14U team prepares for Emerald softball tournament in Kalispell

The Polson 14U team finished second in their recent tournament outing against Lewistown this past weekend at the Frenchtown Summer Sizzler.

According to the 14U team administrator Kelley Druyvestein said one of the neat things about the 14U age group. They are on the cusp of playing their first-ever season in high school softball.

“That is probably one of the neat things about (this age group). They have all played together, know each other, and where they are going. These girls will be headed to different teams (in softball) where they’ve made friends with girls that have played on other teams and that is always fun to see,” Druyvestein said.

The 14U team finished with a record of 4-1 headed into the Emerald’s Smash Tournament this weekend in Kalispell.

One area of improvement Druyvestein said she noticed is the emphasis on pitching at every level.

“I think each program is developing better programs and better pitchers. Basically you have to be a better batter,” Druyvestein said. “The batters have to be more patient and its always nice to see great bunters and more elements of the game-play coming out in those tournament. You just see a lot of skill developing (at every level).”

The Polson has shown promise all season and they are part of the the feeder system that has made the Polson Lady Pirates a staple to punch their ticket to state all season.

Druyvestein said she anticipates the Kalispell Tournament to consist of several top-notch players in the state and the regionals.

There are several teams that will be gunning for a state tournament bid and the Polson teams hope to advance to the state tournaments.

One area that the Polson softball program really takes pride in the fact that all of their talent is homegrown from Polson, when the majority of other teams are state and regional all-star teams that are hand-picked and recruited by several of the coaches.