Softball: Back in the swing of things

MONDAY, APRIL 8

Polson wins delayed matchup against Ronan

After the initial game was delayed because of poor weather, Polson waited a few days and collected a 9-6 victory over Ronan in Northwestern A Conference softball action on Monday, April 8. Kailey Smith homered in the game for the Lady Pirates, while Ally Luedtke and Kailyn Marengo had doubles for the Maidens.

Ronan took the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first off an error, but Polson answered back thanks to a passed ball and Samantha Rensvold’s two-run double to make it 3-2.

Marengo had an RBI single to tie the game up 3-3 in the bottom of the second.

Polson, however, scored four runs in the top of the fourth as the Lady Pirates took advantage of a wild pitch, and then Smith’s home run moved the lead to 7-3.

Polson scored again in the fifth, and Ronan answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. After a Lady Pirate score in the top of the seventh for the victory, Avery Starr and Rensvold combined in the circle to strike out nine Ronan batters.

Nikki Kendall struck out 15 Polson batters in seven innings worked.

McKenna Hanson finished 3-for-3 in the game for the Lady Pirates, while Olivia Jore had two hits. Rensvold finished with two RBI, while Smith had three RBI. Marengo finished with two hits for Ronan as did Nevaeh Perez. Marengo, Luedtke, Perez and Kaydance Santos all finished with RBI in the matchup.

At Ronan

POLSON 9, RONAN 6

Polson - 030 - 410 - 1 - 9 - 7 -1

Ronan - 210 - 030 - 0 - 6 - 8 - 2

POLSON PITCHING: Avery Starr (4-2/3, IP:6K,7H,2W,1HB), (5) Sam Rensvold (2-1/3, IP:3K,0H,1W)

RONAN PITCHING: Nikki Kendall (7IP:15K,7H,8W,1HB)

POLSON HITTING: Mckenna Hanson 3-3, Sam Rensvold 1-3, Carli Maley 0-3, Avery Starr 0-3, Kailey Smith 1-4, Olivia Jore 2-3, Sierra Perez 0-3, Liz Cunningham 0-2, Jaja Nichols 0-2, (cr): Ahrianna Rushing. HR – Ka.Smith. 2B – Rensvold, Jore; RBIs – Hanson, Rensvold 2, Ka.Smith 3

RONAN HITTING: Nikki Kendall 0-2, Kailyn Marengo 2-4, Ally Luedtke 1-3, Nevaeh Perez 2-3, Brynn Courville 0-4, Kylee Kelch 0-2, Kaydance Santos 1-1, Mira Corum 1-3, Crockett 0-3, Hanna Lytton 1-3, (cr) Bailee Woll, Morgan Simpson; 2B – Luedtke, Marengo. RBIs – Marengo, Luedtke, N.Perez, Santos.

TUESDAY, APRIL 9

Libby gets past Ronan

In a marathon of a softball game, Libby squeaked by Ronan 19-18 in Northwestern A Conference play on Tuesday, April 9. Nevaeh Perez finished with three hits, a home run, and four RBI, while Brynn Courville had three hits and three RBI in the matchup.

Ronan led 11-7 after three innings, but Libby rallied for four runs in the top of the fourth to tie things up. The Maidens weren’t deterred and answered back with three runs in the bottom of the frame.

Libby had a five-run rally to go up 16-14, and added two more runs in the top of the seventh but Ronan extended the game with a four-run rally in the bottom of the frame.

Both teams combined for 19 hits and 16 errors.

Maiden Nikki Kendall struck out seven. Ally Luedtke had two hits, while Kailyn Moregno had two RBI, as did Mira Corum.

At Ronan

LIBBY 19, RONAN 18 (8 INNINGS)

Libby - 232 - 405 - 21 - 19 - 9 - 9

Ronan - 452 - 300 - 40 - 18 - 10 - 7

RONAN PITCHING: Nikki Kendall (2⅓IP:7K,0H,6W,2HB), Kaydance Santos (2⅔IP:1K,5H,2W,2HB), Kailyn Marengo (3IP:4H,1W)

RONAN HITTING: Ally Luedtke 2-4, Nikki Kendall 0-3, Kailyn Marengo 1-6, Kaydance Santos 0-5, Nevaeh Perez 3-5, Brynn Courville 3-6, Crockett 0-3, Taylor 0-2, Mira Corum 0-5, Hanna Lytton 1-3, (cr) Bailee Woll, Raela Bartel, Ernie Tapia-Torosian.

HR – N.Perez. 2B – Luedtke, Courville. RBIs – Marengo 2, N.Perez 4, Courville 3, Corum 2, Lytton.

Columbia Falls downs Polson

Polson took the early lead, but Columbia Falls battled back with a five-run third inning for a 10-6 Northwest A Conference victory on Tuesday, April 9. Carli Maley went two-for-four with three RBI for the Lady Pirates.

Polson got on the board first as Maley drove in a run. Columbia Falls walked in a run, and an error allowed the Lady Pirates to score another.

Columbia Falls scored five runs in the top of the third, and Polson added a run on a Wildkats error in the bottom of that inning.

Columbia Falls added a run in the top of the fourth and top of the fifth. They extended their lead to 10-4 in the top of the seventh. Maley drove in two runs in a late-game rally for the Lady Pirates that ended before Polson could pull ahead.

It was the Lady Pirates’ first loss of the season as Columbia Falls collected 15 hits in the matchup.

Samantha Rensvold pitched six innings, striking out five. She finished 2-for-3 at the plate, while Maley was 2-for-4. McKenna Hanson also had a double.

Columbia Falls improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in Northwestern A Conference play.

At Polson

COLUMBIA FALLS 10, POLSON 6

C-Falls - 005 - 110 - 3 - 10 - 15 - 2

Polson - 301 - 000 - 2 - 6 - 7 - 3

POLSON PITCHING: Sam Rensvold (6IP:5K,14H,5W), (7) Avery Starr (1IP:1K1H,1W)

POLSON HITTING – Mckenna Hanson 2-4, Samantha Rensvold 2-3, Carli Maley 2-4, Avery Starr 0-2, Kailey Smith 0-3, Olivia Jore 0-4, Sierra Perez 1-3, Liz Cunningham 0-2, Jaja Nichols 0-3; 2B - Hanson, RBI - Maley 3

THURDAY, APRIL 11

Ronan takes down Columbia Falls

Nikki Kendall was masterful in the circle, striking out 10 and scattering six Columbia Falls hits as Ronan came away with a 3-2 victory over the Wildkats on Thursday, April 11.

Columbia Falls scored in the top of the first, but Ronan notched two runs in the bottom of the first on passed balls. Columbia Falls answered back with a run in the top of the fifth.

Ronan got the game-winning run off an Ally Luedtke RBI double to down the Wildkats, who were previously undefeated in conference play.

Luedtke finished with two hits and the lone RBI in the matchup.

Mira Corum and Nikki Kendall both had hits in the matchup.

At Ronan

RONAN 3, COLUMBIA FALLS 2

C-Falls - 100 - 010 - 0 - 2 - 6 - 2

Ronan - 200 - 010 - x - 3 - 4 - 0

RONAN PITCHING: Nikki Kendall (10K,5W)

RONAN HITTING: Ally Luedtke 2-3, Nikki Kendall 1-3, Kailyn Marengo 0-6, Kaydance Santos 0-3, Nevaeh Perez 0-3, Hanna Lytton 0-3, Crockett 0-2, Mira Corum 1-2, Bailee Woll 0-1, (cr) Raela Bartel. 2B – Luedtke, Kendall. RBIs – Luedtke  

Polson surges late in win over Libby

The game started off slow for Polson, with the rotation going through twice without reaching base, but the Lady Pirates eventually found their swing and downed Libby 7-3 on Thursday, April 11.

In the bottom of the third, a throwing error by Libby allowed Sierra Perez to score, and Mckenna Hanson hit a sac fly to drive in a run as well. The Lady Loggers, however, tied the game up 2-2 in the top of the fifth.

Lizzie Cunningham responded for Polson in the top of the fifth with a homer over the right field fence. In the bottom of the sixth, Carli Maley and Olivia Jore each hit two-run homers to go up 7-2.

Libby notched a run in the top of the seventh, but Polson recorded three outs to end the game.

Polson finished six hits, including a double by Kailey Smith. Maley’s homer was her 15th of her career, which moves her into fifth place on the all-time Polson list.

In the circle, Avery Starr pitched four innings, striking out three, and then Samantha Rensvold pitched three and picked up the win.

Polson improved to 4-1 on the season.

At Polson

POLSON 7, LIBBY 3

Libby - 000 - 020 - 1 - 3 - 4 - 2

Polson - 002 - 014 - x - 7 - 6 - 4

POLSON PITCHING: Avery Starr (4IP:3K,3H,2W,1HB), Sam Rensvold (3IP:1K,1H,0W)

POLSON HITTING – Mckenna Hanson 0-2, Samantha Rensvold 1-3, Carli Maley 1-3, Avery Starr 0-3, Kailey Smith 1-3, Olivia Jore 1-3, Sierra Perez 1-3, Liz Cunningham 1-1, Jaja Nichols 0-1; HR – Cunningham, Maley, Jore. 2B – Ka.Smith. RBIs – Hanson, Maley 2, Jore 2, Cunningham.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12

MAC defeats state power Manhattan, falls to Florence-Carlton

MAC faced up against state power Manhattan, downing them 9-7 in nine innings in some early season Class B softball at Fort Missoula on Friday, April 12. Izzy Evans went the distance in the circle, striking out 11 while giving up seven hits.

Manhattan built a 7-0 lead through six innings, but MAC battled back with a seven-run rally in the top of the seventh. Manhattan took the lead with a run in the seventh, but the Lady Bulldogs notched two runs in the top of the ninth for the victory.

MAC finished with 16 hits, including three hits from Alecia Steele, who also had a home run, a double, and two RBI. GG Hawk had two hits and three RBI to go along with a home run.

Evans helped her own cause with a double, two hits and an RBI. Catcher Amelia Cronk had two hits, a double and two RBI. Maia Christopher and Avia Lee also had multi-hit games.

MAC also lost to Florence Carlton 12-0 the same day in Missoula and now sits at 3-2 on the season. MAC had two hits against F-C, with Kason Page and Maia Christopher each connecting with the ball.

At Missoula

MAC 9, MANHATTAN 7 (9 INNINGS)

MAC - 000 - 000 - 702 - 9 - 16 - 4

Manh - 402 - 001 - 100 - 7 - 7 - 0

MAC PITCHING: Izzy Evans (9IP:11K,7H,5W,1HB)

MISSION-ARLEE-CHARLO HITTING: GG Hawk 2-5, Maia Christopher 2-5, Evans 2-5, Alecia Steele 3-5, Amelia Cronk 2-5, Avia Lee 2-5 Kason Page 1-4, Kensey Burke 1-4, Madison Incashola 1-4. HR – Hawk, Steele; 2B – Evans, Cronk, Steele. RBIs – Hawk 3, Evans, Steele 2, Cronk 2, M.Incashola 1.

    CLOSE CALL: Kailey Smith of Polson makes valiant effort to stop Libby player during last week's matchup, which landed in Polson's win column. (Bob Gunderson photo)