Ronan battled their way through the consolation bracket and defeated Hamilton 13-3 on Saturday, May 18 in the Western A fifth-place game. Their placing means they’ll be headed to the state tournament this week in Billings.
Ronan opened the tournament with a 10-0 victory over Butte Central on Friday, May 17. The Maidens had 14 hits, including a triple and two RBI by Kendall.
Ronan led 6-0 after two innings and they scored four more unanswered runs. Butte Central was held to one hit by pitcher Kailyn Marengo had nine strikeouts.
Ally Luedtke, Kaydnce Santos, and Mira Corum all had multi-hit games, while Corum also drove in two runs.
Next, Ronan fell to Dillon 7-6 Friday to move to the consolation bracket. Raela Bartel drove in two runs and had a home run, but the Beavers scored in five of its six innings at the plate.
Kendall pitched the first four innings, striking out seven, while Bartel finished the game.
Neveah Perez had two hits, while Ernestine Tapia-Torosian also drove in a run and had a double.
Ronan started a busy Saturday with a convincing 15-1 victory over Browning. The Maidens had 17 hits, while pitchers Kailyn Marengo and Morgan Simpson held Browning to just one. Marengo struck out seven, and Simpson struck out three.
Kaydnce Santos went 4-for-4 in the game, driving in two runs and hitting a triple.
Nikki Kendall and Neveah Perez smacked two home runs, with Perez driving home four runs on her three hits, while Kendall had three RBI on two hits.
Ronan led 12-0 after one inning and added three more runs in the bottom of the second. Kylee Kelch, Kailyn Marengo, and Perez had doubles, while Ernestine Tapia-Torosian had a triple.
To get to the fifth-place game, Ronan battled it out with Stevensville and won 4-0 in the consolation bracket. Kendall threw a three-hitter while striking out eight. She also added a home run in the top of the second for the official go-ahead run.
Ronan finished with five hits, including doubles by Kaydnce Santos and Morgan Simpson. Stevensville committed four errors in the matchup.
Against Hamilton, Nikki Kendall was solid on the mound, throwing a two-hit gem for the Maidens while also smacking a home run. Ronan led 4-3 after three innings, then added five runs in the fourth, three runs in the fifth, and another insurance run in the sixth.
Ronan finished with nine hits, including two-hit performances from Kaydnce Santos and Kylee Kelch. Mira Corum drove in two runs in the matchup as well. Hamilton committed nine errors in the loss.
Ronan heads to State, May 23-25 in Billings, with a record on the season of 18-7.
At Polson: Friday, May 17
RONAN 10, BUTTE CENTRAL 0
Bu-Cen - 000 - 000 - x - 0 - 1 - 2
Ronan - 420 - 121 - x - 10 - 14 - 0
RONAN PITCHING: Kailyn Marengo (5 and 2/3 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts)
RONAN HITTING: Ally Luedtke 2-4, Kaydnce Santos 3-3, Neveah Perez 0-2, Kailyn Marengo 2-3, Mira Corum 2-3, Morgan Simpson 1-2, Ernstine Tapia-Torosian 0-1, Kylee Kelch 1-3, Adrienne Crockett 0-3; RBI: Perez, Marengo, Kendall 2, Corum 2, Kelch; 2B: Kendall, 3B: Kendall
DILLON 7, RONAN 6
Ronan - 300 - 003 - 0 - 6 - 6 - 1
Dillon - 122 - 011 - x - 7 - 8 - 4
RONAN PITCHING: Nikki Kendall (4 innings pitched, 7 hits, 6 runs, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts), Raela Bartel (2 innings pitched, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts)
RONAN HITTING: Ally Luedtke 0-4, Kaydnce Santos 1-4, Neveah Perez 2-4, Kailyn Marengo 0-4, Nikki Kendall 1-2, Ernstine Tapia Torosian 1-1, Raela Bartel 1-1, Mira Corum 0-3, Morgan Simpson 0-3, Kylee Kelch 0-2, Adrienne Crockett 0-2; RBI: Tapia-Torosian 1, Bartel 2; 2B: Tapia-Torosian, Kendall, HR: Bartel
At Polson: Saturday, May 18
RONAN 15, BROWNING 1
Browning - 000 - 10 - 1 - 1 - 4
Ronan - (12)30 - 0 - 15 - 17 - 0
RONAN PITCHING: Kailyn Marengo (4 innings pitched, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts), Morgan Simpson (1 innings pitched, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts)
RONAN HITTING: Ally Luedtke 1-2, Kaydnce Santos 4-4, Neveah Perez 3-4, Kailyn Marengo 3-3, Nikki Kendall 2-3, Mira Corum 1-2, Ernstine Tapia-Torosian 1-1, Dorthy Webster 0-1, Kylee Kelch 1-2; Bailee Woll 1-2; RBI: Luedtke, Santos 2, Perez 4, Kendall 3, Kelch; 2B: Kelch, Marengo, Perez; 3B: Tapia-Torosian, Santos; HR: Kendall, Perez
RONAN 4, STEVENSVILLE 0
Ronan - 010 - 210 - 0 - 4 - 5 - 1
S-ville - 000 - 000 - 0 - 0 - 3 - 4
RONAN PITCHING: Nikki Kendall (7 innings pitched, 3 hits, 0 runs, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts)
RONAN HITTING: Ally Luedtke 0-3, Kaydnce Santos 1-3, Neveah Perez 0-3, Kailyn Marengo 1-2, Nikki Kendall 1-3, Mira Corum 1-3, Kylee Kelch 0-3, Ernstine Tapia-Torosian 0-3, Morgan Simpson 1-3; RBI: Kendall; 2B: Santos, Simpson; HR: Kendall
RONAN 13, HAMILTON 3
Hamilton - 102 - 000 - x - 3 - 2 - 9
Ronan - 400 - 531 - x - 13 - 9 - 3
RONAN PITCHING: Nikki Kendall (6 innings pitched, 2 hits, 3 runs, 0 earned runs, 3 walks, 6 strikeout
RONAN HITTING: Ally Luedtke 1-5, Kaydnce Santos 2-4, Neveah Perez 1-3, Kailyn Marengo 0-4, Nikki Kendall 1-2, Mira Corum 1-2, Kylee Kelch 2-4, Kylee Kelch 2-4, Ernstine Tapia-Torosian 0-4, Morgan Simpson 1-3; RBI: Luedtke, Marengo, Kendall, Corum 2, Kelch, Tapia-Torosian, Simpson; HR: Kendall
Maiden Ally Luedtke slices the ball during last week's Divisional tourney in Polson. The Maidens placed fifth and earned a trip to State. (Christa Umphrey photo)
Ronan pitcher Nikki Kendall delivered strong performances hitting and pitching during last week's Divisional tournament, helping the team recuperate from an early loss to earn a fifth place finish. (Christa Umphrey photo)