Maidens edged by powerhouse Frenchtown
Photo by Trent Makela -- Ronan's Carli Starkel, right, attempts to tag out a Frenchtown runner who forgot to tag up as Maiden shortstop Chelsey Bourdon looks on.
By Trent Makela / Leader Staff
The Ronan Maidens opened their season with a solid showing for five innings last Friday, but fell short late at home in a 13-8 loss to last year's Class A runner-up Frenchtown.
The Maidens (0-1) were down just 8-6 after five innings, but a quick flurry of singles and passed balls helped the Broncs (2-0) pull away in the sixth frame. Ronan pitcher Kaylee Larson minimized the traditionally high-powered Frenchtown offense for much of the contest, but hurt her cause with seven walks and six wild pitches on the game.
"For an opening game, I thought we did very well considering the weather and everything else," head coach Lucky Larson said. "[Kaylee] will open up her game a little bit more later on. It was her first game and we found out we need to warm up a little bit more than we did. Her ball-to-strike ratio was a little more than I'd like to see, but she's a gamer and she'll come around nicely."
Kallia Orr, Katy Sorrell and Amanda Bartel each finished with a single for Ronan, the Maidens' only hits. Sorrell led the teams with two runs batted in, Orr and Bartel each had one and Allison Crenshaw knocked in another. Ronan's offensive effort was aided by 11 walks from the Frenchtown pitchers.
"I was proud to see that we were able to generate some runs on that team and keep them close," Larson said. "We've never played together before, as a team, so I'm really proud of them. We've got to hit the ball better and we'll be right in there."
Ronan's Saturday game at home against Anaconda was postponed due to the weather. They will return to their schedule against Butte Central this Thursday at 3 p.m. in Ronan.
F-town 331 105 0 - 13 12 3
Ronan 023 100 2 - 8 3 1
Shelby Russ, Megan Farmer (7) and Jennifer Chapman, Erin Maxted (7). Kaylee Larson and Allison Crenshaw.
W-Russ (2-0). L-Larson (0-1).
FRENCHTOWN - Alex Duncan 2-3, Kristy Kees 2-5, Noelle Lebsock 3-4, Shelby Russ 2-3, Jennifer Chapman 0-4, Kali Bennett 0-2, Bridget Yarnall 0-3, Lacey Lovell 1-3, Courtney Hochhalter 0-0, Megan Farmer 2-4.
RONAN - Kelsey Clairmont 0-3, April Soukup 0-4, Larson 0-1, Carli Starkel 0-3, Orr 1-2, Sorrell 1-2, Bartel 1-3, Crenshaw 0-4, Chelsey Bourden 0-3.