Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Hannah Gingery, Havre softball

The Havre High softball team is having an excellent season thanks to the contributions of many players. One of those is senior Hannah Gingery, who has made an impact in her final year with the Blue Ponies. In her final season in this program, Gingery believes this squad has a team chemistry that she has not seen before.

"I've really enjoyed how this team works together this year. I feel like everybody really supports each other," Gingery said. "With softball, I've seen teams get down on themselves and they're done before the game is ever done. But this team has never really done like that, they're ready to keep going even when we're down."

In her final season with the Ponies, Gingery has made an impact in the lineup. This spring, Gingery has recorded a .299 batting average, a .347 on-base percentage, 16 RBIs, two home runs and 16 runs scored.

The Ponies have gone 19-4 and just won the Eastern A Divisional championship last weekend. In the championship game against Billings Central, the Ponies demonstrated their resiliency as they overcame a 2-0 deficit to come back to win 3-2. Billings Central had been the premiere program in the Eastern A in recent memory, so Gingery and the Ponies were happy to show they are on the same level.

"It felt really good to beat Billings Central," Gingery said. "I think we've proven that Billings Central isn't the only one ready to compete (from the East) and that Havre has something that the East really hasn't ever had before besides Billings Central."

Gingery and the Ponies will now head to the Class A State Tournament in Belgrade this weekend. The Ponies started the tournament Thursday and will continue it today. There will be some tough teams ahead of them in the tournament, but Gingery believes the Ponies can make a run if they remain resilient and play steadily.

"In our game with Billings Central, we kept at it and regardless of how many strikeouts we had, we still tried every at bat," Gingery said. "I think it's going to be playing small ball. Home runs help a bunch, but I think it's going to be the bunts and the little steps are really what we need to make it happen."

Gingery's commitment to softball comes from a deep love for the sport. She has been involved in the game since her father coached her in T-ball and she herself coached her sisters growing up. She has tried many other sports, but she always finds herself brought back to softball.

Outside of sports and school, Gingery enjoys painting and art in her free time. After high school, Gingery hopes to attend Montana Tech to major in electrical engineering and minor in art. She then hopes to become an engineer to provide for her family before retiring to teach art to children.

Before graduating high school, Gingery will join the HHS softball team as it continues the Class A State Tournament today. Before Gingery joined her team in its quest for a state championship, the Havre Daily News asked her five questions.

HDN: What do you love about softball?

Gingery: "I really enjoy how it's an individual sport but it's also a team sport at the same time. There's not a lot of sports that are unique like that, where you just have to do your own job and just let everybody else kind of figure it out."

HDN: What is the hardest part about softball?

Gingery: "Every single ball is different. You're never going to get the same pitch, you're never going to get the same ground ball and you just have to keep rolling with the punches and moving on to the next play."

HDN: What have you learned from your time in the HHS softball program?

Gingery: "I've learned a lot about how much influence a senior or junior has on a freshman or sophomore team and how looking up to people can really change how you play. How supporting those younger teammates really shows how they can get better and make them feel better."

HDN: Overall, what does softball mean to you?

Gingery: "Softball is just kind of family to me. It's always been a central part of my family. My dad coached my team, I coached my sisters and every Easter, we play wiffle ball. It's just been a sport that has been in my family for a long time and I hope to play it with my family when I grow older."

HDN: What do you enjoy about painting?

Gingery: "I like the way that I can really express nature through my art and all my paintings have a memory or they have a memory for someone else. I do a lot of people's pet portraits and people really love their pets so it's nice to memorialize them in paintings."