Blue Ponies close out the regular season in Butte

There is a solid list of things that the Havre High softball program would like to clean up before entering the post season. But time to do so is quickly running out as it enters the final weekend on the regular season schedule.

Today and Saturday the Central A Blue Ponies will be in Butte for the Butte Central Invitational. It is a nonconference weekend for the Ponies who will enter the divisional tournament next weekend 3-5, and as the No.4 seed. The Ponies also fell below .500 overall with two losses on Tuesday, but will look for wins, and momentum in Butte.

Today the Ponies will play Polson, then Columbia Falls. Saturday the Ponies will play two more games, opening with Libby, followed by Powell, Wyoming, to end the weekend.

"We are concentrating on ourselves," Havre High head coach Danny Wirtzberger said. "We are going to see some good pitching down there, so that is good for us, but we would really like to just get back on the winning track before rolling into divisionals. But this is also a chance at the end of the year to get everybody some more playing time, too."

The varsity lineup has been consistent for the Ponies, but there are several girls who have been in and out of the lineup, getting work and key innings in preparation for the post season. Freshman Jacey McDonald has seen valuable varsity time this year, and should continue to see work moving forward. Jordyn Warren, Sydne Huston and China Bohn also seem to trade time off and on and will continue pitch in where and when needed. After two losses to Livingston Tuesday, coach Wirtzberger stressed the program's lack of teamwork. If the Ponies can continue to get hits like they have been, but also increase their runs and grab some wins, those positive steps will go a long way for the team's chemistry right now.

"This tournament is good for that," Wirtzberger said. "And hopefully it works for us and not against us. But a lot of playing well together and having fun comes with winning. The plain simple truth of it is that everybody is having fun when they are winning, so grabbing some wins would be big for us this weekend."

The programs the Ponies will face over the two days may be somewhat of a mystery, but the Ponies know they are all very talented.

Columbia Falls is a frequent contributor to the state tournament and houses talent like Madi Fetters, Tiffany Hummer, and Ashley Trueblood. Trueblood is a solid pitcher and hitter for the Wildcats. Libby is also hot this season and will put players like junior Devon Gallagher on the field. Gallagher is standout catcher who also leads the offensive efforts with homerun power. Polson also makes more appearances at the state tournament than not. And with wins over teams like Columbia Falls this season, Jessica Bagnell has proved to be a standout pitcher. HHS pitchers Rachel Majeres, Tori Mazurkiewicz and Dani Wagner will also have their hands full with the likes of Kaelen Wall, Hannah Potter, Jaylin Kenney and Kyrie Bitterman.

The Panthers out of Powell, Wyoming, are more of a mystery to the Ponies, but HHS is preparing for a solid team, knowing they need to play their best no matter what.

Today the Ponies face Polson and Columbia Falls. Saturday they face Libby and Powell.