Blue Pony softball making steady progress

The Havre High softball program isn't one of the elite programs in the state.

Not yet anyway.

The Blue Ponies have housed a softball team for only five seasons now; still a baby in the world of girls fastpitch softball and in sports in general. But despite the disadvantages of going through growing pains early on, the Ponies are well on their way to making their name statewide.

"This year I think is going to be the year," Havre High Athletic Director Dennis Murphy said. "I feel real confident with our kids this year that just getting to the state tournament isn't enough, I think we need to win some games. I know our coaching staff feels good about it and they are prepared to do that. I think we are ready to make the next step up." The Ponies will make an appearance at the state Class A softball tournament, marking their second in two years.

In 2006, HHS went 5-15 in their rookie season and missed the opportunity to travel to state. In 2007, they went 9-14, but went 0-2 in their first-ever trip to state. In 2008, the Ponies finished with a .500 record at 11-11.

The Ponies were left out of the state picture in 2008, but bounced back in

2009.

The Ponies moved out of the Northwest Conference and found a new home in the Central A. In doing so, the Ponies had their best season do date, finishing the season with a 14-7-1 record, but still going 0-2 in the state tournament a year ago.

This year, the Blue Ponies have earned a 14-10 record overall and enter the state tournament in Billings as the No. 2 seed coming out of the Central A. And with the No. 3 Anaconda Copperheads first on the list for the Ponies this weekend, the Ponies are poised to earn their first-ever state tournament win.

A big part of the Ponies' success has come from the lower levels of play.

The Havre city league softball programs were started just a few years before the high school program. And just like a Major League farm team, city leagues have helped shaped the up-andcomers.

It is a big help now, but when the Ponies first began to compete, the city leagues weren't strong either.

"Most of the kids coming into the high school league have played more fastpitch and they understand the game better than they did when we first started," Havre High head coach Bob Evans said. "You have to have a city league or you won't have a high school team. You can't expect freshmen to come in that have never played the game before, they have to get training down in the sixth, seventh and eighth grade. If you don't have a strong city league you won't have a strong high school team." This season the Ponies struggled with depth. They had only four newcomers to the program, and in a perfect situation that isn't enough. Evans would like to see at least eight or nine freshmen enter each new season.

Evans has been the head coach of the Ponies since the very beginning. He has seen the growth of the team and the impact the city league has made on it.

And though the Ponies have yet to win a state game, the numbers show the steady progression.

"We may not be winning a lot more games than we did the last few years," Evans said. "But we compete in more games than we did. This year we were beat up on twice, and in the early days we got beat up on a lot. Now the program is to where we are able to compete every time we go onto the field." From the first season till now, the Ponies have gone from a five-win season to a 14-win one. That may not be quite the numbers that the Belgrade's and the Polson's are putting up, but they are solid numbers from a solid team well on its way.

"I think that we had success very quickly and early," Murphy said "We're not an elite team yet, but I think we are making the proper steps in that direction."