Lady Pirates win Butte softball tourney

Polson 20, Sidney 0

At Butte Saturday morning, the Lady Pirates tethered the talons of the Eastern A Lady Eagles, putting the game out of reach with an eleven run second inning.  Kaelen Wall would clobber her third home run of the tournament, Hannah Potter would pack a hefty punch with her hitting power by also parking one over the fence, while Taylor Brackey, Hannah Fryberger and Skyla Krantz all smacked extra base hits.   Pitchers Camas Renault and Haley Fyant combined for a one-hitter.

Polson  4(11)2  3  – 20 22  0

Sidney  0  0  0  0  –   0   1  2

Camas Renault, Haley Fyant (4) and Sarah Rausch.  Maddison DiFonzo and Micala Morehouse. W – Renault (10-2).  L – DiFonzo.  Sv – Fyant.

Pitching: Renault (2K,1W,2PO), Fyant (3K,1W), DiFonzo (1K,3W,2PO).

POLSON – Jaiden Toth 1-3, Kaelen Wall 3-3, Taylor Brackey 1-3, Hannah Potter 3-4, Rausch 2-3, Kaelyn Smith 2-2, Hannah Fryberger 1-1, Lydia Dupuis 3-4, Skyla Krantz 4-4, Fyant 2-3, Quinn Motichka 0-1, Ashley Benson 0-1,  Laurel Bitterman 0-0, Renault 0-1.

SIDNEY – Morehouse 0-2, Madison Thiessen 0-2, Desirae Fasching 0-1, Logan Peterson 0-1, Emily Skogan 0-1, Paige Metz 0-1, Kiana Uran 0-1, Bree Fischer 0-2, Holly Papineau 0-1, Tudie Crosby 0-1, DiFonzo 1-1.

HR – Wall, Potter.   2B – Brackey, Potter, Fryberger, Krantz.   RBIs – Toth, Wall 4, Potter 3, Rausch, Smith 2, Fryberger, Dupuis 2, Krantz 3, Fyant 2.   BB – Toth, Rausch, Smith; Thiel, Fasching.  SB – Toth 3, Bitterman 2, Smith 2, Fryberger; Fasching. (Sa09May15am)

Polson 10, Livingston 0

At Butte Friday afternoon, Polson prevailed over Park in this season’s softball rendition of the “color code clash/school song singoff”  between a pair of Montana prep schools that share the same purple and gold color scheme as well as  same school song.  In a soccer rendition of this rivalry earlier in the Fall, the Park Lady Rangers nipped the Polson Lady Pirates 1-0 to knock Polson out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals of the State A soccer tournament.  The last time these two clubs clashed on the softball diamond, a 14-8 loss to Livingston at the 2013 Belgrade Softball Invitational in a surprise upset would be the only blemish to what would have otherwise been a pristine 20 plus win regular schedule record for the Lady Pirates.

This time around, sophomore hurlers Camas Renault and Haley Fyant combined for a three hit shutout that would be called on account of the ten run rule.  Kaelen Wall, Kaelyn Smith and Lydia Dupuis would smack doubles, while Wall unloaded on her second home run of the tournament.

Polson  030 16  – 10 11  1

Park     000 00  –   0   3  5

Camas Renault, Haley Fyant (5) and Sarah Rausch, Ashley Benson (5). Sierra Higgs and Cassie Versland.  W – Renault (9-2).  L – Higgs.  Sv – Fyant.

Pitching: Renault (1K,1W,1PO), Fyant (1K), Higgs (2K).

POLSON – Jaiden Toth 3-4, Kaelen Wall 3-4, Taylor Brackey 0-4, Sarah Rausch 0-3, Kaelyn Smith 1-3, Olivia Dupuis 2-3, Hannah Fryberger 0-2, Hannah Potter 0-1, Skyla Krantz 1-3, Haley Fyant 0-2, Camas Renault 0-1, Laurel Bitterman 0-0, Quinn Motichka 0-0.

LIVINGSTON – Megan Gibson 1-2, Emily Cornell 0-2, Versland 0-2, Higgs 1-2, Shyann Mushrush 1-2, Breanna Murphy 0-2, Paige Gavne 0-2, Carson Ooley 0-2, Krystal Vandersnick 0-2.

HR – Wall.  2B – Wall, Smith, Dupuis.  RBIs – Toth 4, Wall 2, Dupuis.  BB – Gibson.  SB – Toth, Smith, Dupuis, Krantz. (Fr08May15pm)

Polson 5,

Billings Central 4

At Butte Friday morning, the Lady Pirates rallied from a four run deficit against the top Eastern A Division Lady Rams to capture their tournament opener 5-4 in thrilling fashion.  Polson would run through their entire order and then some in the fourth inning, Kaelen Wall plating both herself and leadoff Jaiden Toth with a home run to cut the deficit in half 4-2.  Sarah Rausch singled safely, then Kaelyn Smith singled home courtesy runner Laurel Bitterman, followed by the game tying RBI single by Lydia Dupuis to knot the contest at four apiece.  Bottom-of-the-order batter Haley Fyant then stroked the go ahead run with an RBI single.

Relief pitcher Fyant then held the Lady Rams at bay to secure the win. 

Polson  000 50  –  5  9  2

Blgs C  301 00  –  4  6  2

Camas Renault, Haley Fyant (2) and Sarah Rausch. Molly Day and Addy Dauber.  W – Fyant (3-3).  L – Day.

Pitching: Renault (3H,1W), Fyant (4K,3H,1PO), Day (4K,1W,1PO).

POLSON – Jaiden Toth 1-3, Kaelen Wall 1-3, Taylor Brackey 0-3, Sarah Rausch 1-2, Kaelyn Smith 1-3, Olivia Dupuis 1-2, Hannah Fryberger 1-2, Skyla Krantz 1-2, Camas Renault 0-0, Haley Fyant 1-2, Laurel Bitterman 0-0.

BILLINGS CENTRAL – Bailey Kufeld 1-3, Day 0-3, Skylar Rockwell 0-2, Maggie Meyer 2-3, Morgan Smith 1-3, Dauber 1-2, Jessie Schmitz 1-3, Macy Rockwell 0-2, Ellie Hanser 0-2.

HR – M. Smith, Wall.  2B – Meyer; K.Smith, Rausch.  RBIs – Meyer, M. Smith 2, M. Rockwell; Wall 2, K. Smith, Dupuis, Fyant. BB – Dauber, S.Rockwell; Rausch.  SB – K.Smith, Dupuis, Fryberger, Krantz, Fyant.  (Fr08May15am)

Polson 6

Columbia Falls 5

At Polson this past Thursday, the host Lady Pirates jumped out in front with a big first inning, then held off a WildKat rally to capture a crucial conference clash. The outcome of the game coupled with  the Libby 2-1 loss to Frenchtown shifts the NWA division standings stratification from a three way tie for second into a three way tie for first with identical 4-2 marks. 

The game opened with a rushed throwing error on account of leadoff batter Carlee Brown’sbase running speed. She advanced to second on a fly ball, then scored on a sacrifice fly by pitcher Ashley Trueblood to take a 1-0 lead. 

Polson responded in the bottom half of the inning in a big way when Taylor Brackey plated leadoff Jaiden Toth with an RBI double.  Cleanup batter Hannah Potter accentuated her acronym nickname when she was awarded a base on account of being  HP-ed.  Then middle of the order batter Sarah Rausch maximized her follow through on a solid swing that sent the ball over the fence for a three run home run to stake her team to a 4-1 lead.   Lydia Dupuis reached on an error, advanced on a Kaelyn Smith single, then scored on a fielder’s choice when Skyla Krantz grounded out to the second base infielder to extend the Lady Pirate lead to 5-1.

Polson would add a crucial run in the bottom of the third when Dupuis drew a walk, stole second, then scooted home on a Smith RBI single to put the Lady Pirates up 6-1. After being silent for two innings, the WildKats plated a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to close the gap to within a single run 6-5.  Fellow sophomore hurler Haley Fyant came on in relief for the final two innings, limiting Columbia Falls to a single hit.  

Polson (4-2 NWA, 11-6 all) embarks on a four game road trip to the Butte “LaVerne Combo” Softball Tournament over the weekend.

C Falls   100 220 0  –  5   6  4

Polson   501 000 x  –  6 10  3

Ashley Trueblood and Breanna Friar. Camas Renault, Haley Fyant (6) and Sarah Rausch.

Pitching: Trueblood (7K,2W,1HP,1PO), Renault (3K,1W,1PO), Fyant (1K,1H,1W,2PO)

COLUMBIA FALLS – Carlee Brown 2-4, Peyton Kehr 1-3, Trueblood 2-2, Lottie Ellis 1-3, Friar 0-2, Sydney Hovde 0-1, Alysha Cantu 0-2, Taylar Putnam 0-0, Madi Fetters 0-3, Katie Price 0-3, Kaitlyn Hoerner 0-2, Morgan Campbell-Queen 0-1.

POLSON – Jaiden Toth 2-4, Kaelen Wall 2-4, Taylor Brackey 1-4, Hannah Potter 1-3, Rausch 1-4, Lydia Dupuis 0-3, Kaelyn Smith 3-3, Skyla Krantz 0-2, Hannah Fryberger 0-0, Renault 0-2, Fyant 0-0, Laurel Bitterman 0-0.

2B – Trueblood; Brackey, Potter. HR – Rausch.   RBIs – Trueblood 3, Friar 2; Brackey, Rausch 3, Smith 1, Krantz 1.

Sac – Kehr, Trueblood; Fryberger.   BB – Price, Putnam; Dupuis, Fyant.  HBP – Potter.  SB – Dupuis.     CS – Price (6-5-8-5), cr for Trueblood (8-4). (Th07May15)

MAC 10, Loyola 1

The MAC softball team had a strong showing last Thursday in Missoula. The Bulldogs scored eight runs in the sixth to cruise by Loyola 10-1. Jordyn Eichert was 3 for 5 and hit a home run for MAC. Morgan Malatare was 3 for 3 and had a couple of two base hits to seal the deal for the Bulldogs.

Loyola- 000 010 0 – 1 2 5

MAC- 020 008 0 – 10 13 2

Hannah Hirning and Breanna Mitchell. Ran’Dee Charlo and Kenzie Couture. W - Charlo. L- Hirning.

LOYOLA – Maggie Miltko 0-3, Hirning 0-3, Joslyn Haran 0-2, Mitchell 0-3, Natalie Goodman 0-3, Andrea Lawrence 0-3, Josi Anderson 1-3, Haley Janssen 1-2, Jade Combs 0-1.

MAC – Mikaylan Roylance 2-5, Jordyn Eichert 3-5, Emilie Charlo 1-4, Shania Dubois 1-4, Jaycee Anderson 0-1, Haley Crawford 1-2, Morgan Malatare 3-3, Couture 0-3, Haley Carroll 0-2, Berit Degrandpre 1-2, Ran’Dee Charlo 1-4.

2B – Roylance, Eichert, Crawford, Malatare 2. HR – Eichert. RBIs – Eichert 3, Malatare, Degrandpre.

Ronan 6, MAC 5

At St. Ignatius this past Saturday, the visiting Maidens and the host Lady Bulldogs engaged in a classic cross-county conference clash in the regular season finale for both teams that hung in the balance until the final out.  

The outcome of the game held strategic Western Division standings implications for both teams.  In the event of a successful outcome, Mission-Arlee-Charlo (MAC) had an opportunity to forge a tie with Ronan in the standings, forcing into play other tie breaking criteria to determine who would don the crown of regular season champion.

The Maidens struck first for an early lead when the first two batters reached base on errors, then Kendra Starkel gave her team plenty to root about when she tagged a three bag tater to stake the visitors to a 3-0 lead.

The Lady Bulldogs initial response unfolded in the third inning when leadoff Mikaylan Roylance, followed by Jordyn Eichert, both stroked back-to-back doubles, Eichert plating her predecessor for an RBI.    Ronan countered with equal measure when it scored a run in the top of the fourth to reacquire its lead, then plated another pair the following inning to go up 6-1. 

    MAC cut the lead in half with Morgan Malatare’s  two RBI single in the bottom of the inning to trim the deficit to 6-3.  While Lady Bulldog pitching and defense succeeded in somewhat tempering the potentially explosive Maiden bats, Shania Dubois connected for a homer in the bottom of the seventh with one aboard to cut the lead to 6-5.   With one out, MAC would send the tying run to the plate, but a crucial strikeout throw by Maiden pitcher Carston Rhine and an infield groundout snuffed the threat to give the visitors a regular season sweep of their county rivals.

With the win, the Ronan Maidens (16-2, 19-3) not only captured the Western BC regular season crown, but also secured the top seed with its accompanying first round bye at the Western BC Divisional hosted by Ronan Friday through Saturday, May 15-16.  Despite the season finale shortfall, Mission-Arlee-Charlo (14-4, 14-7) takes the second seed and draws a first round bye at the Divisional tournament as well.  

Ronan   300 120 0  –  6   6  2

M-A-C   001 020 2  –  5 10  6

Carston Rhine (11K,2W) and Kaitlyn Sassaman.  Ran’Dee Charlo (2K,2HP,1PO) and Kenzie Couture.  W – Rhine (19-1).  L – R.Charlo.

RONAN – Sassaman 0-4, Kenzie Dulmes 1-4, Kendra Starkel 1-4, Amanda Morency 0-4, Rhine 0-4, Jordyn Clairmont 1-4, Kiana Brown 1-1, Marissa Mock 1-3, Gabby Wirz 1-3, Courtnee Clairmont (flex).

MAC – Mikaylan Roylance 3-4, Jordyn Eichert 2-3, Emilie Charlo 0-4, Morgan Malatare 1-3,  Shania Dubois 1-4, Jaycee Anderson 1-4, Couture 1-3, Berit DeGrandpre 0-1, Elizabeth Morigeau 1-2, Haley Carroll 0-1, R.Charlo 0-2, Haley Crawford 0-1.

HR – Starkel; Dubois.  2B – Dulmes, Brown, Mock; Roylance 2, Eichert, Malatare.  RBIs – Starkel 3, Mock; Eichert, Malatare 2, Dubois 2.  BB – Eichert, Malatare.  HBP – Brown 2.  SB – Morency 2, J.Clairmont 2.  (Sa09May15)

Ronan sweeps Drummond

This past Thursday on Senior Night, the Ronan Maidens moved a step closer toward securing the Western BC regular season crown with a sweep over the visiting Lady Trojans.  The game marked the return from injury of senior shortstop Kenzie Dulmes, who sought to make up for lost time by going a combined 7-8 in both games that included a pair of extra base hits.  Fellow senior outfielder Kendra Starkel went 3-5 over both games that also included a pair of extra base hits along with a quintet of RBIs. 

Ronan (15-2, 18-3) wraps up their regular schedule with a road game against fellow county rival Mission-Arlee-Charlo in St. Ignatius on Saturday.

Ronan 16, Drummond 0 (GM1)

Drummond  000 00  –    0  3  2

Ronan          357 1x  – 16 12  0

Kenzie Adler (13W,1HP) and Kristine Piippo.  Carston Rhine (9K) and Kaitlyn Sassaman. W – Rhine (17-1). L – Adler.

DRUMMOND – Piippo 0-2, Emilee Steinberg 0-2, Erika Pfendler 0-2, Adler 0-2, Ahna Goodrich 1-2, Allie Parke 1-2, Agnes 0-2, Danica Batson 1-2, Emily Cartmill 0-2.

RONAN – Sassaman 1-2, Kenzie Dulmes 2-3, Kendra Starkel 2-2, Amanda Morency 2-2, Rhine 2-3, Jordyn Clairmont 2-2, Marissa Mock 1-3, Kiana Brown 0-2(FC), Gabby Wirz 0-1, Sadie Wirz 0-0.

3B – Starkel, Morency, Rhine.  2B – Sassaman, Starkel.  RBIs – Sassaman, Starkel 4, Morency 2, Rhine, S.Wirz.  BB – Sassaman 2, Dulmes, Starkel 2, Morency, Rhine, J.Clairmont 2, Brown, G.Wirz 2, S.Wirz.  HBP – Morency.  SB – Sassaman, Dulmes 2, Starkel 3, Morency 2, Rhine 2, J.Clairmont 3, Brown, G.Wirz.

Ronan 21, Drummond 0 (GM2)

Ronan          805 71  – 21 15  0

Drummond  000 00  –   0   3  5

Rhine (6K,3PO) and Sassaman. A. Parke and Piippo. W – Rhine. L – A. Parke.

RONAN – Sassaman 2-4, Courtnee Clairmont 0-0, Dulmes 5-5, Starkel 1-3, Morency 1-3, Kaitlyn Santos 0-1, Rhine 2-5(E), J.Clairmont 0-2, Heather Pospishil 0-0, Mock 2-2, Sadie Wirz 0-1, Brown 2-2, Taylor Tobol 0-0, G. Wirz 0-3.

DRUMMOND – Batson 0-2, Goodrich 1-2, Piippo 0-2, Adler 1-2, Pfendler 0-2, A. Parke 0-1, Erica Agnesse 0-1, Schandon Parke 1-2, Katelynn Greenwood 0-2, Hannah Jarrell 0-2.

3B – Sassaman.  2B – Dulmes 2, Rhine, Brown 2.  RBIs – Dulmes, Starkel 3, Rhine 2, Brown 2, Tobol, G.Wirz.   Sacf – Starkel. BB – Sassaman, Starkel, C.Clairmont, Morency, Pospishil, S.Wirz, Tobol, G.Wirz.  SB – Starkel, Morency 2, Rhine 4, J.Clairmont 3, Pospishil, Mock 2, Tobol, G.Wirz.