Havre sweeps Miles City to begin conference play

After just playing in Billings this past Saturday, the Havre High softball team was right back on the diamond on Monday. At home at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field, the Blue Ponies hosted a doubleheader against Miles City. In their first conference games of the season, the Ponies looked strong with a 15-0 win and a 17-2 win over the Cowgirls.

"I thought we played two pretty good games," HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti said. "Both pitchers threw strikes, which helped. Our defense made most plays, even though I think we had a few errors today. Our hitters struggled a little bit on Saturday but today we put the ball in play and played well."

After a scoreless first inning to start the first game, the Ponies got rolling in the bottom of the first. After loading the bases, another walk brought Jersi Morse home for the score and the lead. Miles City pitcher Kalyn Heidemann then hit Avery Carlson with a pitch that brought Kamree Oliver home for another run.

Brenna Hanson then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 3-0 game. After a walk, Camille Keeley drove in a pair of runs with a single to make it 5-0. Two straight walks then brought in another run for the Ponies. Keeley then scored on a Miles City error to give Havre a 7-0 lead.

Later in the inning, Molly Huse scored on a wild pitch to add onto the lead. Then with two runners on base, Elle Verploegen cleared the bases with a triple to right field to push the lead to 10-0.

In the bottom of the third, the Ponies loaded the bases with three walks early in the inning. Carlson scored on a passed ball to push Havre's lead to 11-0. Hannah Gingery was then hit by a pitch to drive in Lizzi Haney for another run. Huse then scored on a groundout to push Havre's lead to 13-0.

The Ponies started the bottom of the fourth with two walks and a single from Keeley. Carlson scored from third base thanks to a passed ball. Morse then hit a single to left field to drive in a run to make it a 15-0 game, ending the contest in four innings by run rule.

At the plate, Keeley and Verploegen each recorded two hits and two RBIs in the game. Carlson and Haney each scored three runs in the game. Verploegen pitched all four innings for Havre as she allowed no hits, two walks and recorded eight strikeouts.

The Ponies continued to roll in the second game of their doubleheader. After opening the game with a double, Carlson scored on a Miles City error to give Havre the lead. In the top of the second, the Ponies recorded four straight hits at the plate, the last two driving in three runs to make it a 4-0 game.

Thanks to an error and a walk, the Ponies loaded the bases again. Carlson then scored on a groundout to push the lead to 5-0. Another groundout got Haney home for another score for the Ponies. Gingery capped off the inning with a home run to left field to give Havre an 8-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, the Cowgirls finally responded. After a walk and an error to start the inning, a Havre error allowed both runners to score to make it an 8-2 game. But Havre responded in the top of the fourth. After reaching base thanks to a walk, Morse scored to make it a 9-2 game.

After an error and a walk to load the bases, another walk brought home Shelby Huston for a run. The Ponies then got rolling at the plate with four straight hits to drive in the runs to push the lead to 16-2. In the top of the fifth, Carlson added onto the lead with a solo home run to left field. The Ponies then recorded three outs in the bottom of the fifth to close out the game early.

Carlson had a strong game at the plate going 4-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored herself. Huse, Morse and Gingery each all had three RBIs in the game. On the mound, Rachel Jette and Verploegen combined for no hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.

With the wins, the Ponies improved to 5-1 on the season and started 2-0 in the Northeast A. They will continue their season this weekend with a game against Sidney and a pair of games against Glendive. As the Ponies play in more games this spring, Vigliotti expects them to continue to improve.

"The more reps we get, I think the better we're going to get," Vigliotti said. "We just need more at bats, we need to see more reps, we need to see more ground balls and we need to see more fly balls."

The HHS softball team will next play Sidney on the road this Friday at 5 p.m.

Havre 15, Miles City 0

MC 0 0 0 0 X X X - 0 0 1

HAV 0 10 3 2 X X X - 15 5 1

WP - Elle Verploegen

LP - Kalyn Heidemann

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

Havre 17, Miles City 2

HAV 1 7 0 8 1 X X - 17 12 4

MC 0 0 2 0 0 X X - 2 0 3

WP - Rachel Jette

LP- Ella Morris

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