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Havre's Dani Wagner fires a pitch during a Central A softball game against Belgrade at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field. The Panthers beat the Ponies twice.
Havre's Scout Boucher takes a swing during Saturday's game between the Blue Ponies and Panthers at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field.
Havre's Jacey McDonald throws a ball in from right field during Saturday's doubeheader against Belgrade.
Blue Pony senior Paige Henderson, left, tags a Belgrade runner during Saturday's game at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field.
Havre High's Shania Carlson swings at a pitch during Saturday's Central A softball doubleheader at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field in Havre.
The Havre High softball team knew that taking on the Belgrade Panthers was going to be a test. But, when it was all said and done, even though the Blue Ponies lost both games, they proved they could hang with one of the best teams in Class A softball.
In the first game of a doubleheader, the Panthers beat the Ponies handily by the score of 17-7 in six innings. Yet, in game two, HHS came to play and led for much of the way before falling at the end to Belgrade by the score of 11-8.
“I wasn’t too pleased with the way we played in that first game,” HHS head coach Bob Evans Sr. said. “But, then we came out in that second game and really hit the ball well. If we can play like that and hit the ball like that against Livingston or Lewistown, we will be in good shape.”
The first game did not start out well for the Ponies, as the Panthers scored nine runs in the second innings, thanks in large part to a three-run home run by Hannah Goulet. By the end of the fourth inning, the Panthers’ lead had grown to 15-0.
However, the Ponies refused to quit and rallied to score seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to keep the game going. Dani Wagner knocked in two runs on a single and Jacey McDonald followed that up with a two-run double to make the score 15-5 Then, Paige Henderson belted a two-run home run to push the game into the sixth inning.
But, as the Ponies failed to score any runs in the top of the sixth, Belgrade’s Judy Taylor, who was also the game’s winning pitcher, belted a two-run homer that put the Panthers up 17-7 and put the mercy rule into effect, ending the game.
Scout Boucher led the Ponies with two hits in the game, while Henderson, Wagner and McDonald each added one. Wagner was hit with the loss after surrendering 17 runs in six innings.
In the second game, the Ponies got out of the gates quickly with a two-run first after RBIs from McDonald and Henderson put HHS in front 2-0. That lead stood until the top of the third when Jenna Cox hit a three-run shot for Belgrade to put the Panthers in front 3-2.
With the score tied at 3-3 going into the fifth, Jordan Branch put the Panthers in control after blasting a three-run homer, her second of the game, to help Belgrade score four runs in the inning to take a 7-3 lead.
But, the Ponies refused to go away without a fight. They responded by scoring four runs in the bottom half of the inning to the score at 7-7. Henderson came up with a clutch triple that scored two runs, while McDonald had another RBI single. Harlee Boucher brought home the tying run on a sacrifice.
Yet, the Panthers answered with two more runs in the top of the sixth to go back up 9-7. In the bottom half of the inning, Henderson was up with two runners on and was inches away from hitting a home run that would have given Havre the lead. Instead it fell short of the fence, and scored just one runner. Henderson would finish the inning stranded and Havre trailed 9-8 going into the seventh.
Needing some insurance runs, the Panthers got exactly that in the top of the seventh inning as Taylor went long for the second time in two games, this time it was a two-run shot that gave Belgrade an 11-8 advantage. Up three runs in the bottom of the seventh, Belgrade shut the door on a Havre comeback and walked away with a three-run victory.
“I thought we did some really good things in that second game,” Evans said. “We were really hitting the ball well and that’s what we need to do because we aren’t going to be able to hold people to one or two runs a game. So we are going to have to score some runs and outscore people.”
Henderson finished the game 3-4 with four RBIs. McDonald was 2-4 with two RBIs. Shania Carlson and Scout Boucher each went 2-4, while Wagner, Payton Howard and Jordyn Warren each added hits. Henderson was given the loss after giving up 11 runs in seven innings.
The Ponies will be back in action Friday, when they will travel to Browning to take on the Indians in a Central A conference matchup. The first pitch will be at 5 p.m.
Belgrade 17, Havre 7
Havre 000 007 -- 7
Belgrade 293 111 -- 17
Wagner and Carlson. Taylor and Bethke. W: Taylor. L: Wagner.
Havre – Carlson 0-4, S. Boucher 2-4, Wagner 1-3, McDonald 1-3, Henderson 1-3, H. Boucher 0-1, Howard 0-1, Warren 1-1, Mazurkiewicz 0-2.
Belgrade – Skyla Neubauer 1-1, Schladetsch 1-2, Taylor 4-5, Branch 1-3, Goulet 1-3, Pachl 0-1, Bethke 2-4, Atwood 2-3, Krone 2-3, Cox 0-1, Maczewski 0-3, Cade 1-3.
2B – McDonald, Taylor, Bethke. HR – Henderson, Taylor, Goulet, Atwood.
Belgrade 11, Havre 8
Belgrade 003 042 2 -- 11
Havre 201 041 0 -- 8
Shania Neubauer and Bethke. Henderson and Carlson. W: Neubauer. L: Henderson.
Belgrade – Skyla Neubauer 3-3, Schladetsch 1-2, Branch 3-5, Goulet 1-3, Bethke 0-3, Atwood 1-2, Taylor 1-1, Pachl 1-3, Cox 1-4, Shania Neubauer 0-1.
Havre – Carlson 2-4, S. Boucher 2-3, Wagner 1-2, McDonald 2-4, Henderson 3-4, H. Boucher 0-2, Howard 1-3, Warren 1-3, Mazurkiewicz 0-3, Keller 0-1.
2B – Skyla Neubauer, Schladetsch, Branch, Goulet, Atwood, Pachl, Wagner. 3B – Henderson. HR – Branch 2, Taylor, Cox.
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