Blue Ponies blast Browning in home debut

The 2021 home opener finally came for the Havre High softball team Tuesday night when they hosted Browning at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field. After their two games against Miles City Saturday were canceled, the Blue Ponies were eager to play in front of their home fans for the first time in almost two years. And they did not disappoint as they defeated Browning, 27-1.

"It's nice to be at home," HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti said. "We had a good crowd here tonight, and so it was nice for them to get out there. It was nice to be at home and it's always nice to win at home."

The win improved the Ponies' record to 3-2-1 on the season. It was also their second win over Browning this season after the Ponies defeated the Indians, 20-0, April 2 to open the season. However, it was Browning who struck first to begin Tuesday's game game.

Havre pitcher Avery Carlson hit Browning's first batter to start the game. She then gave up a walk and a single that allowed Browning to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. However, she gathered herself to record three straight outs. Carlson kept Browning at bay for the rest of the night as she pitched all five innings. She finished the night with 11 strikeouts while only allowing three hits and one walk.

"Sometimes it just takes me one inning to really settle in and get ready to go," Carlson said, "then I feel a little more confident. So I just need a little warm up."

It did not take long for the Ponies to retake control of the game in the bottom of the first. After Carlson was hit by a pitch to start the inning, she was able to get home on a catcher's error to tie the game. Lizzi Haney then scored on a Browning error to give Havre the lead and then Quinn McDonald hit a triple to get Lexi Haney home to make it 3-1.

With McDonald on, Keylee Kline hit a homerun to left field to make it 5-1 before the first out of the inning had been recorded. Browning would allow several more Pony batters to get on base, allowing Havre to extend their lead to 10-1 by the time the inning came to an end.

"We did a good job at just relaxing, being patient, putting the ball in play and then running the bases well when they made mistakes and scoring some runs early," Vigliotti said.

Browning produced nothing on the scoreboard for the rest of the game. The Ponies would have several more innings where their offense exploded as they scored seven runs in the second, six runs in the third and four runs in the fourth. The game was called after five innings.

The Ponies will next play this weekend starting with Hardin Friday, and then they will open conference play against Glendive Saturday. After their win over Browning, Vigliotti is confident in his team's ability to compete.

"We're going to continue to put the ball in play and we'll get better and better defensively," he said.

Havre will play Hardin Friday at 4 p.m. at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field.

Havre 27, Browning 1

Browning 1 0 0 0 0 X X - 1 3 4

Havre 10 7 6 4 X X X - 27 12 0

WP - Avery Carlson

LP - Susan C

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