Pony fastpitch opens the season

Spring in Montana is very unpredictable. And that's why it should come as no surprise that when the first spring sporting event of the season came around, which saw the Havre High softball team take on Glasgow, it felt much more like winter, than it did spring.

The Blue Ponies, who enter 2015 fresh off a state tournament berth, officially got their season underway against the Scotties, who found a way to outlast Havre in a hard-fought game Tuesday at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field, by the score of 6-4 in non-conference play.

The temperature, which hovered around 40 degrees and surely was much colder with the wind chill, seemed to have little effect on either team as they both went at each other for seven innings and, even though HHS fell a little short of victory, it was viewed as a good first step by head coach Bob Evans Sr.

"I thought our kids did well," Evans said. "We were missing a few kids that were either sick or injured, so we have some girls that had not played much in there. But it was good for them to get some experience, and I was happy with how the girls played."

Things started in ideal fashion for Havre, as the Ponies jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after Dani Wagner notched an RBI single to score Paige Henderson, who opened the inning with a leadoff single. And thanks to some stellar pitching from Wagner, who struck out four batters in four innings of work, the lead stayed that way until the top of the third, when Sadie Sukut hit a home run for the Scotties to tie the game at 1-1.

The game turned out to be a pitcher's dual until the top of the fifth inning, when Glasgow added two more runs, one on an RBI single by Ziggy Chamberlin and another on a passed ball to give the Scotties the 3-1 advantage. Yet, Havre answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth as Paige Henderson tripled and scored on an RBI single by Scout Boucher to trim the deficit to 3-2.

Then, after holding Glasgow scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, HHS was poised to take the lead when it had the bases loaded and just one out. But a strikeout and a pop fly ended the inning and preserved the Scottie lead.

In the top of the seventh, the Glasgow lead got even bigger as the Scotties tacked on three runs which gave them a 6-2 advantage going into the bottom of the seventh. And despite the fact that Havre scored two runs, one coming on an RBI double by Jacey McDonald and another that was driven in by Shania Carlson, the Ponies simply couldn't catch up and missed an opportunity with the tying runner on and two outs to tie up the game, falling just short of a dramatic, late-game comeback.

"I thought our pitching was good," Evans said. "I thought that Dani pitched really well for us, and I thought Paige, after not pitching for 3-4 years, did a really good job. We just couldn't make any plays behind her. And if we could have just made some plays behind her, she would have won that ballgame."

Despite getting hit with the loss on the mound, Henderson had a solid performance, especially at the plate where she went 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. McDonald also had a good day at the dish, going 2-for-4 with a single, a double and an RBI. Wagner added a single and an RBI and Carlson also finished with a hit and a run batted in.

"I thought that the girls hit the ball well," Evans said. "Jacey hit the ball hard. And we gave ourselves some chances in the sixth and seventh innings, we just couldn't get the runs in. But I think we just need to get back some of the players we are missing, who all have varsity experience and that will help us a lot but it was also good for some of these other girls to get some experience."

The Ponies will be back in action this weekend at the Great Falls Jamboree, which will take place Saturday. HHS will then be back at home next Tuesday to open Central A play against Browning. For more on the Blue Ponies, see Friday's Havre Daily News.

Glasgow 6, Havre 4

Glasgow 001 020 3 - 7

Havre 100 010 2 - 4

Havre - Jacey McDonald 2-4, Paige Henderson 2-3, Dani Wagner 1-4, Harlee Boucher 2-4, Scout Boucher 1-4, Jacqueline Martin 0-3, Madison Tommerup 0-2, Shania Carlson 1-3, Tara McCormick 0-2, Claire Worm 0-2.