Blue Ponies excited to be back

Last season, the Havre High softball team ended its state tournament drought. This season, the Blue Ponies are back at the Class A state tournament, only this time around, they aren’t just happy to be there, they want to come away with some hardware.

To have the chance to do that, the Ponies will need to get off to a good start right from the get-go, which means defeating first-round opponent Miles City in a rematch from the 2014 state tournament, when the Ponies knocked off the Cowgirls in the first round. HHS, which is the second-seeded team from the Central A and Miles City, which is the third-seeded team from the Eastern A, will square off at 1 today in Anaconda.

“I think that first game against Miles City is definitely one that we can win,” HHS head coach Bob Evans Sr. said. “They are a good team, but I think that if we can continue to hit the ball the way we have and keep getting good pitching, we should be able to beat them.”

If the Ponies do manage to get past Miles City, they will go head-to-head with the top-seeded team from the Southwest A in Hamilton, a team Havre played and defeated 10-5 just two weeks ago at the Laverne Combo Invitational in Butte. The Ponies don’t want to look ahead at all, but when examining the tournament bracket, Evans sees the first two potential games as very winnable for HHS.

“Anything is possible and obviously we want to go down there and win the championship,” Evans said. “Realistically, it will be very hard to do that with the strong teams from the Northwest like Polson, Frenchtown and Lbbly as well as Belgrade. But, right now, I am just focused on those first two games and if we can win those and get into the semifinals of the winner’s bracket than anything is possible.

“Our girls are playing really well right now,” He added. “And if we can hit the ball well and if our pitching can hold up, then you never know. But, I would love to see us get a trophy. It would be huge for our program and it would be an honor to get a trophy for the Central A because our conference hasn’t won many, the Northwest has dominated.”

In terms of pitching, HHS junior Dani Wagner will get the ball to start against Miles City and the truth is that she may never relinquish it. Wagner is the Ponies’ top pitcher and enters that state tournament with wins in four of her last six starts. In her last outing against Lewistown at the Central A divisional tournament, she held the Eagles to just two runs on five hits in five solid innings of work.

And while it may be a lot to ask of Wagner if she ends up pitching the entire tournament, with her on the mound and Paige Henderson at shortstop, Havre will not only have its best pitcher on the mound, it will also have its best defense in the field behind her.

Yet, if Wagner does ever need a breather, it would come from Henderson, who is the only other Havre pitcher to start games consistently for HHS this season.

“As long as Dani is healthy and she is right now, she is probably going to be pitching for us,” Evans said. “She has been pitching well and has really cut down on her walks and she also gives us our best defensive team when she is on the mound and Paige is at short.”

Wagner and Henderson may be the key to the Havre defense, but they are also the key to the Havre offense as well. Henderson comes into state hitting an incredible .554 to go along with 10 home runs and over 30 RBIs. But as good as Henderson has been, Wagner has been just as deadly at the plate as she boasts a batting average of close to .400 as well as seven homers and more than 20 RBIs.

But what has made the Pony offense so potent lately has been the emergence of others such as Jacey McDonald, Morgan Mazurkiewicz and Scout Boucher, who have gotten on base consistently and come up with timely hits of their own.

Harlee Boucher, Shania Carlson, Madison Tommerup, Jacqueline Martin, Claire Worm, Payton Howard, Jordyn Warren, Tara McCormick, Samy Huston and JJ Hassa have also made contributions to the team’s late-season surge.

“We have really been playing well of late and so I think if we play our best ball, we have a chance at getting into the top three or four,” Evans said. “It might be tough for us to score enough runs to beat those good teams from the Northwest or Belgrade, but anything is possible. You just never know.”

The other first-round matchups will pit Butte Central, the second seed from the Southwest against Livingston the third seed from the Central A. The winner of that game will play the top team from the Northwest A, which is Frenchtown.

Polson, the second-seeded team from the Northwest will take on the host team Anaconda, which is the third-seeded team from the Southwest. The winner of that game will advance to face Billings Central, the champion of the Eastern A. And finally, Laurel, the second seed from the Eastern A, will do battle with Libby, the third team from the Northwest. The winner there will take on Belgrade, the No. 1 team out of the Central A.

The state tournament follows a true double elimination format and will run from today through Saturday in Anaconda, with the action getting underway on this morning. HHS and Miles City play todat at 1.