Lady Pirates roll Browning twice

POLSON — The sun was shining on the Lady Pirates on Saturday when weeks of practice in snow, rain and fog gave way to the first two games of the season and two shutout wins for the home team.

A double header against what Polson players and head coach Larry Smith alike called the best Browning squad in years was a good opening test.

On both sides of ten innings, the Pirates finished that test with an “A” grade, pumping in at least 10 runs over five innings in each game and allowing a Browning team which Smith said “came out swinging the bat this year,” with precisely squat in the scoring column.

The feeling after winning 10-0 and 11-0 and forcing an early ending with the 10-run mercy rule was a match for the weather. It was a magical day in the sky and on the field, Smith said.

“It was perfect, it was beautiful,” Smith said. “Softball god, you were smiling on us.”

Polson senior Dakota Peterson provided plenty of magic with her pitching arm, which she has been training since she was nine, and finished her first game of the year with a no-hitter.

“She is very, very confident and fast with any pitch that she throws,” Smith said.

It was Peterson’s expert use of the outside curve that led her to eight strikeouts in the first game. For Browning batters, stepping up to the plate was like boarding a roller coaster.

“She was keeping them off balance, going inside and outside and up and down,” Smith said.

Polson’s dominance at the mound continued in round two, with senior Charlee Jenson pitching her way to seven strikeouts and giving up only a hit.

It was her first time pitching, and Jenson said the Lady Pirates in the field helped make it a game to remember.

“I think we were playing as a team mainly. It wasn’t one person trying to do all of it themself,” Jenson said.

That defensive front started with catcher Kayla Duford, a sophomore whose composure at one of the most difficult positions made her look like a senior.

In her first varsity appearance, Duford pulled in the pitches that missed home and let fly with her snappy release once she had the ball in hand.

Duford’s hitting was top notch as well.

She went 4-4 and finished with nine RBIs. They call players with a first-time performance like that the “whole package.”

“She did a fantastic job there, both offensively and defensively,” Smith said of his new catcher.

A strong hitting performance from junior short-stop Staci Benson complimented Duford’s efforts. Benson went 4-6 and drove in three runs over the doubleheader.

Benson said the big wins gave the whole varsity lineup a chance to get into the game.

“We had some good batting, so everyone got to play. It’s good to see the younger girls get a chance too,” she said.

Benson’s replacement at short-stop, Liz Simshaw, was one such player, making a crucial play to help close out the game in the fifth inning of the second game. She must have been watching starting second basemen SuSan Perez Tenas, who had dramatically saved the Lady Pirate pitchers a couple times in the rare moments when Browning bats connected.

Perez-Tenas takes dives - not the bad kind - the kind that turn potential hits into outs even if it means landing face-first in the dirt. She came up with two such stops on hard-hit shots with her acrobatics against Browning.

Polson played at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in Hamilton and plays next at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Ronan.

Browning 000 00 - 0 0 1

Polson 130 33 - 10 13 0

Alyssa Hodson and Sarah Horn. Dakota Peterson and Kayla Duford. W - Peterson (1-0). L - Hodson.

Browning - Kaylee Kennerly 0-2, Bristen Belcourt 0-2, Ashlyn Fish 0-2, Kenzie Wellman 0-1, Horn 0-2, Hodson 0-2, Milynn Lazyboy 0-2, Destini Lell 0-2, Ashton Smith 0-1.

Polson - Staci Benson 3-3, SuSan Perez-Tenas 1-3, Sarah Newton 2-3, Rochelle Woods 1-3, Sallie Sams 1-3, Peterson 2-3, Liz Simshaw 0-2, Riley Kenney 1-1, Kodi Woods 1-1, Duford 1-1.

2B - Benson 2, Newton, Woods. 3B - Newton. RBIs - Benson 3, Perez-Tenas, Woods, Duford 4.

Browning 000 00 - 0 1 1

Polson 720 2x - 11 14 0

Hodson and Horn. Charlee Jenson and Duford. W - Jenson (1-0). L - Hodson.

Browning - Kennerly 0-3, Belcourt 0-2, Fish 0-2, Wellman 0-2, Horn 0-2, Hodson 0-2, Lazyboy 1-2, Lell 0-2, Smith 0-2.

Polson - Benson 1-3, Perez-Tenas 1-3, Newton 2-3, Woods 1-3, Jenson 3-3, Kenney 2-3, Duford 3-3, MacKenzie Fortin 1-3, Cecilly Grant 0-2.

2B - Duford. 3B - Benson, Jenson, Duford. RBIs - Perez-Tenas, Jenson 2, Kenney 2, Duford 5, Fortin.