Lady Pirates look to erase memories of 2005

By Ethan Smith

Leader Staff

A lot of the Polson Lady Pirate’s success this week at the state tournament could rest on Dylen Zetterberg’s shoulders — or shoulder — but their ace pitcher isn’t worried about a late-season injury to her throwing arm, knowing she’s got plenty of help on both offense and defense.

Zetterberg will enter the state tourney with almost 50 career varsity wins and less than a dozen losses, and is one of the most dominant pitchers in the state in a sport characterized by pitchers much bigger than her. But her teammates and coach Larry Smith know that she’s a big pitcher in big games, and none are bigger than what she’ll face over the next three days.

But the past three weeks have been touch-and-go, after Zetterberg injured her pitching shoulder sliding into third base in what was a no-contest win over Havre, and she’s been trying to get back to peak form ever since.

“With my shoulder problems, accuracy is going to be a big factor, but I’m so confident in the other girls that I’m not worried about it,” Zetterberg said in an interview earlier this week. “In high pressure games, I tend to do better, and my shoulder feels good.”

She, and Smith, have reason to be confident. With pitchers Sarah Newton and Dakota Peterson ready to step in, and a stable full of home run sluggers, including Jaelin Vandeberg, Amanda James, and Newton, Zetterberg feels confident going into the state tourney, which starts Thursday at 5 p.m. for Polson.

More importantly, she’s also backed up by one of the top defenses in the league, including all-state and all-conference players Lindsey Rafter, Kendra Woldstad, Kyla McDonald, and Vandeberg to round out the infield, Brittany Jones behind the plate, and NaTesha Arlint, James, and Maggie Gordon in the outfield.

Smith is capable of using Staci Benson, Caitlyn Vassar, Peterson, Rochelle Woods, Lela Clairmont-Perez, and a host of other players to fill in as needed, too.

Also new this year is the elimination of the 14-inning rule in state tourney play, which said that a pitcher could only pitch that much in one day.

Zetterberg is the first to admit she’s not overpowering on the mound. She relies on movement, and her teammates to back her up.

“I’m not a dominant pitcher. I don’t have as much speed. I definitely rely on movement to compete,” she said. “It’s about placement, and our team makes the plays behind me.”

Zetterberg has started each of the team’s last few games, but admits that she needs to get her arm conditioned for this week’s action. She’s been hit harder in the past couple of starts than she’s used to, but her teammates have come through for her each time, winning two games by one run in as many weeks.

Smith’s game plan is to rely on Zetterberg, but if he’s worried about his ace, he doesn’t show it.

“That could determine some of it [their success this week], but not a lot. We’re going to rely on our overall depth and experience, and I have no problems pitching Sarah or Dakota,” he said earlier this week. “But Dylen is a big-game pitcher.”

The team will face the winner of the Frenchtown/Havre game, and barring an upset, is preparing for the Lady Broncs.

“We’re preparing mentally for Frenchtown. They are well coached and have a good program,” Smith said.

But for most of the girls, especially the seven seniors, the Lady Pirates are looking to erase the memories of 2005, when they lost first to Frenchtown and then Libby, failing to make it to the championship game after being heavily favored.

It was a painful loss in the last at-bat, as many of the Lady Pirates collapsed on the field in sobs after a failed play at the plate against the Lady Loggers.

“Our sophomore year, we were the team to beat. And after Frenchtown beat us, we thought ‘Oh well, we’ll do it the old fashioned way [through the loser’s bracket],’” Zetterberg recalled. “This year, we know we are contenders again, but I wouldn’t say we’re cocky. We’re confident. I know that any one of the girls behind me will make the play, and the younger players feed on that, too.”