Bulldogs get historic win over Florence

ST. IGNATIUS — It wasn’t just a win. It was a monster win when the Mission Lady Bulldogs beat Florence 6-5 in an overtime thriller at home.

“That’s the first time in school history we’ve ever beat Florence,” Mission head coach Tom Peterson said. “I didn’t tell the girls that going into the game, even though some of them from last year probably knew it. It was a good win for us.”

Florence took the 1-0 lead in the fourth, then added two more in the top of the sixth. But the Lady Bulldogs wanted a piece of that inning too.

The Bulldogs found themselves on the wrong side of two outs in the bottom.

Things were looking grim. But no worries - Charlo freshman Kinley Pope was at the plate, her bat fueled with juice after hitting her first homerun earlier in the week against Troy.

She swung the bat and the ball took flight. It was a triple, enough to get things started and light a fire in the Bulldog dugout. That fire spread to the fans and ignited the bat of freshman Janeal McDonald, who warmed up in the batter’s box while senior sister Katie McDonald took four balls and got on base.

Janeal is a clutch hitter, Peterson said, the type of player you want to have up in the pressure situation.

And she delivered with a base-hit, scoring her sister and Pope for two runs. Down by only one now, the Bulldogs would have their chance in the seventh if they had saved it. But they didn’t save anything.

Arlee senior Kelci Apland was up after all.

Apland knocked in a double to score Janeal. Things were neck in neck now.

The Bulldogs opted to go a little further. Junior Jazz Gilleard made the play, scoring Apland with a single. With the 1-run lead, the Bulldogs finally retired.

And that was just the beginning.

Florence scored two runs in the seventh to go back on top. In the bottom of that inning, Mission had one out when Charlo junior Stephanie Murphy hit a single to get on base. She would be in it for the long haul.

After senior Mission pitcher Mattea Grant struck out, it was a 1-out ball game. It was now or never.

Pope was walked, a preview of what would happen in the ninth inning.

With Murphy now on second, the Bulldogs were an out away from the end of the game and a loss or a hit away from a score.

I don’t have to tell you they scored. It was Katie who did it. Murphy touched the bag and things were back to even.

The Bulldogs didn’t finish that comeback until the ninth.

Leading off, Pope kept a keen eye on the ball and foraged a walk from the Florence pitcher. Who else to get the game winning RBI than a McDonald? In this epic battle it was the older of the two.

Katie fired the blast to the dead zone in left-center field. Pope rounded second, then third and headed into home.

It was a victory to remember for the home team and for the McDonald sisters.

“Like I told their parents after the game, it was one McDonald in the sixth and another in the ninth. They came through,” Peterson said.     

It took a long time to do it, but those are the most rewarding ones to win, Peterson said.

“I was proud of everybody making plays on offense and defense. It was easy to give up in that situation and we held right in there until the end. It says a lot about the character of our team,” he said.

Mattea pitched 11 strikeouts in the game and gave up five hits to the Falcons - the difference behind all of the clutch offense.

Earlier in the week, the Bulldogs smashed visiting Troy 16-3. On that Thursday, Pope hit her first home run, in a key conference win regardless of the score. Losing to Troy the year before had put Mission in a bind late in the season.

She described that feeling after the game, as only one who just blasted her first one over the fence can.

“You get all excited and shaky and you get the biggest smile on your face and it’s the best feeling in the world,” she said, still beaming.

That’s what it’s all about folks.

Mission, now 5-2 overall and in conference plays at the Conrad tournament beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday through Saturday.  

Florence 000 102 200 - 5 5 1

St. Ignatius 000 004 101 - 6 9 6

Kelsey Hoagland and Kaiitlyn Rolshoven. Mattea Grant and Katie McDonald. W - .Grant (5-1). L - Hoagland.

FLORENCE - Brittany Heinz 2-5, Hoagland 0-1, Chelsea Ralls 0-3, Rolshoven 0-5, Mo Chapman 2-5, Shelby Meuchel 1-4, Shelby Stevens 0-5, Chayla Pederson 0-4, Shanna Moore 0-4.

ST. IGNATIUS - Grant 0-5, Kinley Pope 1-3, McDonald 2-4, Janeal McDonald 1-4, Kelci Apland 1-3, Jazz Gilleard 2-4, Kilee Bartsch 0-4, Serena Long 0-3, Stephanie Murphy 2-3.

2B - Heinz, K. McDonald, Apland. 3B - Pope. RBIs - Ralls, Chapman 3, K. McDonald 2, J. McDonald 2, Apland, Gilleard.