STATE RESULTS--THURS., 5-28

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SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT

THURS., 5-28
GM 1--LIBBY 0 RONAN 4
GM 2--HAVRE 3 FRENCHTOWN 10
GM 3--COLUMBIA FALLS 4 PARK 2
GM 4--LAUREL 0 CORVALLIS 3
GM 5--BELGRADE 2 RONAN 0
GM 6--POLSON 0 FRENCHTOWN 5
GM 7--BILLINGS 7 COL. FALLS 5
GM 8--BUTTE 8 CORVALLIS 0

FRI, 5-29
GM 9--PARK VS RONAN 9:00 AM
GM 10-LAUREL VS POLSON 9:00 PM
GM 11-LIBBY VS COL. FALLS 11:00 AM
GM 12 HAVRE VS CORVALLIS 11:00 AM
GM 13-BELGRADE VS FRENCHTOWN 1:00 PM
GM 14- BILLINGS VS BUTTE 1:00 PM
GM 15-WINNER 9 VS WINNER 10 3:00 PM
GM 16-WINNER 11 VS WINNER 12 3:00 PM
GM 17-LOSER 14 VS WINNER 15 5:00 PM
GM 18-LOSER 13 VS WINNER 16 5:00 PM

Broncs shut down Pirates: State softball continues today  

By DIXIE KNUTSON/The Daily Inter Lake

Published: Friday, May 29, 2009 12:37 AM CDT 
POLSON - The road to the Class A state softball championship? It just got a lot longer for the Polson Lady Pirates.

The Pirates were shut out in their first game on Thursday, falling 5-0 to the Frenchtown Broncs.

"We just ran into a very, very dominating pitcher," said Pirate coach Larry Smith of Frenchtown's Shelby Russ.

Russ limited Polson to just five hits. She struck out seven batters, hit one, and walked no one.

"I can't believe anybody would be able to shut us out, but she sure did. If we would have been able to put the ball in play, it might have been a different story, but she wouldn't allow it," he said.

"She did a great job. Very impressive. I think she's out to win it all," he smiled.

"We can't blame the byes. This has happened to us before.

"But sometimes those byes can come back and bite you," he said.

"It took us the first couple of innings to get the jitters out. Then we settled down and played even ball with them," he said.

But by then, the Broncs had done their own damage hitting the ball.

Frenchtown scored three runs off three hits and an error in the first inning. It added two more runs in the second - off a single and a home run by No. 8 and No. 9 batters Keller Lieshman and Shelby Jutila.

"We helped them to get started with the mistakes we made, which normally, we don't do," Smith said.

For their part, the Pirates couldn't string anything together offensively.

Junior shortstop Staci Benson started the game off with a single, but the Pirates went down in order after that, stranding her at second.

In fact, Polson stranded one baserunner in every inning - two of them on third base.

It was enough to leave a veteran coach shaking his head.

But, as he told his players, it's Polson's tradition to come back.

"Now, it's time to show you really are Lady Pirate softball players. You've got to let this one go immediately and come charging back.

"Our back is to the wall. Everything counts ... every pitch, every play.

"They'll be ready. I believe in them. There's enough leadership there," he said.

Frenchtown 5, Polson 0

Frenchtown 320 000 0 - 5 6NA

Polson 000 000 0 - 05NA

Shelby Russ and Kristy Kees. Charlee Jensen, Dakota Peterson (5) and Kayla Duford.

Frenchtown - Erin Maxted 0-3, Kristy Kees 1-2, Shelby Russ 1-3, Kayla Bordner 0-3, Stef Klucwich 1-2, Megan Farmer 2-3, Mariel Maxted 0-3, Keller Lieshman 1-3, Shelby Jutila 1-3, Jaimee Willis 0-1. 2B - Kees, Russ. HR - Jutila. RBIs: Farmer 1, Lieshman 1, Jutila 2.

Polson - Staci Benson 2-4, Sarah Newton 0-3, Riley Kennedy 1-3, Rochelle Woods 1-2, Sallie Sams 0-3, Kayla Duford 0-1, Charlee Jensen 1-3, Kiley Knutson 0-1, SuSan Perez-Tenas 1-3. 2B - Jensen, Perez-Tenas.

Billing Central 7, Columbia Falls 5

One hit.

One hit that never came.

The Columbia Falls Wildkats had hits, but never at the right times in Thursday's 7-5 winner's bracket loss to the Billings Central Lady Rams.

"We didn't hit the ball well enough. We had runners at second and third and we didn't get a good hit. We didn't score them," said Columbia Falls Dave Kehr.

"And (the Rams' chinked away," he said.

Billings Central scored two runs in the first, then added one run in the second, third and fourth innings and two in the fifth.

Meanwhile, the Wildkats had baserunners at second and third three times, only to strand them all three times.

"I thought in the first, second, third ... we'll get a run in a little bit. But we never got on it. I don't know why," he said.

They still gave it a good go.

Columbia Falls scored one run in the sixth, then retired Billings Central in order in the seventh.

Things were good for a comeback when Amanda Milliard walked to start the seventh. Amber James got aboard on a fielder's choice and then back-to-back singles from Kayla Stinger and Shaun Rowe brought in two runs.

But that's where the rally stalled - the next two batters flew out to left and grounded out to second.

"We didn't play well and we were one hit away from tying the game. It would be nice to play well and see what happens," Kehr said.

"We've got to hit the ball. That's all there is to it," he said.

"We're not out of it. We'll play more games. So we'll see. We've just got to start hitting the ball."

Billings Central 7, Columbia Falls 5

Billings Central 211 120 0 - 7 10 NA

Columbia Falls 110 001 2 - 5 9 NA

Jenny Harrington and Brynn Burke. Morgan Rowe, Jessica Owens (5) and Amber James.

Billings Central - Brynn Burke 3-3, Shae Chilton 0-3, Megan Smith 2-4, Michela Jacobson 1-2, Jenny Harrington 0-3, Chere Anderson 2-3, Katelyn Lynch 0-4, Guin Avers 1-3, Amanda Tryan 1-3. 2B - Smith, Jacobson, Anderson (2). RBI: Jacobson 2, Anderson 2, Tryan 1.

Columbia Falls - Tia Yaeger 0-4, Amanda Milliard 0-3, Amber James 2-4, Kayla Stinger 2-4, Shaun Rowe 1-3, Cassidee Skiles 2-4, Renae Nelson 1-4, Morgan Rowe 0-2, Jessica Owens 0-1, Niki Birky 1-3. 2B - James. RBI: Birky 2, Stinger 1, Rowe 1.

Ronan 4, Libby 0

Maidens senior pitcher Kaylee Larson flirted with a perfect game in the tournament opener. She allowed only one hit and struck out nine.

Ronan scored all of its runs in the first two frames. Larson finished 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. Teammate Kelsey Clairmont was 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Sophomore Amber Grubham had Libby's only hit. The Loggers fell to 11-12.

Libby 000 000 0 - 0 1 0

Ronan 220 000 x - 4 6 0

Kaylee Larson and Jordan Strozzi. Taylor Armstrong and Lexi Hageness. W - Larson. L - Hageness.

LIBBY - Nicky Lapka 0-3, Amber Grubham 1-3, Alysha Martin 0-3, Candace Hendrickson 0-3, Jordan Refsland 0-2, Lexi Hageness 0-2, Emily Monroe 0-2, Jaime Gilden 0-2, LaRona Luscher 0-2.

RONAN - Kelsey Clairmont 3-3, Larson 2-3, Strozzi 0-2, April Soukup 0-3, Katie Andrews 1-3, Brit Clairmont 0-2, Amanda Bartel 0-2, Chelsey Bourdon 0-2, Dani Crocket 0-2, Lindsey Clairmont 0-1, Paige Delaurenti 0-1.

2B - K. Clairmont, Larson. RBIs - Larson, Strozzi, Soukup.

Frenchtown 10, Havre 3

Russ struck out 12 and hammered two doubles in leading the Broncs to the first-round victory.

Frenchtown jumped on Havre in the first inning, using aggressive baserunning to score five runs. Kayla Bordner, Megan Farmer and Keller Leishman each had an RBI hit in the inning.

Russ finished 3-for-3 at the plate. Bordner and Leishman each went 2-for-3 and Kristy Kees 2-for-4.

Sam Mack went 2-for-3 with an RBI for Havre.

Frenchtown 510 301 0 - 10 11 1

Havre 002 010 0 - 3 4 4

Shelby Russ, Leishman (7) and Kees. Karly Evans, Abigail Ita (6) and Kelli Kelsey. W - Russ. L - Evans.

FRENCHTOWN - Erin Maxted 1-3, Kees 2-4, Russ 3-3, Bordner 2-3, Klucewich 1-3, Farmer 1-4, Ma. Maxted 0-3, Aimee Duncan 0-1, Leishman 2-3, Jutila 0-2, Indreland 0-1.

HAVRE - Holly Cartwright 1-3, Evans 1-3, Sam Mack 2-3, Kelsey 0-3, Tabby Myers 0-1, Natalie Kato 0-3, Ita 0-3, Andrea Nault 0-2, Cortnay Bricker 0-3.

2B - Russ (2), Kees, Evans. RBIs - Farmer, Ma. Maxted, Russ, Bordner, Klucewich, Mack, Lischman.

Columbia Falls 4, Livingston 2

The Wildkats used a solid defensive effort to win the first-round game, holding Livingston to two runs on nine hits.

Livingston jumped to a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. But Columbia Falls responded with two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Senior third baseman Tia Yaeger led the Wildkats at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs. Teammate Cassidee Skiles was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

Livingston 000 200 0 - 2 9 2

Col. Falls 000 022 x - 4 8 1

Jordan Asay and Alex Anderson. Morgan Rowe and Amber James. W - Rowe. L - Asay.

LIVINGSTON - Katie Dolsak 3-4, Jo Chapel 1-4, Stephanie Davoe 1-2, Mackenzie Scofield 0-4, Jordan Asay 2-3, Kami Willson 1-2, Alex Henderson 0-2, Inga Nead 1-3, Davie Pederson 0-3.

COLUMBIA FALLS - Tia Yaeger 3-3, Amanda Milliard 0-3, Amber James 1-3, Kayla Stinger 0-3, Shaun Rowe 1-3, Cassidee Skiles 2-3, Renae Nelson 1-3, Morgan Rowe 0-3, Niki Birky 0-3.

2B - Skiles. 3B - Yaeger. HR - James, S. Rowe. RBIs - Yaeger 2, Skiles 2, J. Asay, Anderson.

Corvallis 3, Laurel 0

Blue Devils freshman pitcher Alex Ewing struck out eight and walked only one in recording a complete-game shutout in the first-round matchup.

Corvallis scored its three runs in the top of the seventh. Ewing started things with a one-out single.

She moved to second on a sacrifice and third on an Angie Henderson base hit before BriAnna Brawley's RBI single. Markie Gurley followed with a two-RBI base hit.

Brawley led the Blue Devils at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double.

Corvallis 000 000 3 - 3 8 2

Laurel 000 000 0 - 0 2 1

Alex Ewing and Korie Conder. Katie Woods and Jesse Engen. W - Ewing. L - Woods.

CORVALLIS - Henderson 2-4, Brawley 3-3, Gurley 1-4, Bradshaw 1-4, Auch 0-4, Conder 0-3, Morris 0-2, Ewing 1-3, Elliot 0-2.

LAUREL - Olivia Heidinger 0-3, Elizabeth McGee 0-2, Maddie Cebichar 0-3, Sarah Parks 0-3, Katie Woods 2-3, Jesse Engen 0-3, Keilah Ahman 0-3, Kaitlyn O'Rourke 0-3, Michelle Dahl 0-2.

2B - Brawley. RBIs - Gurley 2, Brawley.

Belgrade 3, Ronan 0

The Maidens (14-6) managed just one hit off Belgrade pitcher Lauren Torres in the second-round game. The hit was a single recorded by sophomore Katie Andrews.

Belgrade broke a scoreless tie with a run in the fourth off Larson (14-4). The team added one insurance run in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Ronan 000 000 0 - 0 1 1

Belgrade 000 111 x - 3 5 0

Kaylee Larson and Jordan Strozzi. Lauren Torres and Brittney Larsen. W - Torres. L - Larson (14-4).

RONAN - Kelsey Clairmont 0-3, Larson 0-3, Strozzi 0-3, Soukup 0-3, Andrews 1-3, Brittani Clairmont 0-3, Amanda Bartel 0-3, Bourdon 0-2, Dani Crocket 0-2.

BELGRADE - Ali Cygan 1-3, M. Bell 1-3, Lauren Torres 0-3, Brittany Larsen 1-3, Jillian Gue 0-3, Kasey West 1-3, Kassie Kallestad 0-3, Justine Taylor 0-2, M. Bell 1-2.

2B - Larsen. RBIs - Larsen, M. Bell.

Butte Central 9, Corvallis 0

Ewing had trouble with her control in the second-round game, walking five hitters in the first three innings as Butte Central built a 3-0 lead.

Corvallis also struggled defensively with three errors. Ewing left after six frames. She allowed eight runs but only three of them were earned.

Butte Central leadoff hitter Brooke Pokorny walked four times and scored twice. Teammates Kacey Daily and McKenzie Doherty each went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Third baseman Megan Auch went 2-for-3 with a double for Corvallis.

Corvallis 000 000 0 - 0 7 3

Central 102 321 x - 9 7 0

Alex Ewing, Ashley Johnson and Korie Conder. McKenzie Doherty and Brooke Pokorny. W - Doherty. L - Ewing.

CORVALLIS - Angie Henderson 1-4, BriAnna Brawley 0-3, Markie Gurley 1-3, Amber Bradshaw 1-3, Megan Auch 2-3, Korie Conder 0-2, Ruby Ostrander 0-1, Danielle Morris 1-3, Alex Ewing 0-2, Ashley Johnson 0-1, Teagan Elliot 1-3.

BUTTE CENTRAL - Brooke Pokorny 1-1, Saidee Johnston 0-3, Amber Orizotti 0-3, Quinn Peoples 0-3, Kacey Daily 2-4, Kylie Orizotti 1-3, McKenzie Doherty 2-4, Carlee Norbeck 1-3, Breanne Krzan 0-0, Angela Piazzola 0-3.

2B - Auch. RBIs - Daily 2, Doherty 2, Pokorny, A. Orizotti.

Pairings

State A softball tournament

at Polson Softball Complex

Thursday

Ronan 4, Libby 0

Frenchtown 10, Havre 3

Columbia Falls 4, Livingston 2

Corvallis 3, Laurel 0

Belgrade 3, Ronan 0

Frenchtown 5, Polson 0

Billings Central 7, Columbia Falls 5

Butte Central 8, Corvallis 0

Friday

9 a.m. - Ronan (14-6) vs. Livingston, loser out

9 a.m. - Polson (18-4) vs. Laurel, loser out

11 a.m. - Libby (11-12) vs. Columbia Falls, loser out

11 a.m. - Corvallis (9-14) vs. Havre, loser out

1 p.m. - Frenchtown (20-4) vs. Belgrade (20-2), third round

1 p.m. - Billings Central vs. Butte Central, third round

3 p.m. - Ronan/Livingston winner vs. Polson/Laurel winner, loser out

3 p.m. - Libby/Columbia Falls winner vs. Corvallis/Havre winner, loser out

5 p.m. - Two loser out games

Saturday

9 a.m. - Action begins in winners' bracket, consolation bracket

1 p.m. - First championship

3 p.m. - Second championship, if necessary