Havre softball splits road trip to Billings

After a strong start to the season, the Havre High softball team returned to the field this past Saturday with a pair of games against Hardin and Lockwood in Billings. The day started with a 9-6 loss to Hardin, but the Blue Ponies rebounded with an 18-5 win over Lockwood. While the day yielded mixed results for the Ponies, HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti was satisfied with their trip to Billings.

“Overall, I’m pretty happy. It was a long day down and back to Billings for a couple of games,” Vigliotti said. “In that first game, we just couldn’t get our bats going and it took us until about the sixth inning to get our bats going. We fell behind early, but hats off to Hardin’s pitcher as she threw a pretty good game against us. Game two, it was a whole different ball game for us as our bats got going, our pitcher threw strikes, defense made plays and I thought we played extremely well.”

The Ponies struck first in the top of the first against Hardin. The Ponies opened the inning with a single from Avery Carlson and a walk for Lizzi Haney to get a pair of runners on. Carlson scored on an error to give Havre the lead. Haney then scored on a fielder’s choice to push the lead to 2-0.

But the Bulldogs responded in the bottom of the first. After a single to start the inning, a fielder’s choice allowed the runner to score to get Hardin on the board. A double then drove in a runner to tie the game. A single then drove in another run to give Hardin a 3-2 lead.

Hardin increased the lead in the bottom of the second. After two walks and a hit batter to load the bases, another walk brought in a run. A double then cleared the bases to push Hardin’s lead to 7-2.

Hardin added to the lead in the bottom of the third to make it an 8-2 game. An RBI single in the bottom of the fifth then pushed Hardin’s advantage to 9-2. With it being early in the season, Hardin is probably the best hitting team the Ponies have faced.

“They put the ball in play. They’re a pretty good hitting team,” Vigliotti said. “It really wasn’t anything that we did, they just came out of the gates and played well.”

The Ponies finally responded in the top of the sixth. After opening the inning with a double, Molly Huse scored on a sacrifice fly for the Ponies. Elle Verploegen then drove in a run with a single to make it a 9-4 game.

The Ponies continued to fight in the top of the seventh. Following a single from Haney, Camille Keeley hit a home run to left field to make it a 9-6 game. However, a strikeout and a pop out resulted in the final two outs to end the game and hand the Ponies their first loss of the season.

At the plate, Jersi Morse went 2-4 for the Ponies. Haney led Havre with two RBIs in the loss. Verploegen pitched the entire game for the Ponies as she allowed nine earned runs, seven hits, seven walks and she struck out five batters.

The Ponies responded in their win over Lockwood later in the day. After a triple from Carlson to start the top of the first, Carlson scored on a passed ball to give Havre the lead. Haney followed that up with a walk and later scored on a groundout to push the lead to 2-0.

In the top of the third, Huse hit a solo home run to right field to add onto the lead. Following a double from Morse, Kamree Oliver drove her in with a single to right field. Oliver then scored on an error to make it a 5-0 game.

After loading the bases, Rachel Jette scored on a fielder’s choice to add onto the lead. Keeley then hit a single to drive in another pair of runs to push the lead to 8-0. In the top of fourth with the bases loaded, Carlson hit a double to center field to clear the bases and push the lead to 11-0. Haney then brought her home with a single of her own. Huse then ended the inning with an RBI double to make it 13-0.

Lockwood finally responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth. But the Ponies continued to roll at the plate as they scored an additional five runs in the top of the fifth to make it an 18-1 game. After a sluggish start in the first game, Vigliotti believes the Ponies just found their groove in the second game of the day.

“It was just a matter of us getting some more reps,” Vigliotti said. “That’s the way this game is. You might struggle one game and in the next game, your bats get rolling and that’s what happened for us.”

Lockwood had a late surge with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. But the Ponies were able to secure the final outs to win the game in five innings. Jette started the game at pitcher for Havre as she allowed three earned runs, five hits and three walks while striking out three batters.

Many Ponies had strong games at the plate. Carlson went 3-5 with three RBIs while Oliver went 3-3 with three RBIs. Keeley and Huse also recorded three hits in the contest.

The Ponies now have a 3-1 record as they head into the thick of their conference schedule this week. Today, the Ponies will host Miles City for a doubleheader at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field. As they start their conference schedule, Vigliotti is happy to do it at home.

“We’re excited to get back home. We love playing on our field,” Vigliotti said. “We’ll go with Elle Verploegen in the circle in that first game because to me, that’s the most important thing. To get off to a good start and then we’ll go from there.”

The HHS softball team will play Miles City today at 2 p.m. at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field. The Ponies will then play Miles City again at 4 p.m. today.

Hardin 9, Havre 6

HAV 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 - 6 7 0

HAR 3 4 1 0 1 0 X - 9 7 3

WP - Nedens

LP - Elle Verploegen

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 1-4, Lizzi Haney 1-3, Camille Keeley 1-4, Molly Huse 1-3, Jersi Morse 2-4, Hannah Gingery 0-4, Brenna Hanson 0-2, Elle Verploegen 1-3, Danni Wirtzberger 0-3.

Havre 18, Lockwood 5

HAV 2 0 6 5 5 X X - 18 17 2

LW 0 0 0 1 4 X X - 5 5 2

WP - Rachel Jette

LP - Plutt

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 3-5, Lizzi Haney 1-3, Camille Keeley 3-5, Molly Huse 3-5, Jersi Morse 1-4, Hannah Gingery 1-3, Shelby Huston 0-1, Kamree Oliver 3-3, Rachel Jette 0-3, Danni Wirtzberger 2-4.