Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Nicole Parsons, Havre Softball

Nicole Parsons and the Blue Ponies play their final softball home games of the year, starting with Thursday's showdown with Lewistown

From a very young age, Nicole Parsons has been playing sports and even though her high school sports career will end soon, it won’t be the end of her time as an athlete.

Parsons, who is a senior for the Havre High softball team this spring, also ran cross country for Havre the past two years and next season, she will continue to run for Montana State University-Northern.

“I am really excited about it,” Parsons said. “It will be nice to stay home for at least another year.”

While Parsons knows that she will have more time as a runner ahead of her, her days on the Blue Pony softball team are numbered. She is just one member of the senior class and with the Havre Invitational set for this Saturday, it will be the final time she plays at home in a Havre uniform.

After that, HHS will head to Butte for an invitational tournament and following that, will be at the Central A divisional tournament, where Havre will try to wrap up its fourth straight berth to the Class A state tournament.

“Playing at the state tournament last year was really fun,” Parsons said. “So that’s a big goal of ours. I remember being really sad after we were done playing there a year ago, even though I knew I had one more year left to go. But it would be great to get back this year and hopefully, play as long as possible.”

Parsons is definitely no stranger to competing at the state level in high school sports. She has competed at the state meet in each of the past two seasons for the Ponies in cross country and was also the regular catcher for Havre at last season’s Class A state softball tournament.

At 4-4-1 overall thus far, Havre is in a solid position to return to state. The Ponies are 3-4 in the Central A conference and will play their final conference game Thursday against Lewistown. The game is a makeup for a game last month that was rained out.

Havre lost to the Eagles earlier this season, 5-4 in extra innings. A win over Lewistown would give Havre a season split and a 4-4 record overall, leaving Belgrade as the only team to sweep the Ponies in the regular season.

For her part, Parsons has been a vital cog for the Ponies the past two seasons. She has essentially been the team’s only starting catcher in that time and, this year, has even taken over pitch-calling duties.

Yet Parsons can do much more than catch. She is also the leadoff hitter for Havre and often sets the table for the middle of the order with her penchant for getting on base.

Parsons, who will be just one of a group of seniors to play their final home game this weekend, caught up with the Havre Daily News for five questions.

HDN: What is it like to think that your games this week will be the final ones at home for you?

Parsons: “It’s pretty weird. I mean I have been playing softball since I was four years old, so it’s pretty weird to know that my season is about to come to an end, for good.”

HDN: What got you interested in playing softball originally?

Parsons: “I think at the start, I got into it because my older brother was playing baseball and that’s what he was doing. But as I got older, I made friends in the sport and it just kind of became part of my life.”

HDN: Have you always been a catcher?

Parsons: “Yeah, I have been catching since the fourth grade.”

HDN: What do you like it about it?

Parsons: “I really like the mental side of catching; I like the mental side of it. Last year, when coach Bob was with us, he would call the pitches, but after working all summer with Jaycelyn Hassa and Alex Barkus, I got a really good feel for their pitches and I have been calling them this season.”

HDN: What have you liked the most about playing softball in Havre?

Parsons: “It has been a lot of fun. I got to come and go play in a tournament when I moved here and everyone was really nice, and since then, we have all got along really well, so that’s made it a lot of fun.”