Havre softball wins to begin divisionals

Throughout the spring, the Havre High softball team has dominated the Northeast A to take an undefeated conference record into the postseason. On Tuesday afternoon in Miles City, the Blue Ponies put that undefeated record on the line as they began the Northeast A Divisionals with a contest against Miles City. While the Ponies did not dominate Miles City, they defeated them, 7-3, to open the postseason.

“It was a great softball game. Both teams played well,” HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti said. “Miles City made some great plays and we made some great plays today so it was a great softball game and we’re happy to come away with the win.”

The Ponies used timely hitting and strong pitching to carry them to victory Tuesday. Elle Verploegen had a strong day on the mound as she pitched all seven innings. Over the course of the game, she allowed one earned run, one hit and five walks. She also recorded seven strikeouts throughout the contest.

“Elle had a great outing today,” Vigliotti said. “She was consistent all day. Her defense helped her out so Elle was great in the circle.”

While the Ponies did not light it up at the plate like they have done all season long, they still got timely hits in the contest. While Molly Huse only recorded one hit in the game, she still put the ball in play to record three RBIs for Havre. Camille Keeley had the best day at the plate for the Ponies as she went 2-for-3 from the plate and drove in three runs.

The Ponies wasted little time taking control. After the first two batters reached base, Alyssa Oliver was walked to load the bases with no outs. Huse then grounded out to bring home Carlson for the 1-0 lead. Keeley then hit a single to left field to clear the bases and push the lead to 3-0.

The Ponies were able to take advantage of some Miles City mistakes in the bottom of the second. After Carlson was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game, Lizzi Haney put the ball in play with two outs. The ground ball resulted in a Miles City error and Carlson was able to score on the mistake and push the lead to 4-0.

In the top of the third, the Cowgirls threatened and even made some headway on the scoreboard. After Verploegen walked a pair of batters, Sierra Stevenson was able to use her base running to score and cut the deficit to 4-1.

The Ponies were able to respond in the bottom of the fourth. The inning started with Danni Wirtzberger reaching first after getting hit by a pitch. After the first out, Haney got on base thanks to a Miles City error. Oliver grounded out into a fielder’s choice which resulted in her and Haney on first and second. Despite there being two outs, Huse hit a double to left field to drive in both runners to push Havre’s lead to 6-1.

Hoping to stay in the game, the Cowgirls attempted to rally in the top of the sixth. After a walk and a Havre error to open the inning, Cadence Blakenship grounded out to get a runner home to cut into the deficit. Haley Hould then grounded out into a fielder's choice to drive in another run and cut Havre’s lead to 6-3.

But the Ponies were able to increase their cushion on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth. Oliver opened the inning with a single to left field. On the next at-bat, Oliver advanced to second on an error to put herself in scoring position. The next two batters were unable to get on base, leaving the Ponies no room for error if they wanted to capitalize on the scoring opportunity. But even with two outs, Keeley was able to drive in Oliver with a single on a hard ground ball to third base.

In the top of the seventh, Verploegen took care of business to secure the win. After recording a flyout and a strikeout to begin the inning, Verploegen struck out Hayes Hanson to end the game and advance the Ponies to the divisional title game

This afternoon, the Ponies will play Lewistown in the divisional title game. The Ponies swept the Eagles this season with a 17-2 win at home and a tight 14-13 victory on the road. With the old rivals facing each other once again, it should be a tough contest to see who wins the trophy.

“It’ll be a competitive game. We’re going to have to come out and play the same way we did today,” Vigliotti said. “(We got to) get good pitching, keep putting the ball in play and play defensively like we did today.”

The HHS softball team will play Lewistown in the Northeast A Divisional championship game today at 3 p.m. in Miles City.

Havre 7, Miles City 3

MC 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 - 3 1 5

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

WP - Elle Verploegen

LP - Ella Morris

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 0-1, Lizzi Haney 0-4, Alyssa Oliver 1-3, Molly Huse 1-4, Hannah Gingery 0-4, Camille Keeley 2-3, Jersi Morse 0-4, Keylee Kline 1-3, Danni Wirtzberger 1-2.