Ponies win one at Butte Central Invite

The competition the Havre High softball team ran into over the weekend was stiff. But in the final weekend of the regular season, the Central A Blue Ponies were able to get four more games under their belt, as well as one more win before the post season begins.

HHS spent the weekend in Butte, playing four nonconference games in two days at the Butte Central Invite. Friday, the Ponies went 0-2, losing a 7-2 game to Polson, followed by a 6-2 loss to Libby. Saturday the Ponies fared a little bit better on the road by going 1-1, losing an 8-1 matchup to Columbia Falls before ending the weekend with a dominating 13-5 win over Powell Wyoming.

Even if just for the momentum, the Ponies would have liked to grab a couple more wins. But despite the loses, the Ponies were still happy to get the games, as well as the opportunity to iron out any remaining wrinkles in the lineup.

“We liked getting the at bats,” Havre High head coach Danny Wirtzberger said. “But with the losses that we had, I thought that we could have competed a little better, especially against Polson and Libby. But we were trying some different lineups, so I will take the blame on all that.”

Through the first three games the Ponies struggled to hit the ball and score runs. They totaled five runs in the three losses, not nearly enough production to keep pace with Polson, Libby, or Columbia Falls. And all the HHS runs came late in the matchups as the Ponies scored two runs in the seventh against Polson, and a combined three runs in the sixth inning against Libby and Columbia Falls.

A couple of highlights did include China Bohn and Jacey McDonald each hitting a double, while Rachel Majeres crushed a home run against Libby.

But with the lack of run support, Majeres suffered all three losses from the pitching circle. Majeres pitched a total of 19 innings as she gave up 12 hits to Polson, four to Libby, and another 11 to a very talented Columbia Falls lineup. Majeres also walked eight batters over the two days, as well as blew by another 10 for double-digit strikeouts.

Fortunately for the Ponies, as the weekend progressed, the Ponies got more and more comfortable at the plate. The result was a solid win over Powell Wyoming.

“Our hitting struggled this weekend because we aren’t used the pitching that the teams out of the northwest bring.” Wirtzberger said. “They have some pitchers that can really bring it, so it took us a while to get used to that. That is something that we are really going to work on this week in practice. But we really began to hit the ball well and we were aggressive on the base path against Powell. I really enjoyed watching and coaching that last game, and it was really fun to see Dani Wagner get the win. She has really worked into a solid backup pitcher for us, and she pitched very well that day.”

Wagner pitched all five innings in the Blue Pony win. She gave up just three hits in the outing, as well as walked just two, giving up two earned runs. Wagner also recorded three strikeouts.

The offense also came alive in the weekend finale.

After trailing 3-1 through the first two frames, the Ponies erupted for a game-sealing nine runs in the third. The 10-3 lead eventually turned into a 13-5 win for Havre, as they totaled 13 hits. Nine Ponies recorded at least one hit in the win, while Morgan Mazurkiewicz helped lead the efforts by going 2-for-2 with on RBI. Scout Boucher went 2-for-3 and recorded an impressive three RBIs, while Shaniah Carlson was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Majeres had three RBIs on one hit, while Paige Henderson, Bohn, Wagner, Harlee Boucher, and Tori Mazurkiewicz had one hit each. Tori Mazurkiewicz also had an RBI.

It was a solid win for the Ponies, but most importantly the Ponies did some things to get ready for divisional weekend.

“We had too many mental and physical errors this weekend,” Wirtzberger said. “But that is also due, I think, to mixing up our lineup. But that is what that tournament is for, seeing what we are best at, and seeing how we can best field a team at the divisional tournament. We did that.”

Friday and Saturday the No. 4 Ponies will face the rest of the conference at the Central A Divisional tournament in Belgrade. The Ponies enter the postseason with a 3-5 conference record and will open against the No. 5 Browning Indians Friday.

Polson 7, Havre 2

Polson 012 004 0 – 7 12 1

Havre 000 000 2 – 2 9 1

WP – J. Bagnell; LP – Rachel Majeres

Polson – J. Kenney 2-4 RBI, J. Toth 1-4 RBI, J. Bagnell 0-3, K. Wall 1-1 2RBIs, H. Potter 1-4, T. Brackey 4-4, K. Bitterman 1-3, H. Fyant 1-1, S. Raysch 1-2 RBI, A. Benson 0-1, L. Dupuis 0-2, S. Krantz 0-2.

Havre – Scout Boucher 0-3, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 0-3, Paige Henderson 0-3, Rachel Majeres 1-3, Dani Wagner 2-3, Shaniah Carlson 1-3, Tori Mazurkiewicz 2-3 2RBIs, Harlee Boucher 2-2, Jordyn Warren 1-3.

Libby 6, Havre 2

Havre 000 001 1 – 2 5 5

Libby 020 103 x – 6 4 2

WP - H. England; LP – Rachel Majeres

Havre – Scout Boucher 0-4, Paige Henderson 1-3, Rachel Majeres 1-3 RBI, Dani Wagner 1-3, Tori Mazurkiewicz 0-2, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 0-2, Jacey McDonald 1-3, China Bohn 1-3 RBI, Sydne Huston 0-3, Shaniah Carlson 0-1.

Libby – M. Monigold 0-4 RBI, H. England 0-3, M. Wedel 0-4, D. Gallagher 1-3, K. Kin 0-2, A. Benefeild 2-3, D. Germany 0-3, R. Rebo 1-2 2RBIs, K. Lauer 0-2, B. Rosling 0-0 RBI.

Columbia Falls 8, Havre 1

Columbia Falls 301 121 – 8 11 0

Havre 000 001 – 1 4 6

WP – A. Trueblood; LP – Rachel Majeres

Columbia Falls – T. Hammer 2-4, W. Keropendin 2-4 RBI, A. Trueblood 2-4 RBI, A. Morrison 0-3 RBI, P. Kehr 2-4, M. Fetters 0-3 RBI, C. Brown 1-3 RBI, B. Frier 0-2, C. Murray 0-3, A. Canter 1-1, K. Price 1-1.

Havre – Paige Henderson 0-2, Rachel Majeres 0-2, Dani Wagner 2-2 RBI, Shaniah Carslon 0-3, Harlee Boucher 0-2, Tori Mazurkiewicz 1-2, Jordyn Warren 1-2, China Bohn 0-2, Sydne Huston 0-2, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 0-1.

Havre 13, Powell Wyoming 3

Havre 109 12 – 13 13 9

Powell 210 02 – 5 3 4

WP – Dani Wagner; LP – K. Gray

Havre – Rachel Majeres 1-1 3RBIs, Paige Henderson 1-2, China Bohn 1-3, Dani Wagner 1-3, Shaniah Carlson 3-4 2RBIs, Scout Boucher 2-4 3RBIs, Harlee Boucher 1-3, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 2-2 RBI, Tori Mazurkiewicz 1-3 RBI, Jacey McDonald 0-4.

Powell – M. Thernaull 0-2, K. Gray 0-2, D. Walker 1-3 RBI, C. Golf 2-3 2RBIs, N. Padoriah 0-3. S. Forbes 0-3, E. Carroll 0-2, E. Bartor 0-2, M. Stefalo 0-1.