Blue Ponies continue conference play

The Havre High softball team rode a three-game winning streak into their game on the road at Lewistown on Thursday night. The game was an early-season test for the Blue Ponies as Lewistown holds first place in the Northeast A. The Ponies ultimately fell to the Golden Eagles, 3-1, but HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti believes his team played hard.

"The last couple innings, we hit some balls hard. Lexi (Haney) pitched a good game. Our defense played well so nothing to hang our heads about there," Vigliotti said. "We get another chance at them next week so looking forward to it."

Lewistown struck first in the bottom of the first inning to take the lead. After leadoff hitter Madison Afflolder reached first on an error, Jessica Morgan hit a two-run home to center field to take the 2-0 lead.

HHS pitcher Lexi Haney gathered herself to pitch well for the rest of the game. She gave up another run in the top of the fifth to make Lewistown's lead 3-0. However, she finished the game recording five strikeouts while allowing eight hits, two earned runs and no walks.

"Lexi did a good job," Vigliotti said. "Showed some guts and threw a great ball game."

The Ponies' offense could not aid Haney's pitching performance as they only produced three hits on the night. Vigliotti credits Lewistown starting pitcher Morgan for having a strong night.

"That's probably the best pitcher that we've seen so far this year," Vigliotti said. "Took everybody a couple at-bats to get going but we were getting going towards the end."

The Ponies finally got on the board when Quinn McDonald scored on an inside-the-park home run to make it 3-1. However, they could not break through as Lewistown held on to win. The loss dropped Havre's record to 6-3-1 and 1-1 in conference play on the season. They now return home to face Sidney in a conference game on Saturday afternoon.

"We matchup good with Sidney," Vigliotti said. "If we come out and play the way we're capable of playing, we should be able to win that game."

Sidney heads into the matchup with a 1-10 record and are 1-5 in conference play, putting them last in the Northeast A. If the Eagles are going to pull off the upset, they will need to get their offense going. Taylan Hanson will need to drive in more runs as she leads the team with eight RBIs this season. She will need runners to get on base first, such as Hadley Garsjo, who leads Sidney with a .444 batting average and .565 on-base percentage.

"They hit the ball pretty well," Vigliotti said. "We're going to have to play defense, we'll have to pitch well and we've been doing both of those things."

The Ponies will turn to either Haney or Avery Carlson to keep the Eagles' offense at bay. Haney has started seven games for Havre and has a 4-2-1 record this season. She has struck out 53 batters in 43.2 innings and has a 2.57 earned run average. Carlson is 2-1 as a starter, has struck out 34 batters in 18 innings and has a 3.5 ERA on the season.

The Ponies will look to get their offense going again after their performance at Lewistown. McDonald looks to continue her strong season as she leads the team with 19 RBIs, a .556 batting average and .579 on-base percentage.

The Ponies will look to take advantage of the Sidney pitching staff that gives up many walks and runs. Lexi Metz, who leads Sidney with 34.2 innings, has recorded 29 strikeouts while allowing 34 walks and has a 7.47 ERA. Sidney might also turn to Hanson, who has an 8.81 ERA this season.

The Ponies will be returning home after their road trip to Lewistown. Havre has won three-straight games at home to start the season, so they will be looking to continue that undefeated start with a win over Sidney

"For some reason, we always played well at home," Vigliotti said. "The support that we get down there helps us so we always look forward to playing at home."

Vigliotti believes that as long as his team plays the way they have, they will bounce back to pick up the victory on Saturday.

"We just have to do us. We got to stay positive, stay present and stay pitch to pitch," Vigliotti said. "We'll put this one away today and get back at it on Saturday."

Havre and Sidney play on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field.

Lewistown 3, Havre 1

Havre 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 3 2

Lewistown 2 0 0 0 1 0 X - 3 8 0

WP - Jessica Morgan

LP - Lexi Haney

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