Blue Ponies capture Eastern A title

It has been a strong season for the Havre High softball team and that was no different at the Eastern A Divisional Tournament in Billings this past weekend. In their first action of the postseason, the Blue Ponies went on a tear to advance to Friday's championship game.

But in that title game, the Ponies fell behind 2-0 in the first inning and failed to score in the first six innings. But with just three outs in the top of the seventh, the Ponies got the bats going and they took advantage of several errors to score three runs to take the lead.

The Ponies then recorded three quick outs to win, 3-2, and capture the divisional crown. With a comeback victory against a tough team, HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti believes it was just another example of the Ponies' resiliency and hard work this season.

"I'm very happy for this group. They earned it with their preparation all year," Vigliotti said. "This group absolutely does not quit until the final out. All three wins were total team efforts where everyone contributed and did their job."

But it was not an easy road for the Ponies in that championship game. In the bottom of the first, the Rams hit three straight singles, with the last one driving in a pair of runs to take the lead.

Over the next few innings, both the Ponies and Rams struggled to score. Elle Verploegen had a strong game pitching for Havre as she finished the game with six strikeouts, six hits given up and one earned run allowed. But she would not have gotten the win if the offense had not shown up when it did.

To start the top of the seventh, Molly Huse grabbed momentum for the Ponies with a solo home run to right field. Jersi Morse followed that up with a single to left field and then Hannah Gingery got on base thanks to an error.

Morse tied the game when she scored on a sacrifice bunt from Verploegen. A Billings Central error then allowed another runner to score to give the Ponies a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the seventh, the Rams threatened as they got a couple runners on base. But Verploegen got a groundout to end the game to secure the divisional title for the Ponies.

Earlier in the tournament, the Ponies did not have as much trouble with their opponents. The Ponies started the tournament with an 8-2 victory over Livingston Thursday morning. In their first action of the postseason, the Ponies got rolling in the bottom of the first. After loading the bases with no outs to start the inning, Huse hit a single to right field to drive in a pair of runs for the lead.

Morse followed that up with a double to center field to drive in another pair of runs to push the lead to 4-0. Morse later scored on a groundout to push the lead to 5-0. In the bottom of the second, Havre pushed the lead to 6-0 thanks to a run from Avery Carlson.

In the top of the third, Livingston got on the scoreboard when Riley Tuccillo scored on a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-1 game. But in the bottom of the third, Havre responded when Morse scored on a sacrifice fly.

After a few scoreless innings, Havre pushed its lead to 8-1 when Huse scored on a groundout. In the top of the sixth, Livingston responded with an RBI double from Ava Malone to make it an 8-2 game. However, the Ponies held Livingston scoreless the rest of the way to secure the win and advance in the tournament.

On the mound, Verploegen had a strong start to the postseason as she allowed seven hits and two earned runs and recorded five strikeouts as she pitched the entire way. At the plate, Morse had a strong start to the tournament going 2-3 with two RBIs.

The Ponies continued to play well in their 9-2 win over Hardin later on Thursday. After Hardin scored in the top of the first to take the lead, the Ponies got on a roll in the bottom of the first to take control of the game.

Huse tied the game with an RBI single to right for the Ponies. After a single from Morse, Gingery hit a home run to left to give Havre a 4-1 lead. Then in the bottom of the second, Camille Keeley pushed the lead to 7-1 with a three-run home run to left.

Hardin responded in the top of the third to make it a 7-2 game, but it was not enough to take away the Ponies' momentum. In the bottom of the sixth, Danni Wirtzberger scored on an error. Keeley then drove in another run with a single to left to make it a 9-2 game.

The Ponies then recorded three quick outs in the top of the seventh to secure the win and advance to the Eastern A Divisional championship game. Verploegen had another strong game pitching as she allowed six hits and one earned run and she recorded eight strikeouts. At the plate, Keeley went 2-4 with four RBIs while Gingery went 3-3 with three RBIs.

With the divisional title, the Ponies secured a spot in the Class A State Tournament later this week. The HHS softball team will begin the tournament this Thursday in Belgrade.

Havre 8, Livingston 2

LIV 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 - 2 7 2

HAV 5 1 1 0 1 0 X - 8 6 1

WP - Ella Verploegen

LP - Ava Mallone

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

Havre 9, Hardin 2

HAR 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 4

HAV 4 3 0 0 0 2 X - 9 9 2

WP - Elle Verploegen

LP - Nedens

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

Havre 3, Billings Central 2

HAV 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 3 4 2

BC 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 3

WP - Elle Verploegen

LP - G. Haney

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 1-3, Lizzi Haney 0-3, Camille Keeley 0-3, Molly Huse 1-3, Jersi Morse 1-3, Hannah Gingery 0-3, A. Olson 0-0, Elle Verploegen 0-1, Kamree Oliver 0-3, Danni WIrtzberger 1-3.