Newton to take a 9-8 lead, but Newton kept her confidence, getting a strikeout to finish the inning.

In the end, it was all heart, and a lot of small ball, Smith said.

“If it wasn’t for our small ball players up front, we wouldn’t have won,” he said, referring to Zetterberg, Rafter, Woldstad and McDonald. “Our power hitter were held to under .200 for the tourney.”

McDonald finished with a .655 average, while Zetterberg hit .588 and Rafter hit an even .500 — despite the sac bunts they continued to produce all weekend. Woldstad finished with a .371 average, while Benson, a freshman, finished at .350.

Rafter alone had nine sac bunts for the tourney, including four in one game, and she, McDonald, Zetterberg and Woldstad were named to the all-tourney team. Those four, and Arlint, Vandeberg and Jones, will all graduate on Saturday, but with a year’s worth of memories, and none more special than that last at-bat Saturday afternoon.

For Smith, it was a fitting end to his 20th season as a coach, but he’ll be back out there next year. He said he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“That’s what all the younger players keep asking me, if I’m going to retire, but I’ll be back,” he said. “That’s what keeps me coming back — just watching the kids play.”