Lady Pirates softball experienced 'mixed' results in opener

Polson High School softball coach Larry Smith was surprised by his team’s performances that produced mixed results during the season-opening games with Belgrade and Butte Central Saturday afternoon at Polson High School stadium.

Smith simply expected his team to play better as Polson split the contest with Butte Central and Belgrade. The Lady Pirates defeated Butte Central 7-4 and lost to Belgrade, the defending MHSA Class A softball champion, 10-2.

“Well, I thought we were a little green in the first couple of games,” Smith said. “There are a lot of new players we mixed in with a few experienced players and it’s going to take more time to get acclimated. We made a lot of mental mistakes. It is early and that is good to see what we need to work on.”

Smith attributed his team’s topsy-turvy nature to just “first game jitters.”

“I’ve had a few teams start out slow, but most of my teams start out of the gate very strong and then hit a wall at the halfway point through the season,” Smith said. “I’ve had a few teams start out slow and they practice really hard and that makes a whole lot of difference between practical experience and game experience. Our kids are a very talented bunch and they are going to have to learn very quickly because they don’t have a lot of time.”

Against Butte Central, Smith elected to start Lady Pirates’ pitcher Paige Noyes in the first game of the season.

“Paige had some control issues and Vanessa came in and did really well right from the get-go,” Smith said. “Our team struggled from the beginning and she was able to get some backup from the offense to help her out. The game against Butte Central was tight until the sixth inning.”

The Lady Pirates demonstrated their ability to hit the ball against the Lady Maroons, blasting 14 hits but just couldn’t pry the game open in a close contest.

“We actually hit their pitcher very well,” Smith said. “We just weren’t getting key hits when we had the runners on base and once again, that is just going to happen with inexperience. Our team is too talented not to get it all figured out and turn it around.”

One aspect Smith was encouraged by in the Butte Central game was his team’s ability to hit.

“We hit the ball against Butte Central and hitting is contagious,” Smith said. “People up front can start hitting the ball and it is important that the bottom of the lineup really tries to get off to a good start. We can’t let the pitcher get her confidence built up and start dominating us like she did in the early innings.”

Belgrade 10, Polson 2

In the late afternoon game against Belgrade, the MHSA Class A champion, the Lady Pirates played them close for the first four innings before the Lady Panthers took control of the game.

“We were close for the first four innings but in the fifth inning things fell apart for us definitely,” Smith said. “(Belgrade) saw an opening and took advantage of it. They adjusted and starting bunting, stealing and playing small ball. It just put our kids on their heels a little bit. They were trying to figure out exactly what to do. My responsibility is to prepare for things like that and we will work on that this week so the next time we meet them, they won’t get away with those things.”

Smith said they made contact as they attempted to connect against one of the best pitchers in the state, Erin Elgas, but they just couldn’t generate enough runs in order to make the game competitive.

“It wasn’t like she was mowing us down,” Smith said. “She only had a total of six strikeouts against us. They are so good, if you don’t get a solid hit through the gaps. They will make open plays and they were very impressive.”

Smith observed a lot after the Lady Pirates’ first two games of the season.

“Our bats have to come alive and they have to understand the strike zone a little bit better,” Smith said. “Against Belgrade, I think our girls were urgent. They knew they were playing the state champions and were going after a bad pitch and the ball out of the zone most of the night. Hopefully, we will be more conscious of that when we face Libby. We are going to be aggressive and smart about it. We can’t swing at something untouchable.”

The Lady Pirates will now host Libby at 6 p.m. Thursday at Polson High School softball field, and Smith knows he and his team will have another challenge when they face Lady Loggers’ pitcher Khalyn Hageness.

Smith, who said Libby is a “state-title contender” will face another challenge against the Lady Loggers.

“Khalyn has been pitching all of her life and now she is a senior,” Smith said. “Libby is going to go for it. They want to win it all and they have the talent to do it. We are going to have to be at the top of our game in order to compete with them.”

Smith said he believes his team was too “overconfident” approaching the first week of the season and he believes they will now be able to shore up some of the team’s deficiencies.

“I believe we approached the first week too-confident and sometimes you have to play within yourself and take one pitch at a time,” Smith said. “We were looking too far ahead and might be a little overconfident about games. We made mistakes I didn’t think this defense would make. Our team just lacks the game experience. That is all it comes down to.”

The Lady Pirates still have a long way to go and Smith expressed his confidence in his team to bounce back from their first loss of the season.

“Like I told the Lady Pirates, it is very early in the season and there are still a ton of games ahead of us,” Smith said. “The softball season is a long season. We will just have to continue to get better. It is nice to learn what we need to work on and we’ll get straightened around quickly.”

Belgrade 10, Polson 2

Despite frigid temps and blustery conditions, had Lady Pirate gloves been able to secure several put away opportunities, this game could have been a much closer 4-2 affair heading into the bottom of the seventh. Avoid the two bag tater in the sixth and this contest could have been heading into extra innings to decide the outcome. Polson (1-1) Belgrade, (2-0).

Belgrade 011 044 0 – 10 *10 0

Polson 000 002 0 – 2 4 *3

Erin Elgas (6K) and Katie Hoppe. Vanessa Kent (6K) and Kaylanna DesJarlais. W – Elgas (1-0). L – Kent (1-1).

BELGRADE (2-0) – Elgas *2-5, Hoppe *0-5, Olivia Cook *2-3, Ty Atwood 2-4, Heather Gier 1-3, Maddie Kreiger 1-2, Kaleigh Bauerle 0-1, Haylee Curry *0-3, Alexa Deming 0-3, Lanie Morgan 0-1, Khiala Rollins 1-3, Hazel Eaton 1-1.

POLSON – Kaelyn Smith 1-3 (2B), Laurel Bitterman 0-3, Quinn Motichka 1-3, Olivia Perez 0-2, Josie Caye 1-3, Kaylanna DesJarlais 0-3, Paige Noyes 0-3, Lisa Costilla 0-3, Marina Mayorga 1-2

HR – Atwood, Gier. 2B – Elgas, Atwood, *[Deming]. RBIs – Atwood 2, Krieger 2, Cook, Gier, Curry; Motichka 2. BB – Cook, Gier, Kreiger, Curry; Perez. SB – Elgas 2, (cr)Eaton 2, Cook, Kreiger 4, Curry 2, Rollins. (Sa24Mar18gm2)

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) where host venue criteria differ from visitor specs:

B:14H/P:0E – Elgas B:3H(go,1B,fo,2B,*FC), Hoppe B:2H(k,fo,*E,*E,k), Cook B:1H (t3:2B+po9-4-5), Curry B:1H(BB,go,FC,go), Deming B:1H-4ab (K,E,fo,ph). T5Hoppe: grounder smothered, throwout delayed; t6Hoppe: popup confusion glanced off glove of backup; t6Elgas: rocket ricochet off heel of outfielder glove = H instead of E.

Polson 7, Butte Central 4

The Lady Pirates rallied in the sixth to secure their season opener.

Polson (1-0), Butte Central (0-1)

Butte Central 202 000 0 – 4 *3 1

Polson 210 004 x – 7 13 1

Kloie Thatcher (5K) and Cassidy Strizic; Paige Noyes, (1) Vanessa Kent (5K,5W,2A,1PO) and Kaylanna DesJarlais. W – Kent (1-0). L – Thatcher (0-1).

BUTTE CENTRAL – Thatcher 0-2, Kassidy Criscuolo 1-3, Emma Keeley 0-3, Megan Michelotti 0-4, Strizic *0-4, Makala Doherty 1-3, Zoe Doherty 0-1, Kenzie Norton 1-3, Madison Kump 0-1.

POLSON – Kaelyn Smith 3-4, Laurel Bitterman *1-4, Quinn Motichka 1-4, Olivia Perez 1-4, Josie Caye 2-3, Kent 0-2, Grace Quinones 0-1, Kaylanna DesJariais 2-4, Lisa Costilla 1-2, Marina Mayorga 2-3.

3B – Bitterman. 2B – Smith, Perez. RBIs – Strizic 2, Norton; Smith, Bitterman, Motichka, Perez 2, Caye.

SacB – M.Doherty, Z.Doherty; Costilla. BB – Thatcher 2, Criscuolo, Keeley, Z.Doherty 2, Kump 2; Caye, Kent. SB – Smith, Motichka, Caye 3, DesJarlais. (Sa24Mar18gm1)

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) where host venue criteria differ from visitor specs:

BC:4H – Strizic (t1: E[if go],E[throw off glove],go,go); Bitterman (b6:E vs. 2H)