Blue Ponies sweep four in Butte

The weekend plans for the Havre high softball team included winning a couple of games, and gaining some momentum heading into the postseason. And after a clean sweep of the competition, the Blue Ponies accomplished both.

The Havre High girls fastpitch softball team won four games this weekend in Butte.

In non-league action, the Central A Ponies faced four teams while attending the Laverne Combo Softball Invitational in Butte. The Ponies went 4-0 on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, the Ponies started the weekend with a 5-1 win over Corvallis. The Ponies then followed with a dominating 18-2 win over Thompson Falls. And on Saturday, the Ponies recorded two more wins to round out their weekend. The Ponies defeated Glendive 8-6 and defeated Stevensville 8-7. A weekend without a loss was just what the Ponies were looking for, as they now prepare to host the Central A divisional tournament this weekend in Havre with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

"We played a lot of great teams down there," Havre High head coach Danny Wirtzberger said. "As well as some teams that are around the same ability as ourselves. And I thought, to go down there and to win four games, was huge momentum for us heading into the divisional tournament. We are playing our best softball right now, and we are peaking at the right time."

In two wins on Friday, the Ponies rarely gave up a run or a hit.

HHS gave up a combined three runs, but also allowed just four hits by Corvallis. But on the flipside, the Ponies did the exact opposite. In the two games, the Ponies combined for 23 runs off of an impressive 16 hits. HHS also did all that in just nine innings of play on Friday, including an 11 run third inning against Thompson Falls.

Facing Corvallis, Davee McLeod got the win, while getting run support from across the lineup. Tori Mazurkiewicz was 2-for-2 with an RBI, while Harlee Boucher went 1-for-3. McLeod also went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Sydney Huston and Morgan Mazurkiewicz both went hitless, but also recorded one RBI each.

Rachel Majeres got the easy win for the Ponies against Thompson Falls, a game where the bats really heated up. Dani Wagner went 3-for-4 and Shania Carlson went 2-for-2 to lead the Blue Ponies, while Jordy Warren also went 2-for-3. Liz Facio, Paige Henderson, Roxanna Jensen, Majeres and McLeod also had one hit each.

On Saturday, HHS got caught in two much closer matchups.

The Ponies trailed Glendive 1-0 through two innings, but strung together six runs in the third inning to take over the lead 6-2 through three. In the fourth inning the Ponies added two more runs, just enough to get the win, as Glendive also added four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning in an attempt to knock off the Ponies.

Facing Stevensville, the Ponies were in a similar situation.

Stevensville took an early 4-0 lead after one inning of play, and quickly went up 6-2 after two innings. But the Ponies bounced back, adding two runs in the third, one run in the fourth, and two more in the fifth. HHS led 7-6, but Stevensville tied the game at 7-7 with one more run in the sixth. This time the Ponies had to come up with seventh inning heroics, as they added one final run, reclaiming the lead and taking their fourth win of the weekend.

"That game (Stevensville) was a huge stepping stone for this team," Wirtzberger said. "We saw leaders step up in that game. It is not easy to win a game when you are down 6-0, especially when you are playing a timed game. You only have an hour and a half to get it down, and we saw kids like Roxanna Jensen, Davee McLeod, and most of all, Paige Henderson step up and get the job done."

Henderson led the Ponies against Glendive, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Tori Mazurkiewicz also went 1-for-2 with one RBI. Majeres went 2-for-3, while Wagner, Jensen, McLeod, Warren, and Morgan Mazurkiewicz also all had one hit each. And facing Stevensville, Majeres helped lead the way again, going 2-for-3 with one RBI. Henderson also went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Morgan Mazurkiewicz went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Tori Mazurkiewicz went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Wagner and Boucher each had one hit, and Jensen and McLeod each had one hit and one RBI. Carlson also went 0-for-1, but did record on RBI for the Ponies.

Four wins should give the Ponies just the momentum they were looking for to end the regular season, and begin the post season.

"Our goal was to treat these games like tournament games," Wirtzberger said. "There is a possibility we will play three games on Friday, so we treated the weekend like a need to win situation, and the girls responded to that well. I was pleased with how we reacted to everything that happened this weekend. Our team camaraderie is really coming along, and that is what an overnight trip will do to you, it will either drive you apart or bring you together. This team was brought together even more, and we really have our eyes on the prize, the prize being a trip to state."

Sitting in the middle of the Central A, at 3-5, the Ponies know they will have to play well again this weekend in Havre. HHS will host the divisional tournament on Friday and Saturday.

FRIDAY

Havre 5, Corvallis 1

Corvallis 000 001 – 1 4 3

Havre 031 01x – 5 4 0

WP - Davee McLeod; LP – Zena Smith.

Corvallis - Gianna Schrock 1-3, Taia Tully 1-3, Miguela Kriskovich 1-3, Hannah Capuo 1-3, Brenna Bourgeois 0-2, Kira Doyle 0-2, Zena Smith 0-2, Syd Curtis 0-2, Katherine Grenfell 0-2.

Havre - Dani Wagner 0-3, Harlee Boucher 1-3, Roxanna Jensen 0-3, Davee McLeod 1-3 2RBIs, Paige Henderson 0-3, Rachel Majeres 0-2, Sydne Huston 0-2 RBI, Tori Mazurkiewicz 2-2 RBI, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 0-2 RBI.

Havre 18, Thompson Falls 2

Havre 23(11) 2 – 18 12 x

Thompson Falls 011 0 – 2 x x

WP – Rachel Majeres; LP – Madi Fitchett

Havre – Reggie Bernard 0-2, China Bohn 0-2, Harlee Boucher 0-4, Shania Carlson 2-2, Liz Facio 1-3, Brittney Garden 0-1, Paige Henderson 1-2, Sydne Huston 0-1, Roxanna Jensen 1-2, Rachel Majeres 1-4, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 0-1, Tori Mazurkiewicz 0-1, Davee McLeod 1-2, Dani Wagner 3-4, Jordy Warren 2-3

Thompson Falls – No Statistics Available

SATURDAY

Havre 8, Glendive 6

Havre 006 2 – 8 10 0

Glendive 101 4 – 8 7 2

WP – Rachel Majeres; LP – Temple

Havre — Dani Wagner 1-5, Harlee Boucher 0-2, Roxanna Jensen 1-3, Davee McLeod 1-3, Paige Henderson 2-3 4RBIs, Rachel Majeres 2-3, Jordy Warren 1-3, Sydne Huston 0-0, Tori Mazurkiewicz 1-2 RBI, Liz Facier 0-0, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 1-2.

Glendive — Storlie 1-3, Marquart 1-2 RBI, Am. Mittlestadt 1-2 RBI, Al. Mittlestadt 1-3 RBI, Hubbard 1-2 RBI, P. Schieffer 1-2, S. Schieffer 1-2, Pettersen 0-0, Cribbs 0-2, Temple 0-1.

Havre 8, Stevensville 7

Stevensville 420 001 0 — 7 7 1

Havre 022 120 1 — 8 10 5

WP – Davee McLeod; LP – Carly Vercuyssen

Stevensville - Bailey Vercruyssen 1-4, Carly Vercruyssen 1-4, Alycia Sims 3-4 3RBIs, Megan Finley 0-4 RBI, Emalie Lewis 0-4, Jenna Luckman 1-4, Megan Elam 1-4 RBI, Cammie Beller 0-4, Kayla Knights 0-4.

Havre - Dani Wagner 1-4, Harlee Boucher 1-4, Roxy Jensen 1-4 RBI, Davee McLeod 1-4 RBI, Paige Henderson 2-4 RBI, Rachel Majeres 2-3 RBI, Sydne Huston 0-2, Tori Mazurkiewicz 1-3 RBI, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 1-3 2RBIs, Shania Carlson 0-1 RBI.