Mission downs state champs

THOMPSON FALLS - Lady Bulldogs' head coach Susan Weaselhead said

that her team's bats would come around after a tightly-contested

4-3 win over Plains two weeks ago in extra innings.

THOMPSON FALLS - Lady Bulldogs' head coach Susan Weaselhead said that her team's bats would come around after a tightly-contested 4-3 win over Plains two weeks ago in extra innings.

She wasn't kidding.

Against the defending state champion Thompson Falls, Mission-Arlee-Charlo (MAC) erupted offensively with 13 hits and blew out the Lady Bluehawks 28-0 on March 29.

"It definitely brought up the game intensity," Weaselhead said of Thompson Falls' championship. "It allowed the girls to get their bats going. We got a little sense of confidence."

After committing several errors that led to runs by Plains, MAC didn't have a single error against Thompson Falls. The Lady Bluehawks, on the other hand, committed 10.

Offensively, Charlo's Kinley Pope was a star for MAC, going 3-for-6 with five RBIs and a double. Sophomore Loren Erickson went 3-for-6 with three RBIs and junior Janeal McDonald had a home run in the matchup as well.

"Janeal has been very strong and answering the call," Weaselhead said.

Senior Kyla Olson shut down the Lady Bluehawks, holding them to just three hits and picked up the win.

The Lady Bulldogs scored in every inning of the game, leading 11-0 after three innings then exploding for six runs in the top of the fourth and 11 in the top of the fifth. The game was called after five due to the 10-run mercy rule.

MCDONALD SLAMS LADY BULLDOGS PAST EUREKA

ST. IGNATIUS - Mission-Arlee-Charlo overcame a four-run deficit and extended their winning streak to three with a 14-4 victory over Eureka.

Eureka started out hot with nicely placed singles to take the 4-0 lead in the top of the first, but couldn't stop the Lady Bulldogs after that.

"It definitely opened their eyes," Weaselhead said of her team after Eureka took the early lead.

MAC gained back much of the lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a single by Pope, which drove home a run, followed by a home run by McDonald.

"It felt good," McDonald said of the homer. "It was just a smooth hit."

Eureka would hold onto the 4-3 lead until the bottom of the third when an error led to Sara Nerby scoring to tie things up and then another error allowed Kinley Pope to score and give the Lady Bulldogs the lead. Eureka appeared to lose some of their composure out on field. The bleeding continued as Olson hit a triple to drive home McDonald and another error led to a score by Bryanna Steele. Jessica Fourst would cap off the scoring in the third with a double that drove home Serena Camacho.

"It feels like anybody can get a hit and then everybody gets a hit," McDonald said.

Weaselhead also said that hitting is contagious with this team.

They walk up to the plate with more of a spark in their eye," she said.

In the bottom of the fifth, Pope doubled to drive home a run and then after McDonald reached on an error and Pope moved to third, Olson bunted to bring home Pope and end the game with the 10-run mercy rule.

Olson not only ended the game, but controlled it with her solid pitching. She struck out four and allowed just three hits, picking up her third win of the year.

"I think their focus has gotten better through the three games and the girls have been more focused in practice too," Weaselhead said.

MAC has a slate of important games ahead of them, playing at Deer Lodge on Friday, a team that knocked them out of divisionals last year. Then they'll play at Drummond, another team that the Lady Bulldogs faced at divisionals but came out victorious against. Then they'll host Florence on Tuesday.