Lady Pirates split four in Butte, Libby pair will decide state bye

By Trent Makela / Leader Staff

The Polson High School softball team stumbled in a week full of nail-biters by biting the bullet against non-conference opponents Frenchtown and Laurel at the Butte Central Invitational last weekend.

The Western A Lady Pirates (17-3, 8-0) came up short in the late innings against the Broncs and Locomotives. Convincing wins against the hosting Maroons and Glendive, though, boosted the team's tournament record to 2-2.

Polson also squeezed past Columbia Falls for a conference home win on Thursday.

"I thought we could have played better than what we did," Polson coach Larry Smith said. "We let two games get away from us and that's exactly what we did - let them get away. I'm confident we could beat both those teams."

Polson's rescheduled game against Libby was rescheduled yet again from last Wednesday to this Wednesday (May 14). The teams are also slated to meet in Libby this Friday. Both squads are undefeated in Western A and will have chances in back-to-back games to secure a first-round bye at the state tournament. If the games are split, the bye will be determined by margin of victory.

Friday's game in Libby will begin at 6 p.m. for the varsity teams.

Frenchtown 7, Polson 6

The Broncs pulled a new pitcher out of a hat and the Lady Pirates were unable to find their rhythm early in a game cut short by time restrictions on Saturday.

"We did our usual thing last week and had a slow start before we really started coming on," Smith said. "That time limit realy hurt us after we got it going in the sixth. Their coach was doing some smart things by calling timeouts and substituting a lot."

Polson was caught off guard when Frenchtown started Megan Farmer for just the second time in her career. Farmer was able to keep the batters off balance with a mix of fast balls and changeups. She struck out just four, but walked only one.

"They thought their usual starter gave us too many free passes [last week], and she doesn't have the control that Farmer…does," Smith said "She caught us on our front feet with that changeup and we hit a lot of dribblers in the infield."

Caitlyn Vasser kicked off a three-run Polson rally in the top of the sixth, but the team's momentum was cut short by the time limit. Vasser finished 2-for-3 to lead the Lady Pirates on offense.

Polson 012 003 — 6 5

Ftown 202 300 — 7 10

W - Farmer (2-0). L - Peterson.

POLSON — Maggie Gordon 0-3, Staci Benson 0-3, Sarah Newton 0-3, Rochelle Woods 1-3, Vasser 2-3, Amanda James 1-3, Dakota Peterson 1-2, Charlee Jenson 0-3, Liz Simshaw 0-2, SuSan Perez-Tenas 0-1.

FTOWN — Alex Duncan 3-4, Shelby Russ 2-4, Noelle Lebsock 2-3, Jennifer Chapman 1-3, Kristy Kees 2-3, Kali Bennett 1-3, Lacey Lovell 0-3, Megan Farmer 0-3, Erin Maxted 0-3.

Polson 7, Butte Central 4

The Lady Pirates were able to grind out a tough-fought defensive victory in front of a loud Butte crowd with a little help from the long ball.

"You get out there and watch the Butte team throw the ball around and think no way they'll beat us," Smith said. "Year after year, they're the scrappiest bunch of kids and I really admire them and like watching them battle."

Sarah Newton and Charlee Jenson both had home runs on the day to lead an eight-hit effort from the Lady Pirate offense. Newton finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Jenson was 1-for-2.

"Charlee's been in kind of a slump as far as power goes this season. Last year she hit the ball with power a lot," Smith said. "She has the potential. She's a real strong girl."

Polson was again forced to rally from a late deficit after trailing 4-2 after three innings. The Lady Pirates were able to bounce back for five runs over the final two innings.

Polson 101 032 — 7 8

B. C. 022 000 — 4 7

W - Peterson. L - O'Leary.

POLSON — Maggie Gordon 1-4, Staci Benson 1-4, Newton 2-3, Rochelle Woods 1-3, Vasser 0-2, Amanda James 1-3, Peterson 0-3, Jenson 1-2, Susan Perez-Tenas 1-2.

B. C. — Brooke Pokorny 1-3, Hannah Manion 0-3, Quinn Peoples 2-3, Kacey Daily 1-3, Kelli O'Leary 1-2, Brianne Krzan 1-2, Saidee Johnston 0-3, Ashley Kasperick 1-2, Kourtney Kambich 0-2.

Laurel 6, Polson 5

The Locomotive bats came up just one run bigger, knocking a two-run homer in the top of the eighth that the Lady Pirates couldn't match.

Polson rallied for one run in the bottom of the eighth, but fell short of a comeback for the second time on the week.

"I knew nothing about them except Belgrade won their game when they both were undefeated in about 14 innings," Smith said. "It was a matter of our slow starts again. I don't know if it was just getting off the bus or what. They had two across the plate before we knew it in the first."

Polson was held scoreless for the first three innings of the game and scored four of their five runs after the fifth stanza.

Amanda James led the Polson offense with a 3-for-4 effort that included two RBIs.

"It seemed like every game there's one or two different kids that step up," Smith said. "If they did well the first game they stumble later on. We left eight base runners on against Laurel and left a ton over the weekend."

Laurel 200 020 02 — 6 12 0

Polson 000 102 11 — 5 10 0

W - Griffin. L - Peterson.

LAUREL — Olivia Heidinger 1-4, Caitlin Bumer 2-4, Maddie Cebohar 1-3, Brittany Stern 1-4, Sarah Parks 2-4, Elizabeth McGee 2-4, Kaitlyn O'Rourke 0-4, Jessie Bailey 2-4, LaCai DesJarlais 1-4.

POLSON — Maggie Gordon 0-4, Staci Benson 2-4, Newton 0-3, Rochelle Woods 1-4, Vassar 2-4, James 3-4, Susan Perez-Tenas 0-1, Sams 0-2, Liz Simshaw 0-1, Dakota Peterson 2-3, Jenson 0-3.

Polson 3, Columbia Falls 2

The Wildkats finally returned to form as the scourge of the Lady Pirates before surrendering two unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth.

"[Columbia Falls] played us like I predicted in the preseason," Smith said. "We played them last summer and they were beating us in most of the tournaments."

Columbia Falls had taken a 2-1 lead in the top of the final inning before a pair of Lady Pirate singles put the winning run on base. The next batter slapped a grounder to second before an errant throw scored the two previous runners.

"We played very strong defensively and Dakota pitched well," Smith said. "Our girls probably took them for granted a little bit - that happens."

The Lady Pirate offense racked up 11 hits on the game, but were held scoreless for six straight innings after the first. Staci Benson led the way by going 3-for-3 and Maggie Gordon was 2-for-4.

"Our hitters jus didn't have their hearts into trying to advance runners," Smith said. "We thought we were all going to hit this new young pitcher they had. She did a nice job keeping them off balance."

C. Falls 000 100 01 — 2 6

Polson 100 000 02 — 3 11

W - Peterson (13-1), L - Rowe.

C. FALLS — Amanda Milliard 1-3, Tia Yaeger 1-4, Lindsay Nelson 2-4, Amber James 2-3, Kayla Stinger 0-3, Cassidee Skiles 0-4, Morgan Rowe 0-3, Renae Nelson 0-3, Cedar Smith 0-3.

POLSON — Gordon 2-4, Benson 3-3, Newton 1-4, Woods 2-4, Vassar 1-4, James 1-3, SuSan Perez-Tenas 1-3, Peterson 0-3, Jenson 0-2, Liz Simshaw 0-1.