Ronan softball hits hard

RONAN — Last week, the Ronan Maidens put scores on the board that would make football teams jealous during a 4-0 stretch.

On Tuesday, May 8, the Maidens had their most modest game of the week scoring-wise, destroying Drummond 16-6 in the first game of their doubleheader.

RONAN — Last week, the Ronan Maidens put scores on the board that would make football teams jealous during a 4-0 stretch.

On Tuesday, May 8, the Maidens had their most modest game of the week scoring-wise, destroying Drummond 16-6 in the first game of their doubleheader.

“The girls are hitting the ball well,” head coach Tom Peterson said. “Right now, we’re comfortable with every girl coming to the plate.”

Payge DeLaurenti went 3-3 with a double and two RBIs, Alaina Madsen went 3-4 with two doubles and three RBIs and Lindsay Clairmont added a double and three RBIs as Ronan bolted to a huge lead early and never looked back. Up 5-0 after the first, the Maidens added four in the second and five more in the third to build a 14-0 lead. Drummond chipped away against Bethany Colman, but never threatened.

Amber Quequesah contributed to the win with a pair of hits and an RBI and Kenzie Dulmes notched a triple in the opening game of the twinbill.

In the second game, it took Ronan less than two innings to exceed that output, scoring 11 in the first and seven in the second en route to a 23-3 rout of Drummond.

Madsen’s 4-5 effort led the way for the Maidens as 10 different players recorded hits in the win.

“She had been struggling earlier in the season, but she’s worked hard and gotten a lot better,” Peterson said. “She’s really been putting the time in and that’s what’s impressed me the most about her.”

Three of Madsen’s hits went for extra bases, two doubles and a triple, she knocked in eight runs, one fewer than Drummond scored in the two games and was the winning pitcher, scattering six hits in five innings. Dulmes, meanwhile, went 3-4 and Clairmont had a two-run double.

Two days later, Ronan put up another 23-spot, overcoming an early deficit to win a wild 23-10 game against Deer Lodge.

Freshman Samantha Colman was staked to a 7-0 lead in the first, but Deer Lodge battled back to score 10 over the next two innings to gain the lead. Colman settled down from there, however, shutting down the hosts over the final three innings.

“Her changeup was huge,” Peterson said. “As the game went on, she was hitting spots more and more. As a freshman, it can be nerve-wracking, but she started making pitches and the defense made some plays.”

During that time, the Maidens didn’t just make plays — they went batty. After scoring a run in the third to cut Deer Lodge’s lead to two, Ronan scored nine in the fourth and six in the fifth to earn the victory.

This time it was Quequesah’s turn to lead the way, going 2-3 with a double and five RBIs, while Madsen went 1-4 with a double and four RBIs and Courtney Taylor also went 1-4 with a double and three RBIs. Seven other Maidens knocked runs in and Ashleigh Lynch went 3-5 with a double to spark Ronan.

On Saturday, May 12, the Maidens wrapped up the week with a 24-1 shellacking of Troy. Thirteen Ronan hitters stepped to the plate for at least one at-bat and all of them got a base hit as part of a 20-hit attack that saw six doubles and a triple. Madsen finished her phenomenal week with a 4-5 effort, including a double and the triple, as well as two RBIs, while Danielle Richwine, DeLaurenti, Clairmont and Turquoise Haggard all had a pair of base knocks. Following a short top half of the first inning, the Maidens spent some time at the dish in the bottom half, scoring 13 runs. Up 24-0 after three, Ronan spotted one to Troy, but had no problem in improving to 15-7 overall on the season.

They’ll hope to keep swinging away this week when divisionals get under way on their home diamond.

“The competition will get tougher,” Peterson said. “There will be times where things are going up and down. I just want us to be competitive.

“I feel confident,” Peterson added. “We’ve had solid hitting, our defense has come a long way and we have three solid pitchers. It’s nice to have pitching and depth.”

RONAN 16, DRUMM. 6

D - 000 - 42 - 6

R - 545 - 2x - 16

Drummond - 7 hits, 4 errors. Ronan - 12 hits, 1 error

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

MP – Colman.

RONAN 23, D-LODGE 10

R - 701 - 96 - 23

D - 640 - 00 - 10

Ronan - 11 hits, 2 errors. DL - 10 hits, 2 errors

Maidens batting - Ashleigh Lynch 3-5, Kenzie Dulmes 2-4, Payge DeLaurenti 1-4, Lindsay Clairmont 0-0, Turquoise Haggard 1-1, Alaina Madsen 1-4, Samantha Colman 0-0, Jasmine Bocksnick 0-1, Amber Quequesah 2-3, Courtney Taylor 1-4. 2B – Taylor, Quequesah, Madsen, Lynch. RBIs – Quequesah 5, Madsen 4, Taylor 3, Lynch 2, Bocksnick 2, Dulmes, DeLaurenti, Clairmont, Colman, Haggard. MP – S. Colman.

RONAN 23, DRUMM. 3

R - (11)74 - 10 - 23

D - 110 - 10 - 3

Ronan - 15 hits, 2 errors. Drummond - 6 hits,

5 errors.

Maidens batting - Ashleigh Lynch 1-1, Jasmine Bocksnick 1-1, Darian DeLaurenti 0-1, Kenzie Dulmes 3-4, Payge DeLaurenti 0-0, Bethany Colman 1-2, Lindsay Clairmont 1-1, Courtney Molzhon 0-1, Alaina Madsen 4-5, Turquoise Haggard 0-3, Jamie Olson 0-1, Kendra Starkel 1-4, Amber Quequesah 1-2, Cassie Dierdorff 0-2, Courtney Taylor 1-1, Madison Barber 1-3. RB – Madsen 2, Clairmont. 3B – Madsen. RBIs – Madsen 8, Clairmont 2, Colman, P. DeLaurenti, Haggard, Taylor. MP – Madsen

RONAN 24, TROY 1

T - 000 - 10 - 1

R - (13)47 - 0x - 24

Troy - 1 hit, 14 errors. Ronan - 20 hits, 0 errors

Maidens batting - Ashleigh Lynch 1-2, Danielle Richwine 2-3, Kenzie Dulmes 1-2, Samantha Colman 1-3, Payge DeLaurenti 2-5, Lindsay Clairmont 2-4, Alaina Madsen 4-5, Turquoise Haggard 2-4, Amber Quequesah 1-2, Courtney Molzhon 1-2, Kendra Starkel 1-2, Courtney Taylor 1-2, Madison Barber 1-2. 2B – Dulmes, Clairmont, Madsen, Haggard, Quequesah, Taylor. 3B – Madsen. RBIs – Haggard 3, Clairmont 3, Madsen 2, Molzhon, Taylor, DeLaurenti, Colman, Dulmes, Lynch. MP – Madsen.