Hard-hitting Maidens go batty

RONAN — Three doubleheaders last week kept the Ronan Maidens busy on the softball diamond, but it also kept the bats going pretty well, as they dominated in three high-scoring affairs.

RONAN — Three doubleheaders last week kept the Ronan Maidens busy on the softball diamond, but it also kept the bats going pretty well, as they dominated in three high-scoring affairs.

On Tuesday, April 24, Payge DeLaurenti went 3-3 and Bethany Colman went 2-2 as the Maidens crushed Loyola Sacred Heart in the first game of their doubleheader 15-0.

“We’ve been working on our hitting in practice a lot because we struggled early this season,” head coach Tom Peterson said. “The girls really took it to heart.”

Thanks to a six-run second and an eight-run fourth, as well as Colman’s one-hit performance, Ronan cruised to victory. Seven of the Maidens’ 15 hits were doubles, as baserunners circled the bags like horses on a carousel. Colman and Lindsay Clairmont each had two doubles, Clairmont and DeLaurenti had three RBIs apiece and Colman notched another victory in the circle.

Game two wasn’t much kinder to Loyola as Ronan scored 15 runs in the first three innings as they crushed the visitors again, this time 17-5.

The hit brigade continued as 10 different Maidens had base knocks, led by Colman and DeLaurenti’s three each. The hits were even more impressive, as Ronan had 16 total, including eight doubles and two homers.

DeLaurenti had a double, homer and three RBIs, Courtney Taylor added a solo shot and Colman contributed two doubles and three RBIs. Kenzie Dulmes and Danielle Richwine each added two RBIs in the win.

At the Frenchtown Invitational, Samantha Colman, Bethany’s sister, took the mound and earned her first win in a 25-6 thumping of Butte Central.

“It was her varsity start and she did a phenomenal job,” Peterson said. “And it was on her birthday.”

In addition to her effort on the mound, Samantha helped lead the way with a homer and three RBIs while the beat went on for the rest of the lineup. Ronan pounded out 20 hits, including four for DeLaurenti and three each for Ashleigh Lynch, Clairmont and Alaina Madsen. Clairmont knocked in five runs, Madsen four and Taylor two for the Maidens, who rebounded from a 2-0 deficit with 15 runs in their half of the first inning.

“We had five different girls with home runs and a lot who had multi-hit games,” Peterson said. “We’ve got a lot of consistency and it starts at the top of the lineup with Lynch. She’s fast and puts the ball in play. Then Bethany, Payge, McKenzie, Lindsay, you can go down the list. The bottom of the lineup has been hitting more consistently and that’s huge. There’s not a girl in our lineup I’m worried about not hitting.”

Samantha Colman was just one of several bench players who contributed to Ronan’s success this week.

“I liked that those girls came off the bench and there was no dropoff,” Peterson said. “They swung aggressively, hit hard, made plays on defense and ran the bases well.”

In their three wins last week, the Maidens jumped out to second-inning leads of 7-0, 10-1 and 18-2, giving their pitchers all the runs they’d need early on.

“I always tell the girls it starts with pitching,” Peterson said. “If she throws strikes, we’ll do well. It’s always good for our pitchers to get runs and an early lead though.”

In other action over the weekend, Ronan fell to Corvallis 12-2, Columbia Falls 3-2 and were downed by Anaconda 8-4. Box scores for those contests were unavailable.

“Against Corvallis, Alaina pitched in her first varsity start of the year and she did a great job,” Peterson said. “Versus C-Falls, they won 3-2 but only had one earned run. They’re a legit team and to hang in with them 3-2 in a game we could have won, I was happy with that. Anaconda is a good team as well.”

The Maidens faced Eureka in a makeup game from earlier in the season on Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time. Ronan will also take on Drummond on Tuesday, May 8.

RONAN 15, LOYOLA 0

L - 000 - 00 - 0

R - 160 - 8x - 15

Loyola - 1 hit, 0 errors. Ronan - 12 hits, 0 errors

Maidens batting - Ashleigh Lynch 1-4, Bethany Colman 2-2, Payge DeLaurenti 3-3, Lindsay Clairmont 2-4, Turquoise Haggard 0-4, Alaina Madsen 2-3, Jasmine Bocksnick 0-1, Kenzie Dulmes 1-3, Courtney Taylor 1-2. 2B – Colman 2, Clairmont 2, DeLaurenti, Dulmes, Taylor. RBIs – DeLaurenti 3, Clairmont 3, Dulmes 2, Taylor, Bocksnick.

WP - Colman gets the win.

RONAN 17, LOYOLA 5

R - 465 - 20 - 17

L - 104 - 00 - 5

Ronan - 15 hits, 3 errors. Loyola - 3 hits, 3 errors

Maidens batting - Ashleigh Lynch 1-4, Bethany Colman 3-4, Payge DeLaurenti 3-4, McKenzie Dulmes 2-3, Turquoise Haggard 1-2, Lindsay Clairmont 0-3, Danielle Richwine 1-2, Amber Quequesah 2-4, Courtney Taylor 1-2, Samantha Colman 1-1, Kendra Starkel 0-2, Alaina Madsen 1-2, Madison Barber 0-2. 2B – B. Colman 2, Dulmes 2, S. Colman, DeLaurenti, Madsen, Quequesah. HR – DeLaurenti, Taylor. RBIs – B. Colman 3, DeLaurenti 3, Dulmes 2, Richwine 2, S. Colman, Haggard, Taylor. WP - Colman gets the win.

RONAN 25, BC 6

B - 200 - 4 - 6

M - (15)35 - 2 - 25

BC - 6 hits, 3 errors. Ronan - 20 hits, 4 errors

Maidens batting - Ashleigh Lynch 3-4, Bethany Colman 2-2, Darian DeLaurenti 1-1, Payge DeLaurenti 4-5, McKenzie Dulmes 0-2, Lindsay Clairmont 3-4, Amber Quequesah 1-1, Alaina Madsen 3-4, Turquoise Haggard 0-0, Kendra Starkel 0-2, Jasmine Bocksnick 0-0, Samantha Colman 1-3, Courtney Taylor 1-4. 2B – Clairmont, Madsen. HR – S. Colman. RBIs – Clairmont 5, Madsen 4, S. Colman 3, Taylor 2, Haggard, P.

DeLaurenti, B Colman. WP – Samantha Colman.