Pony softball team wraps it up in Butte

Believe it or not, the Havre High softball team has just one more week to go in the regular season. And while the Blue Ponies have completed all of their conference games, they will be tested this weekend in Butte by a number of Class A opponents.

Havre, which competes annually at the Lavere Combo Softball Invitational, will play a total of four games this year, two today and two Saturday. The Ponies will go head-to-head with Glendive at 12:45 p.m. today, followed by a contest with Laurel at 6 p.m. Then, Saturday, HHS will take on Miles City at 12:30 p.m. and Frenchtown at 4 p.m. Games will be played at Stodden and Father Sheehan parks.

“I think it will be a good opportunity for us to get everyone some more playing time,” HHS head coach Whitney McNally said. “We can get some of our subs some more chances to play as well and mix things up a bit.”

The Ponies, who enter the tournament 4-4 in the Central A conference and 4-7 overall, will be looking to use the games as a final tuneup for the Central A Divisional tournament, which is May 20-21 in Belgrade.

In terms of the results, Havre would like to come out with some wins, but at this point in the season, with HHS already locked into the No. 3 seed in the Central A, the biggest thing will just be getting a chance to see some different teams.

“It will just be good to get some games in before divisionals,” McNally said. “And to get to play against some of those other teams.”

While the games this weekend won’t really matter, a win or two would be nice for the Ponies, who like to build some positive momentum after dropping their last three games. In order to do that, Havre will need a strong effort from its pitching staff, which features Dani Wagner, Alex Barkus, J.J. Hassa and Nicole Parsons.

Parsons has settled in as the team’s everyday catcher, so she may not pitch, but the other three pitchers should all see action over the two-day tournament. Despite losing their last starts, both Wagner and Barkus pitched well and will look to keep building on that.

However, the biggest issue for Havre in recent games has been the team’s inability to score runs. During their losing skid, the Ponies have scored just six runs in three games. That’s an average of two runs per game, a number which must improve if HHS wants to make a return trip to the Class A state tournament.

Leading the way for Havre offensively is Wagner, who has belted three home runs this season. She is aided by a slew of other power hitters that litter the Pony lineup such as shortstop Scout Boucher, who has two homers this season and first baseman Camryn Huston, who also has two.

Outfielder Jacey McDonald is another dangerous hitter, who has had a run of multi-hit games recently. McDonald has hit the ball extremely well lately and so has second baseman Claire Worm, who has accounted for a number of extra-base hits.

Other girls who will contribute for Havre this weekend on the diamond are Payton Howard, Madison Tommerup and Jenae Boles, a freshman, who has been used as a designated player and a pinch runner on a number of occasions.

“We just need to find a way to get hits more consistently,” McNally said. “That and the little mistakes are the biggest things hurting us right now.”

Havre will play Glendive and Laurel today, at 12:45 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively. Then, HHS will play Miles City Saturday at 12:30 p.m., before wrapping up the tournament against Frenchtown at 4 p.m.