Blue Ponies stay undefeated in conference play

The Havre High softball team has been on a roll this season and that continued Saturday when it hosted Sidney for a doubleheader at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field. On their senior day, the Blue Ponies played well as they won, 18-0, in both contests. While the Ponies put up the runs, HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti liked how they pitched as well.

"Both Elle Verploegen and Rachel Jette threw well. They didn't put a lot of balls in play but when they did, we made plays," Vigliotti said. "It was a great day to honor our five seniors. It was nice and we're glad we got these games in. It was a good day at the ballpark."

Before the doubleheader, the Ponies honored their senior class of Avery Carlson, Lizzi Haney, Danni Wirtzberger, Molly Huse and Hannah Gingery. While it is bittersweet to say goodbye to the program, they appreciate all the good times they had with the Ponies.

"It's super fun. To be out there with everybody, especially on our home field for the last time," Haney said. "I wouldn't want to do this with any other girls."

In their final home games of the season, the Ponies dominated. In the bottom of the first inning in the first game of the doubleheader, the Ponies took quick control. With two runners on base, Camille Keeley cleared the bases with a double to center field to give Havre a 2-0 lead. Keeley then scored herself on a groundout.

Later in the inning, Jersi Morse scored on an error to add onto the lead. Gingery and Shelby Huston then both scored on another error to push the lead to 6-0. Carlson drove in another run with a single. Haney followed that up with a single driving in another pair of runs to push the lead to 9-0.

Keeley kept things rolling with another RBI single for the Ponies. Huse then drove in a run with a single to push the lead to 11-0. The Ponies continued to run up the score in the bottom of the second. With two runners on, Carlson brought both of them home with a triple to left field. Carlson then scored herself on an error to make it 14-0.

The Ponies continued to take advantage of Sidney's mistakes. Later in the inning, Haney scored on an error to add onto the lead. Another Sidney error allowed Keeley to score for the Ponies. Huse then scored on an error. Brenna Hanson capped off the inning with an RBI single to push the lead to 18-0.

The Ponies recorded three quick outs in the top of the third to end the game early. Verploegen pitched the game for the Ponies as she allowed no hits, no runs and one walk, and she recorded seven strikeouts.

Many Ponies got rolling at the plate to start the day. Carlson, Haney and Keeley all went 2-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored in the contest. Hanson also went 1-3 with three RBIs in the game.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Ponies continued to roll. After loading the bases to start the top of the first, Keeley scored on a passed ball and Huse scored on an error to give Havre a 2-0 lead. Morse then scored on a passed ball and Gingery scored on an error to push the lead to 4-0.

The Ponies kept it up in the top of the second. With two runners on, Haney cleared the bases with a single to center field. Haney then scored herself on a groundout to make it a 7-0 game. Later in the inning, back-to-back errors allowed Huse and Morse to score to push the lead to 9-0.

Gingery then scored on a wild pitch for the Ponies. Kamree Oliver increased the lead for Havre as she scored on a passed ball. Carlson then drove in another run with a triple to left field. Haney then brought her home with a double to left field. Keeley capped off the inning with a two-run home run to center field to make it a 15-0 game.

In the top of the third, the Ponies continued to take advantage of Sidney's mistakes. In the third, Gingery, Oliver and Shelby Huston all scored on errors to push the lead to 18-0. The Ponies then recorded three quick outs in the bottom of the third to end the game early.

On the mound, Rachel Jette pitched the whole way for the Ponies where she allowed no runs, no hits and one walk, and she recorded four strikeouts. At the plate, Haney went 2-4 with four RBIs. Keeley had another strong game going 1-2 with three RBIs. While the Ponies made it look easy, Vigliotti believes there are plenty of takeaways for them in these dominant wins.

"You learn that you have to stay disciplined, especially at the plate when you're not seeing the caliber of pitching that we're used to so you have to stay within yourself," Vigliotti said. "Defensively, we talked about just going out and playing our game and making plays and we did that when we got our opportunities."

With the sweep, the Ponies stayed undefeated in the Northeast A with a 7-0 record. Overall, they improved to 13-2 this season. With the postseason fast approaching, the Ponies are feeling good about their progress this spring.

"From the first game to this one, we've gotten immensely better and I think we have a pretty good shot at tournament time," Haney said.

The Ponies will look to finish the regular season undefeated today when they face Lewistown on the road. Their old rivals will look to spoil the Ponies' undefeated conference record, so they will need to keep rolling if they want to leave no doubt they are the best team in the Northeast A.

"We have an opportunity to finish 8-0 in the Northeast conference so we would like to do that," Vigliotti said. "They'll be ready and we'll go down and play our best against Lewistown."

The HHS softball team will face Lewistown on the road tonight to wrap up the conference season. The Ponies will then wrap up the regular season with the Laverne Tournament in Butte this weekend.

Havre 18, Sidney 0

SID 0 0 0 X X X X - 0 0 10

HAV 11 7 0 X X X X - 18 13 0

WP - Elle Verploegen

LP - A. Steinbeisser

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

Havre 18, Sidney 0

HAV 4 11 3 X X X X - 18 6 0

SID 0 0 0 X X X X - 0 0 10

WP - Rachel Jette

LP - L. Baisch

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