Polson team gains momentum after rough start to season

After a sputtering start to the season during which they were outscored 24-3 in their openers, the Lady Pirates reversed their fortunes with a five game sweep. As the offensive machinery started to hum more in tune, they outscored their opposition 61-2 last week.

In Kalispell last Tuesday, the Lady Pirates prevailed through cold, blustery conditions to post their first win of the season over the Western AA Flathead Bravettes. Camas Renault and Haley Fyant collaborated on hurling duties with Hannah Potter, Ashley Benson along with Renault supplying the pop that stepped on the accelerator while Kaelyn Smith, Laurel Bitterman as well as Lydia Dupuis churned the wheels on the base path.

Polson 4, Flathead 0

Polson 020 000 2 – 4 *6 0

Flathead 000 000 0 – 0 7 3

Camas Renault (3IP: 1K,3H,1W,1PO), Haley Fyant (4) and Ashley Benson. Kylee Beccari and Jayden Russell. W – Renault (1-1). L – Beccari (0-1). Sv – Fyant (4IP: 3K,4H,1W).

POLSON – Kaelyn Smith 2-4, Laurel Bitterman *0-4(2E), Haley Fyant 0-4(FC), Hannah Potter 1-3, Ashley Benson 2-3, Lydia Dupuis *0-3(E), Hannah Fryberger 0-3, Camas Renault 1-3, Whitney Barr 0-2, Breyland McColl 0-1.

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) that differ from coverage reported by media: P8H: Bitterman 1H (LPstats scored E6 instead of 1B), Dupuis 1H (Lpstats scored FC w/E4 instead of 1B).

At the fourth annual “First Pitch” softball tournament in Belgrade last weekend, Lady Pirate batting emerged from early season lethargy when they erupted for a 57-2 sweep of their four game tournament series. The games were played jamboree style with a one hour time limit or five inning cap, depending on which came first. Junior pitchers Camas Renault and Haley Fyant each picked up a pair of wins while frosh hurler Lauren Vergeront tallied a pair of saves. Polson pounded out just under four dozen combined hits that included a dozen for extra bases that generated a sum total of 41 RBIs.

Thirteen Lady Pirates batted a .375 average or better: lead-off Kaelyn Smith (7-12), Lydia Dupuis (5-9), Laurel Bitterman (6-11), Quinn Motichka (4-8), Ashley Benson (7-17), Haley Fyant (4-10), Hannah Potter (4-10), Whitney Barr (2-5), Hannah Fryberger (3-8), Camas Renault (2-2), Mikayla Croft (1-2) along with frosh reserves Lauren Vergeront (1-1) and Kaylanna Desjarlais (1-2). A quartet of players turned in perfect multi-hit outings at the plate and another quartet banged out three hits during a game despite the shortened format.

With just under a third of the softball schedule under their belts, the Lady Pirates have a trio of players batting north of a .500 average (Benson, Smith, Motichka) with another trio of reserves being resourceful in half their at-bat opportunities (Mikayla Croft, Vergeront, Desjarlais). A further trio have connected on a third or better of their trips to the plate (Dupuis, Fyant, Renault). The team average currently hovers around the .372 mark. At this young juncture, Smith leads the team in extra base hits as well as stolen bases. Benson is on the verge of posting double figures in the RBI department with a trio tied with a quintet (Potter, Dupuis, Motichka).

4TH ANNUAL FIRST PITCH SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

(jamboree4gms = reg2gms)

Polson 17, Dillon 0

Polson 638 – 17 14 0

Dillon 00x – 0 1 2

Haley Fyant (3K,1W) and Ashley Benson. Adrianna Pittman and Shaylee Ericksen. W – Fyant (1-1); L – Pittman.

POLSON – Kaelyn Smith *0-2, Benson 3-4, Fyant *2-2, Hannah Potter 1-2, Hannah Fryberger 1-2, Lydia Dupuis 2-3, Laurel Bitterman 2-3, Camas Renault 1-1, Mikayla Croft 0-0, Quinn Motichka 3-3, Whitney Barr (flex).

3B – Bitterman. 2B – Benson. RBIs – Benson 3, Fyant, Potter *3, Fryberger, Dupuis 2, Bitterman 2, Motichka 2. SacF – Potter. BB – Berriochoa; Smith 2, Fyant, Fryberger, Renault, Croft. SB – Smith 2, Noyes 2, Bitterman. Runs – Smith 2, Benson 3, Noyes 3, Potter, Fryberger 2, Dupuis 2, Bitterman 2, Renault, Motichka. (Fr08Apr16gm1)

Polson 21, Hardin 0

Polson 399 – 21 17 0

Hardin 000 – 0 3 *5

Camas Renault (2IP: 2H,1W,3PO), Lauren Vergeront (3) and Ashley Benson, Kaylanna Desjarlais (3). Kourtney Chavez and Sarah Edgar. W - Renault (2-1). L - Chavez. Sv – Vergeront (1IP: 2K,1H,1PO).

POLSON – Smith 3-4, Benson 1-3, Kaylanna Desjarlais 1-1, Fyant 0-3, Croft 1-1, Potter 3-4, Fryberger 1-3(FC), Dupuis 3-4(E), Bitterman 1-4, Motichka 1-3(E), Barr 2-2, Breyland McColl 0-1, Paige Noyes 0-0.

3B – Potter, Dupuis. 2B – Smith, Croft, Potter, Barr. RBIs – Smith 2, Benson 3, Croft 2, Potter 2, Dupuis 3, Bitterman 2, Barr 2. BB – Barr. SB – Smith 2, Motichka 2, Barr. Runs – Smith 3, Benson 2, Croft, Potter 3, Fryberger 3, Dupuis 2, Bitterman 2, Motichka 2, Barr 2, Desjarlais. (Fr08Apr16gm2)

Polson 10, Colstrip 0

Polson 00(10) – 10 10 1

Colstrip 00 0 – 0 0 4

Haley Fyant (6K,1W) and Ashley Benson. Taylor Robinson and Alex Mennie. W – Fyant (2-1). L – Robinson.

POLSON – Kaelyn Smith 3-3, Benson 2-3, Fyant 1-3, Hannah Potter 0-2, Lydia Dupuis 0-2, Hannah Fryberger 1-2, Laurel Bitterman 1-2, Camas Renault 1-1, Lauren Vergeront 1-1, Whitney Barr 0-1, Croft 0-0(E).

3B – Smith, Fyant. 2B – Vergeront. RBIs – Smith 2, Benson 2, Fyant, Potter, Vergeront. BB – Potter. SB – Smith 3, Fryberger 2, Bitterman. Runs – Smith 2, Benson, Fyant, Fryberger, Bittterman, Vergeront 2, Barr 2. (Sa09Apr16gm3)

Polson 9, Havre 2

Polson 612 0 – 9 5 1

Havre 110 x – 2 6 2

Camas Renault (2IP: 1K,5H,1W), Lauren Vergeront (3) and Ashley Benson. Alex Barkus and Scout Boucher. W – Renault (3-1). L – Barkus. Sv –Vergeront (2IP: 1K,1H).

POLSON – Kaelyn Smith 1-3, Benson 1-2, Kaylanna Desjarlais 0-1, Haley Fyant 1-2(E), Hannah Potter 0-2(E), Hannah Fryberger 0-1, Laurel Bitterman 2-2, Quinn Motichka 0-2(FC,E), Breyland McColl 0-1, Mikayla Croft 0-1, Whitney Barr 0-2, Paige Noyes 0-0.

2B – Smith; Wagner, Barkus. RBIs – Fyant, Potter, Bitterman 2; Wagner, *Boucher. HB – Fryberger. BB – Wagner. SB – Smith. Runs – Smith, Benson, Noyes, Potter, Fryberger, Bitterman 2, Motichka 2; Parsons, McDonald. (Sa09Apr16gm4)

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) derived from LP record book that differ from those reported in media coverage.

MAC

This past week, the MAC Bulldogs put up some big numbers, outscoring their opponents 79-9 in four games. In a double-header against Eureka, the Bulldogs came back from a 1-5 deficit during the first game that ended when they scored 11 runs in the seventh to win the game 26-7. They had only one error in that game compared to nine by Eureka. That momentum carried over into the second game, when MAC put up seven runs in the first inning, then coasted to a 16-2 win. Catcher Kenzie Couture had four RBI’s in that game, and the team had just one error.

Against Drummond on Saturday, the team made short work of the Trojans, taking them down by double digits in both games of a double-header. No other information was available.

M-A-C 26, Eureka 7

M-A-C 113 406 (11) – 26 11 1

Eureka 510 100 0 – 7 9 9

Jaycee Anderson, Ran’Dee Charlo (4), Vanessa Kent (7) and Kenzie Couture. Laura Williams, Courtney Lemer (4) and Makennah Apeland.

Pitching specs: Anderson (3IP: 5K,7H,1W), Charlo (3.1IP: 5K,2H,1W), Kent (.2IP: 1K).

MISSION-ARLEE-CHARLO – Mikaylan Roylance 0-5, Jordyn Eichert 2-3, Couture 2-4, Anderson 1-5, Charlo 2-3, Haley Carroll 1-5, Madison Savage 0-1, Sierra Hutchins 1-2, Kent 1-3, Caitlin Sorrell 0-2, Alyssa Sorrell 0-1, Frankie Smith 1-2.

3B – Williams. 2B – Eichert, Anderson, Carroll, Smith; Smith. RBIs – Eichert, Couture 2, Anderson, Charlo, Carroll, Savage, Hutchins 3, Kent, F.Smith 2; Bishop 2, A.Smith, Apeland, Williams 2. BB – Roylance, Eichert 3, Charlo 2, Carroll, Hutchin, C. Sorrell, A.Sorrell, F.Smith; Bishop, A.Smith. SB – Eichert, Couture, Anderson 2, Carroll; Bishop, Apeland. CS – Anderson. (Fr08Apr16gm1)

M-A-C 16, Eureka 2

Eureka 100 01 – 2 4 4

M-A-C 715 3x – 16 8 1

Laura Williams, Sarah Hepner (3) and Makenna Apeland, Rylee Morgan (3). Ran’Dee Charlo, Vanessa Kent (3), Jaycee Anderson (4.2) and Kenzie Couture.

Pitching specs: Charlo (2IP: 1K, 2H, 3W), Kent (2.2IP: 1K,2H), Anderson (.1IP).

MISSION-ARLEE-CHARLO – Roylance 1-3, Eichert 0-1, Couture 2-3, C.Sorrell 0-1, Anderson 2-4, Charlo 1-2, F.Smith 0-1, Carroll 0-0, Hutchins 0-1, Savage 1-2, Kent 1-3, A.Sorrell 0-1.

3B – Couture. 2B – Roylance, Charlo. RBIs – Lemer, A.Smith; Roylance 2, Couture 4, Anderson 2, Charlo 2, Kent.

BB – Hepner, Bishop, Marquardt; Roylance, Eichert, Charlo, Carroll, Hutchins, Savage, Kent, A.Sorrell 2. SB – Morgan; Roylance, Eichert, C.Sorrell, Anderson, Carroll, Savage, A.Sorrell 2.

M-A-C 21, Drummond 0 (3 innings)

M-A-C 16, Drummond 0 (3 innings)

No further details could be acquired prior to deadline.

RONAN

At Ronan last Tuesday, the host BC Maidens clashed with the A Class Kats in a cross classification caper. Last season’s meeting against Columbia Falls resulted in a 5-4 squeaker during which the Maidens continually threatened before falling short. Ronan had intended to make some fur fly during this foray, but much of the high quality level of play exhibited by the Maidens when they dispatched both Florence along with Loyola in their season openers would elude them during the course of this contest.

Unlike the warm, sunny climate of the weekend prior, this game featured cold conditions with high velocity wind chill blowing from the backside of the backstop. Adding further insult to the plunge in mercury level was what could be deemed as a hitter’s wind, which favors a batter while shaving crucial velocity as well as altering trajectories from the pitches of a pitcher.

Despite the blemish to their record, the Maidens showcased some of their own offensive punch when they generated a pair of extra base hits from Amanda Morency and University of Jamestown-bound Kaitlyn Sassaman with Carston Rhine supplying the third Maiden RBI of the contest. The Maidens will have already played a match against visiting Anaconda this Tuesday past, then host the Deer Lodge Lady Wardens on Saturday, followed by their fourth home game against the visiting Libby Lady Loggers next Tuesday, April 19.

C Falls 15, Ronan 4

C Falls 020 427 – 15 *10 1

Ronan 001 030 – 4 6 8

KJ Schweikert (6K,3W,2HB,2PO) and Samantha Collins. Carston Rhine (5K,10H,2W,4PO) and Kaitlyn Sassaman. W – Schweikert. L – Rhine (2-1).

RONAN – Sassaman 1-2, Gabby Wirz *0-3, Rhine 0-3, Amanda Morency 2-3, Sadie Wirz 1-2, Kiana Brown *0-1, Jordyn Clairmont 0-3, Kaitlyn Santos 0-2, Courtnee Clairmont 2-2.

HR – Hovde, Kehr, Campbell-Queen. 3B – Morency. 2B – Collins; Sassaman. RBIs – Hovde 4, Price, Schwiekert, Kehr 2, Campbell-Queen 4; G.Wirz, Sassaman, Rhine, Morency. SacB – Brown. BB– Price, Volkman; Brown, Santos, C.Clairmont. SB – S.Wirz.

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s): Price 5PA, Schweikert 0H(K,1B,K,1B).