Ponies bat their way to another state tourney

The Havre High softball team had one objective at the Central A Divisional this past weekend in Livingston and that was getting back to the Class A state tournament.

And after wrapping up their fourth consecutive berth to the state tournament with two wins Friday over Browning and Livingston, it was mission accomplished for the Blue Ponies.

"The best feeling was watching the girls play down there," HHS head coach Whitney McNally said. "We talked about leaving it all on the field and every single one of them did that. They played as hard as they can play and that's all that I can ask for and that's what they did. They played with everything they had and they beat Livingston 21-2 and that was a pretty incredible game and it was just awesome to see."

The tournament started Friday and in the opening game, HHS took on Lewistown and fell by a score of 11-1. That meant HHS would need to win consecutive games to get back to state and that's exactly what the Ponies did, dismantling Browning 23-1 and Livingston 21-2, punching their ticket to state in the process.

But HHS still had seeding on the line when it played Lewistown to reach the championship game. The Ponies lost 14-4, making them the third seed out of the Central A for this week's state tournament.

In the opening game of the divisional tournament, the Ponies ran into a tough Lewistown team that beat Havre twice in the regular season and would do it twice again over the weekend. Alex Barkus took the ball for the Ponies and gave up nine runs, with seven of them earned in four innings as the Eagles built a 9-0 lead. Nicole Parsons made it 9-1 with an RBI in the top of the fifth, but two more runs for Lewistown ended the game after five at 11-1.

With the loss, Havre faced elimination but kept itself alive with a dominating 23-1 triumph over Browning. The Ponies were on fire at the plate, notching 22 total hits in four innings. Jacey McDonald belted a home run, her fourth of the season, and finished the game with four RBIs. Janae Boles also had three hits and scored four runs, while Kinzy Peterson went off, going 3-for-5 at the plate, getting one double and eight RBIs. Barkus got the win after one strikeout in two innings pitched. She allowed one hit.

"Jacey has just started really relaxing and getting into her own groove," McNally said. "And that has really helped us out. Kinzy Peterson also had an extremely strong day. You know after bringing her up as a sophomore at the end of the season, to hit for us like she has, she's been incredible, but every girl from the top of the lineup to the bottom was hitting. They just decided that is what they are going to do."

After beating Browning, the Ponies just needed to beat Livingston to make it to state and after an impressive performance at the plate, HHS rolled the Rangers 21-2. Hassa got the win on the mound for the Ponies, after pitching five innings, allowing seven hits and striking out two.

Hassa put together a solid outing on the mound, but it was the offense that did the heavy lifting. Hassa had four hits and an RBI to help herself out, but McDonald also had a big game with three hits, two doubles and four RBI. Boles added four hits and four RBI. Peterson also pitched in with three hits and four RBI, while Parsons also had three hits and three RBI.

"We came out as the road team and just started hitting," McNally said. "It was really great to see. We have worked on our hitting all year long and it's paid off for us."

Beating Livingston got Havre within one game of the divisional championship. Yet Havre would need to beat Lewistown and in the second meeting between the two teams, the Eagles won 14-4. Havre trailed just 8-4 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, when Lewistown plated six runs to end the game due to the 10-run rule, 14-4.

Hassa got the loss on the mound for Havre; Boles led the way offensively with two hits and an RBI. Parsons and Camryn Huston also added a hit and an RBI in the loss.

Belgrade beat Lewistown Saturday to win the Central A title.

Havre will take part in the Class A state tournament, which begins this Thursday and runs through Saturday in Sidney. HHS will take on Columbia Falls Thursday at 1 p.m.

Friday

Lewistown 11, Havre 1

WP: Carpenter. LP: Alex Barkus

Havre 000 01 - 1 5 2

Lewistown - 051 32 - 11 16 1

Havre - Janae Boles 2-2, Nicole Parsons 1-3, Kinzy Peterson 0-2, Jacey McDonald 0-2, Maddy Tommerup 0-2, Lauren Kato 0-2, Camryn Huston 2-2, Alex Barkus 0-1, Jaycelyn Hassa 0-1, Sam Oliver 0-2.

Lewistown - G. Burcher 3-4, E. Craven 3-4, M. Comes 2-3, D. GaPay 1-3, V. Koldstad 2-3, K. Irvin 1-3, A. Lensing 0-2, A. Gremaux 3-3, H. Hays 1-3.

Havre 23, Browning 1

Browning - 000 01x - 1 4 2

Havre - 9012 2x - 23 22 1

WP: Alex Barkus. LP: K. Ridesatthedoor

Havre - Janae Boles 3-3, Nicole Parsons 2-2, Peyton Brown 2-2, Kinzy Peterson 4-5, Alex Barkus 1-1, Lauren Kato 2-2, Tracyn LaBuda 2-4, Camryn Huston 1-3, Jacey McDonald 2-3, Mariah Matosich 1-1, Maddie Shennum 1-2, Kate Compton 1-2.

Browning - J. Heavyrunner 1-2, C. Stillsmoking 1-3, M. Bremmer 0-3, A. Skunkcap 1-2, B. Podgett 0-3, A. Bitsui 0-2, Bullshoe 0-1, Salway 1-2.

Havre 21, Livingston 2

Havre 137 91 - 21 24 3

Livingston 010 01 - 2 7 3

WP: Hassa. LP: Ingram

Havre - Janae Boles 4-6, Nicole Parsons 3-4, Kinzy Peterson 3-5, Jacey McDonald 3-5, Maddy Tommerup 1-4, Lauren Kato 1-3, Tracyn LaBuda 0-1, Camryn Huston 3-5, Jaycelyn Hassa 4-4, Sam Oliver 2-5.

Livingston - Jesson 0-3, Ingram 0-3, Nelson 1-2, Lee 2-3, Murphy 0-3, Ingrahm 1-3, Babcox 0-2, Watson 2-2, Floyd 1-2.

Saturday

Lewistown 14, Havre 4

Havre 001 30 - 4 7 5

Lewistown 014 36 - 14 16 3

WP: Carpenter. LP: Hassa.

Havre: Boles 2-3, Parsons 1-3, Peterson 0-3, McDonald 1-3, Tommerup 0-3, Barkus 1-2, Huston 1-2, Hassa 0-2, Oliver 1-2. 2B: Barkus. RBIs: Boles, Parsons, Huston.

Lewistown: Butcher 2-4, Craven 3-3, Comes 2-4, Gapay 2-4, Kolstad 3-4, Irvin 0-3, Lensing 2-4, Gremaux 1-3, Hayes 1-3. 2B: Craven. 3B: Lensing. HR: Kostad. RBIs: Craven, Comes, Gapay, Kolstad 6, Irvin, Lensing 2, Gremaux.