Blue Pony softball ready for big weekend

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the Havre High softball team, but as the Blue Ponies get set to host the Havre Invitational this weekend, they will have no time to rest.

After falling to the Glasgow Scotties 9-4 Thursday night, Havre is set for a big day Saturday as HHS will host Central A rival Lewistown at 9:30 a.m. Then, the Havre Invite will get started at 11 a.m. and will run for the rest of the day, with the last game being played at 4:30 p.m.

The Havre Invite will feature a total of five teams, with Cut Bank, Conrad and Glasgow, joining Havre and Lewistown. The Ponies will play Conrad at 1 p.m., in the second game of the day. All varsity games will be played at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field.

Of course, the key game of the day for the Ponies will be their first one, which will be against Lewistown, in a rematch of last Friday's game, which the Eagles won by a score of 8-0. Yet, thanks to a sweep of Livingston last weekend, the Ponies are 4-3 in the conference and, with a win over Lewistown Saturday, they could finish as the Central A's second-seeded team.

"I think we can play with them and we can beat them if we play our game," HHS head coach Whitney McNally said. "We had some chances against them, we just didn't take advantage of them. We also had some errors that hurt us, too, so if we can just cut down on some of those little mistakes, I think we can hang right with them."

In addition to the game being important for Havre's conference standing, it will also have meaning to the Ponies because it will be senior day, as well as the final home games for Dani Wagner, Payton Howard and Scout Boucher.

All three players have been regular players on the team for the past few seasons and will play a critical role in the team's success for the remainder of the 2016. Wagner is the team's No.1 pitcher and will likely be on the mound against the Eagles. Howard, meanwhile, will play third base and Boucher will be shortstop.

"I have only been here the past two years," McNally said. "But all three of those girls have been a big part of our program. They play three crucial positions defensively and they are going to be hard to replace."

All three players have also been part of an offensive surge Havre has had recently. Wagner has three home runs this season, while Boucher has two. Howard may not have an homers, but she has consistently found a way to get on base and help the team score runs.

Sophomore Camryn Huston has been another key cog in the Havre lineup and last weekend, she belted her second homer of the season. Junior Jacey McDonald, who plays at first, is also on a hot streak and is coming off a string of multi-hit games.

The rest of the Havre lineup features Claire Worm, who has also been on a tear, along with Alex Barkus, J.J. Hassa, Jenae Boles and Nicole Parsons, who is the team's regular catcher.

While Wagner is the team's top pitcher, the Ponies do have some solid depth at that position. Barkus and Hassa have both won multiple games this season for HHS, and Parsons also has the ability to pitch if needed.

"We did some mixing and matching and I think we finally found the best lineup for us," McNally said. "I think the biggest thing for us is just to keep playing hard and having fun, if we can do that, I think we are going to have a good chance."

Before the Ponies turned their attention to Lewistown, they paid a visit to Glasgow Thursday night in a non-conference game and despite playing a competitive game, HHS was doomed by a 5-run sixth for the Scotties, which helped them post a 9-4 win. The loss dropped Havre to 4-5 overall on the season and 4-4 in conference play. Wagner was the losing pitcher for Havre.

The Ponies will have the chance for a quick turnaround when they take on Lewistown, Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Havre will then battle Conrad in non-conference action at 1 p.m., as part of the Havre Invitational. Havre will head to Butte for the Butte Central Invite next weekend.

The Central A divisional tourmnament will be in Belgrade and that will take place May 20-21.