THREEPEAT!

FRENCHTOWN — For the Polson Lady Pirates softball team, twice just wasn’t nice enough.

The Lady Pirates put the “D” in “Dynasty” on Monday afternoon, defeating the Belgrade Lady Panthers 8-3 behind terrific hitting, pitching and fielding for their third consecutive Class A state championship.

FRENCHTOWN — For the Polson Lady Pirates softball team, twice just wasn’t nice enough.

The Lady Pirates put the “D” in “Dynasty” on Monday afternoon, defeating the Belgrade Lady Panthers 8-3 behind terrific hitting, pitching and fielding for their third consecutive Class A state championship.

A month ago, it looked like Polson might be in trouble to even appear at state, having dropped three conference games to be pushed to the brink of potential elimination. However, that ended up being a blessing in disguise according to Lady Pirate head coach Larry Smith.

“The biggest key was early on in the season, when we got down with three losses in conference, we knew we couldn’t lose another game,” Smith said. “They played each game from that point on knowing that and that propelled us. When we got to state, we had already been playing under that pressure.”

Monday’s championship game was a rescheduled meeting from what was supposed to be Belgrade’s fifth game of the day on Saturday in Anaconda, but bad weather forced not just the new date, but the new location, as the teams met in Frenchtown. Belgrade entered from the consolation bracket and needed two wins to wrap up a championship while the undefeated Lady Pirates had to just win once. The two-day delay looked to benefit the Lady Panthers early, as they used small ball to plate two runners in the first, but Polson had a quick answer.

With two outs and Riley Kenney on first, Heidi Rausch tied Sarah Newton’s single-season home run record with her 11th home run of the year, a no doubter that landed on top of a batting cage screen behind the left-center field wall, knotting the game at two.

In the top of the third, Belgrade had its best chance of the game to retake the lead, but a terrific defensive effort shut the door on a rally. With a runner on first and one out, Heidi Rausch tracked down a double in the gap in left-center, fired a strike to third baseman Tina Marquardt, who turned and threw to catcher Jaylin Kenney, beating a Lady Panther runner by just a couple steps to preserve the tie.

The following several innings featured stellar pitching from both teams, but junior ace Shalaina Duford refused to blink in her third state appearance. Duford didn’t strike out a Belgrade hitter in seven innings, but used 12 ground ball outs to turn in an impressive, efficient start.

Both teams nearly scored in the fifth inning. First, with two outs and nobody on in the fifth, Belgrade’s Morgan Wandler launched a fly ball to center that hit off the very top of the wall, just inches from a home run, but Duford escaped any further trouble.

Duford then started trouble in Polson’s half of the inning, drilling a single off the center field wall herself to spark a rally that saw the Lady Pirates load the bases, but Justine Taylor helped get the Lady Panthers out of the inning by getting Marquardt to pop back to her. The game remained 2-2 until the bottom of the sixth, when Polson broke loose. With Makaliah Wilson on second and one out, Ashley Johnson reached on a single and a throw to third got away from Belgrade, allowing Wilson to come across with the go-ahead run.

The floodgates opened from there, as Riley Kenney singled and stole second. With two outs, Johnson came across on a wild pitch with the eventual game-winner while Rausch was intentionally walked. After Rausch stole second, Jessica Bagnell knocked in two important insurance runs with a double. Jaylin Kenney then singled and stole second before Bagnell scored and Kenney took third on an error.

Marquardt capped the six-run inning with an RBI single, all but wrapping up the title.

“I thought it took us a little bit longer than normal to get baserunners on,” Smith said. “When we get baserunners on, that’s our game, we create havoc for the defense and we make them throw the ball around. In that inning, most of our runs were scored by them making mistakes.”

Belgrade didn’t go quietly, loading the bases with nobody out in the top of the seventh, but Duford induced a pop out, a sacrifice fly on a great circus catch by Jaiden Toth and a ground out to set off yet another Lady Pirate celebration.

The road to Frenchtown went through Anaconda, as the Lady Pirates opened the tournament against the hosts on Thursday, May 24, earning a 10-0 shutout victory. Rausch’s 10th homer of the year and three hits from Riley Kenney helped back Duford’s strong appearance in which she allowed just three hits in five innings. Polson scored twice in the first and second innings to take a 4-0 lead, before adding five in the fourth and one in the fifth.

Johnson, Rausch and Jaylin Kenney all had two hits in the game, while Rausch and Riley Kenney knocked in two runs apiece.

Later that day, the Lady Pirates needed five runs in the seventh inning to stave off a loss to a very game Belgrade team, downing the eventual runner-ups 8-4.

“We were hitting the ball really well, we just couldn’t get the key hit to score and weren’t aggressive on the bases,” Smith said. “(Monday) when we got baserunners on, we were going after them.”

Again, Polson took a 2-0 first-inning lead, but the Lady Panthers scored four in the third to put the Lady Pirates on the ropes. True to their form, however, Polson responded, cutting the deficit in half with a run in the fifth to make it a 4-3 game.

With just three outs standing between them and the loser’s bracket, the bats came alive. Rausch walked, Jaylin Kenney singled and advanced on an error before Bagnell singled. Johnson then added an RBI single to give Polson a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, as it tacked on three more runs in the inning to survive and advance.

Johnson and Riley Kenney bashed at the top of the lineup, combining to go 7-10 with four RBIs. As part of her four hit performance, Kenney doubled and homered, while Duford, Jaylin Kenney, Bagnell and Wilson all added RBIs in the win.

The next day, the Lady Pirates put up one of the top quarterfinal performances ever, thrashing Hamilton 25-3. The Lady Broncs actually led 3-0 after the top of the first, but little did anyone know, Polson would score the next 25 runs. They started with six in the first, added 11 in the second and four in both the third and fourth innings, turning in stats that could only be found in RBI Baseball.

Six different players had at least two hits and Marquardt finished a double short of the cycle, going off for seven RBIs. Duford homered and knocked in two and Bagnell, Rausch, Johnson and Colleen Jacobson all added two RBIs.

Even though Hamilton plated three first-inning runs, Duford allowed just four hits in seven innings, while adding a pair of singles herself. On Saturday, battling snowy and frigid temperatures, the Lady Pirates got one of their most important wins of the season, defeating Frenchtown for the first time in three tries, 9-2.

For the third time in their first four games of the tournament, Polson led 2-0 after the first, but the Lady Broncs battled back to tie the game in the third with a pair of runs of their own.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Pirates broke out, tallying seven runs to take a commanding 9-2 lead. Duford took charge from there, bouncing back from a tough appearance at home against Frenchtown a few weeks prior to shut down the one-loss Lady Broncs and secure a berth in the championship game.

“It always means a lot for us to beat Frenchtown,” Smith said. “They’re a lot like our program and it became special when they became a part of our conference. It’s a rivalry and it’s only going to get better.”

The top of the order was key again, as Johnson, Riley Kenney and Duford racked up seven of Polson’s 10 hits. Toth, with a single, Bagnell, Duford and Riley Kenney all knocked in two runs apiece to send Frenchtown to a loser out game.

Polson won its final 14 games of the year, following a May 8 loss to the same Frenchtown team they dispatched in the semifinals.

“That’s what makes you a champion and that’s what propelled us in this tournament,” Smith said. “That was the reason that, when we got here, we were so powerful and strong.”

It may have been a tougher road to the title this season, but ask the Lady Pirates and they’ll tell you: thrice is nice.

POLSON 25, HAM. 3

H - 300 - 00 - 3

P - 6(11)4 - 4x - 25

Hamilton - 4 hits, 2 errors. Polson - 16 hits, 0 errors

Lady Pirates batting - Ashley Johnson 2-3, Riley Kenney 1-4, Shalaina Duford 2-2, Heidi Rausch 2-2, Jaylin Kenney 1-3, Tina Marquardt 3-3, Jessica Bagnell 3-5, Makaliah Wilson 2-2, Colleen Jacobson 0-4, Jaiden Toth 0-0. 2B - R. Kenney. 3B - Rausch, Marquardt. HR - Duford, Marquardt. RBI - Marquardt 7, Jacobson 2, Bagnell 2, Rausch 2, Duford 2, Johnson 2, R. Kenney, J. Kenney, Wilson.

LP Pitching - Shalaina Duford

POLSON 10, ANA. 0

P - 220 - 051 - 10

A - 000 - 000 - 0

Polson - 10 hits, 0 errors. Anaconda - 3 hits, 3 errors

Lady Pirates batting - Ashley Johnson 2-4, Riley Kenney 3-4, Shalaina Duford 1-4, Tina Marquardt 0-3, Heidi Rausch 2-3, Jaylin Kenney 2-3, Jessica Bagnell 1-1, Makaliah Wilson 0-3, Jaiden Toth 1-3. 2B - R. Kenney, Duford. HR - Rausch. RBI - R. Kenney 2, Rausch 2, Johnson, Duford, Marquardt.

LP Pitching - Shalaina Duford

POLSON 9, F-TOWN 2

F - 002 - 000 - 0 - 2

P - 200 - 700 - 9

Frenchtown - 7 hits, 1 error. Polson - 10 hits, 1 error

Lady Pirates batting - Ashley Johnson 2-4, Riley Kenney 3-4, Shalaina Duford 2-4, Heidi Rausch 0-2, Jaylin Kenney 1-4, Tina Marquardt 0-3, Jessica Bagnell 0-2, Makaliah Wilson 1-3, Jaiden Toth 1-3. 3B - R. Kenney. RBI - R. Kenney 2, Duford 2, Bagnell 2, Toth 2, J. Kenney.

LP Pitching - Shalaina Duford

POLSON 8, BEL. 4

P - 200 - 010 - 5 - 8

B - 004 - 000 - 0 - 4

Polson - 13 hits, 2 errors. Belgrade - 6 hits, 2 errors

Lady Pirates batting - Ashley Johnson 3-5, Riley Kenney 4-5, Shalaina Duford 1-5, Tina Marquardt 1-4, Heidi Rausch 1-2, Jaylin Kenney 1-4, Jessica Bagnell 2-4, Makaliah Wilson 0-4, Jaiden Toth 0-3. 2B - R. Kenney. HR - R. Kenney. RBI - R. Kenney 3, Johnson, Duford, J. Kenney, Bagnell, Wilson.

LP Pitching - Shalaina Duford

POLSON 8, BEL. 3

B - 200 - 000 - 1 - 3

P - 200 - 006 - x - 8

Belgrade - 8 hits, 2 errors. Polson - 14 hits, 1 error

Lady Pirates batting - Ashley Johnson 1-3, Riley Kenney 2-4, Shalaina Duford 1-4, Heidi Rausch 2-2, Jessica Bagnell 2-4, Jaylin Kenney 3-4, Tina Marquardt 1-4, Makaliah Wilson 1-3, Sarah Rausch 1-2, Jaiden Toth 0-1. 2B - Bagnell. HR - H. Rausch. RBI -H. Rausch 2, Bagnell 2, Marquardt.

LP Pitching - Shalaina Duford