Blue Ponies make their diamond debut

Even though the Havre High softball team may have undergone some important changes before the start of the 2016 season, the goal remains the same and that is to reach the Class A state tournament.

The Blue Ponies have reached that objective in each of the past two seasons and, under the direction of first-year head coach Whitney McNally, the Ponies are hoping to continue their recent string of success. And that mission starts this weekend, as Havre will head to Great Falls Saturday for the season-opening Great Falls Jamboree.

The Ponies will be tested early as they will take on Class A rival Laurel at 11 a.m. to open the season, followed by contests against Class AA foes Billings Senior, Bozeman, Billings West at 1 p.m, 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

“I think the key for us is going to be working as a team,” McNAlly said. “We have a lot of experience back from last season and I think that will really help. But, we also have some younger players that don’t have a lot of varsity experience, so we will need to get them ready.”

McNally, who was an assistant for the Ponies last season, takes over the top leadership role within the program after Bob Evans Sr., the previous head coach, decided to step down, following last season.

Evans, who still plans to remain involved with the program as a volunteer assistant, said he felt that the time was right and that McNally will do a great job.

“I am just glad that I can still help out and stay around the game,” Evans said. “I have worked with these girls for a long time and I want to continue that.”

One nice thing for McNally is that Evans didn’t leave the cupboard bare, although some important pieces from last year’s team are now gone. Rachel Majeres, who suffered an injury and was unable to play last season, graduated, as did All-State shortstop Paige Henderson, who has a home-run machine for HHS in 2015.

However, as difficult as it will be to replace Henderson, the Ponies still boast one of the best players in the state in Dani Wagner. Wagner is Havre’s top pitcher. She is also an outstanding defender at both center fielder and shortstop when she’s not on the mound — she’s pretty good with a bat too.

During last year’s regular season, Wagner batted well over .400 and finished with 20 home runs, to go along with 20 runs batted in. She is also one of the better hurler’s in Class A and gives the Ponies a chance to win whenever she’s on the mound.

Wagner may be limited early in the season due to a shoulder injury, but Havre has three other pitchers capable of starting and they include Alex Barkus, J.J. Hossa and Nicole Parsons.

The only other player who received postseason accolades and returns for Havre this season is Jacey McDonald, who earned Second Team Central A All-Conference honors a season ago. McDonald is a talented hitter and will play first base. Other key returning players are Payton Howard, who plays third base, Scout Boucher, who will play shortstop and Claire Worm, who plays second base.

In addition to pitching, Parson will also catch for the Ponies. Others that will play for the varsity team at potentially multiple positions are Madison Tommerup and Camryn Huston.

This weekend, the Ponies will play a number of games that aren’t regulation games and will not count against the team’s overall record. Yet, they will give HHS valuable experience and a chance to mesh before the real games get underway.

“I think the girls are excited,” McNally said. “We have had a lot of girls that have been working in our indoor batting cages that we have at the high school and they have been working extremely hard and they look really good. We also are going to have four varsity pitchers, which isn’t something that we had last year, so that will be really nice.”

The Ponies will open their season Saturday in the Great Falls Jamboree. Beyond that, they will play in a number of tournaments, as well as a total of six conference games, two against both Browning and Lewistown, and one each against Livingston and Belgrade.

Havre will compete at the Central A Divisional tournament in Belgrade May 20-21. The Class A state tournament will be May 26-28 and it will also be in Belgrade.