Pirates stage second upset

POLSON - It was another game, another No. 1 take down for the Polson softball team last Friday.

After beating defending state champion Frenchtown last week, the Pirates picked off Whitefish.

"Overall, it went very well," head coach Larry Smith said. "[Whitefish] is supposed to be No. 1 in our conference."

The Pirates jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Whitefish scored five in the bottom of the third. Smith attributed part of this to the Pirates' young pitcher, freshman Shay Duford, losing composure and walking four batters, her only walks of the game.

"She settled down and quit worrying about the strike zone and went on to strike out six batters," he said.

Polson responded at the plate, scoring runs in each of the remaining innings to win 17-6.

"We came right back and started piling on the runs," Smith said. "We started with small ball, getting on with bunts."

Polson committed one error to Whitefish's eight, many of which were forced due to Polson's speed.

Once on base, Polson's aggressive baserunning posed a threat as junior Kodi Woods stole five of the team's 10 stolen bases. Woods went 4-for-6 at the plate. Senior Staci Benson went 3-for-6 and knocked in five RBIs.

The Pirates played Columbia Falls on Tuesday. Scores were unavailable at press time.

Smith said Columbia Falls would be tough competition as "they always play us really well."

The Pirates will host Hamilton tonight.