HHS fastpitch battles at Lewistown Invitational

The Havre High softball team looked to continue its strong start after the Blue Ponies defeated Browning and Columbia Falls to start the season 2-0. They hoped to get some more wins on the road this Friday and Saturday in the Lewistown tournament. Unfortunately for the Blue Ponies, they failed to pull out a win as they went 0-2-1 in their three games.

However, HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti believes the results do not reflect how his team performed.

“We played pretty well actually. We did a better job putting the ball in play. I thought we hit the ball really well,” Vigliotti said.

The Ponies opened the tournament Friday morning with a 13-5 loss to Billings Central. The Rams put the Ponies in a hole early as they raced out to a 5-0 lead after their first three innings. However, the Ponies would not go away.

In the bottom of the third, Lizzi Haney hit a triple to get Avery Carlson home to make the score, 5-1. Haney then scored from third on a catcher’s error to make it 5-2. In the bottom of the fifth, Quinn McDonald hit a double to get Jocelyn Staples home. On the next Pony at-bat, Alyssa Oliver and McDonald reached home on a fielding error to tie the game, 5-5.

“We put the ball in play. We ran the bases really well against them,” Vigliotti said. “We just battled and chipped away.”

The Rams responded to the Ponies’ run on the scoreboard by blowing it open in the top of the sixth. It all started with a double from Peyton Whitead that got Ellie Koerber home to take the lead. Whitead then scored herself when Winter Johnson recorded a double to add to the score. The Rams went on to score six more runs in the inning to end the game early and hand the Ponies their first loss of the season.

“We just had one of those innings that we couldn’t catch a ball and that happens, and we need to see if we can’t cut down on some of that,” Vigliotti said.

Carlson started the game at pitcher for the Ponies. She pitched all six innings as she recorded 8 strikeouts while allowing 8 hits, 7 walks, 7 earned runs and 1 home run. Carlson also led the Ponies at the plate as she went 2-4 and scored one run. Haney, Staples, McDonald and Ellie Collins all recorded an RBI each.

Looking to rebound from their loss, Havre played again Friday afternoon against Livingston. Despite playing better, they could not get the win and tied the Rangers, 8-8, after playing eight innings.

The Ponies fell behind quickly as Livingston scored two runs in the bottom of the first. Havre responded in the top of the second with a single from Lexi Haney that got Oliver and McDonald home to tie the game.

Havre fell behind again when the Rangers scored runs in the bottom of the second and third innings to take a 4-2 lead. In response, the Ponies exploded at the plate in the top of the fourth inning. It started with a single from Danni Wirtzberger that drove in a run and then Carlson got Wirtzberger home with a single to tie the game. Havre then took a 6-4 lead when Staples hit a triple that scored Carlson and Lizzi Haney.

The Ponies could not hold onto the lead as the Rangers scored a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of the seventh, Havre took the lead when an Oliver triple got Jersi Morse home. The Ponies then added to their lead when Oliver scored off a Lexi Haney single.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Ponies only needed to get three outs to pull out the win. However, the Rangers scored two runs by a fielder’s choice to tie the game, 8-8.

“It always seems like the last out is the toughest to get and so we just have to mentally get after it when we’re up on a team like that,” Vigliotti said.

Neither team could break through in the extra inning to take the lead. Since it was in a tournament, the game had to be called a tie after eight innings due to time constraints.

Lexi Haney started the game at pitcher and she pitched all eight innings. She recorded 11 strikeouts while allowing 1 walk, 6 hits and 4 earned runs. She also led the Ponies with 3 RBIs on offense as she went 2-4 from the plate.

The Ponies finished their weekend Saturday morning with a game against Laurel. Unlike their other games in the tournament, Havre could not keep up with the Locomotives as Laurel won, 13-3.

Laurel quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. In the bottom of the first, the Ponies responded when Carlson and Oliver scored on back-to-back groundouts to make the score 4-2.

The Ponies could not slow the Locomotives’ bats however as Laurel scored 3 runs in the top of the second to make their lead 7-2. In the bottom of the fourth, Havre scored a run to make it 7-3 when Oliver scored on a fielding error. However, the Ponies could not make any more headway on the scoreboard and Laurel went on to score 6 more runs in the game to end it after only six innings.

Lexi Haney started her second straight game for the Ponies as she pitched all six innings. She allowed 14 hits, 5 earned runs and 2 walks while recording 3 strikeouts. Lizzi Haney was the only Pony to record more than one hit on the day as she went 2-3 from the plate.

“Laurel probably was the best pitching staff that we’ve faced so far this year,” Vigliotti said.

The weekend dropped Havre’s record to 2-2-1 this season. While the Ponies hit a snag this past weekend, Vigliotti believes they are on track to be playing well when games become more important.

“We get along well. I think we’ve got good team chemistry. Our hitting’s coming along,” Vigliotti said. “We’ll keep working at it, we’re going to be just fine. We’re going to be right where we want come conference season in May.”

Havre next plays in their home opener against Miles City this Saturday at 3 p.m at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field.

Billings Central Catholic 13, Havre 5

Billings Central Catholic 1 3 1 0 0 8 X - 13 8 5

Havre 0 0 2 0 3 0 X - 5 6 5

WP - Peyton Whitead

LP - Avery Carlson

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 2-4, Lizzi Haney 1-3, Jocelyn Staples 1-2, Alyssa Oliver 0-3, Quinn McDonald 1-3, Lexi Haney 0-2, Ellie Collins 1-3, Paige Parsons 0-2, Danni Wirtzberger 0-3.

Havre 8, Livingston 8

Havre 0 2 0 4 0 0 2 0 - 8 12 7

Livingston 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 - 8 6 1

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 2-5, Lizzi Haney 0-4, Jocelyn Staples 2-4, Alyssa Oliver 1-3, Quinn McDonald 2-4, Lexi Haney 2-4, Keylee Kline 1-4, Katharine Greenwood 1-4, Danni Wirtzberger 1-4.

Laurel 13, Havre 3

Laurel 4 3 0 0 2 4 X - 13 14 2

Havre 2 0 0 1 0 0 X - 3 6 7

WP - Cora Styles

LP - Lexi Haney

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 1-3, Lizzi Haney 2-3, Jocelyn Staples 0-3, Alyssa Oliver 1-3, Quinn McDonald 1-3, Lexi Haney 1-3, Keylee Kline 0-2, Paige Parsons 0-0, Ellie Collins 0-3, Danni Wirtzberger 0-2.