Havre softball finishes fourth at state tournament

This past weekend in Belgrade, the Havre High softball team competed at the Class A State Tournament. In their final competition of the season, the Blue Ponies went 2-2 to finish fourth in the tournament. While the Ponies would have liked to have gone further in the tournament, HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti believes they played well against tough competition at state.

"I thought we played well to end the season," Vigliotti said. "A lot of good teams were there and we were right there so I thought we had a good weekend."

The Ponies started the tournament Thursday with a 10-4 win over Libby. The Ponies started out slow as Libby took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. However, rain put a pause to the game and it was not finished Thursday. Play eventually resumed Friday morning. Libby started Friday by scoring in the top of the third to put Havre in a 3-0 hole.

But the Ponies finally got rolling in the bottom of the third. Avery Carlson opened the inning with a solo home run to center field. The Ponies followed that up by loading the bases with three walks. Hannah Gingery then hit a single to left to drive in a pair of runs to make it a 3-3 game.

The Ponies kept it rolling in the bottom of the fourth. Following a double from Carlson, Camille Keeley drove her in with a single to give Havre a 4-3 lead. Then in the bottom of the fifth, Jersi Morse scored on a groundout to push the lead to 5-3. After a couple slow innings, Vigliotti believes Carlson's home run lit the spark.

"That just fed everybody from there and our offense picked up," Vigliotti said. "Things stacked up on top of each other and we were able to come up with the victory."

The Ponies continued to add onto their lead in the bottom of the fifth. After loading the bases, Havre scored on a Libby error to make it a 6-3 game. Lizzi Haney then hit a single to left to drive in another run for the Ponies. Carlson then scored on a wild pitch to give Havre an 8-3 lead to end the inning.

Libby scored in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 8-4. But the Havre offense could not be slowed down in the bottom of the sixth. After loading the bases again, Morse scored when Kamree Oiver was hit by a pitch. Gingery then scored on a fielder's choice to push the lead to 10-4.

The Ponies secured three outs in the top of the seventh to win the game and advance in the tournament. Pitcher Elle Verploegen had a strong start to the postseason as she allowed 12 hits, three earned runs and recorded three strikeouts in seven innings pitched. At the plate, Carlson went 2-5 with two RBIs, and Gingery went 3-4 with two RBIs.

But the Ponies ran into trouble Friday afternoon with a 3-0 loss to Laurel. In the top of the second, the Locomotives scored a couple runs to take a 2-0 lead. Then in the top of the seventh, Laurel scored again to make it a 3-0 game.

Laurel recorded three quick outs in the bottom of the seventh to shut out the Ponies and hand them their first loss of the tournament. While she earned the loss, Verploegen allowed seven hits and two earned runs and recorded three strikeouts. But at the plate, the Ponies struggled with Morse recording the lone hit of the game for them.

"Their pitcher was good and their defense was outstanding," Vigliotti said about Laurel. "They played an outstanding game. We put a lot of balls in play and they made plays."

After the loss, the Ponies stayed alive with a 7-5 win over Lewistown in an elimination game Saturday morning. Lewistown took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but the Ponies got rolling in the top of the third. Danni Wirtzberger opened the inning with a triple to right field. She then scored on a double from Keeley to tie the game.

With two runners on, Molly Huse cleared the bases with a double to center to give Havre a 3-1 lead. Morse then hit a single to left to drive in a run to push the lead to 4-1. In the top of the fifth, the Ponies got on a roll again to add onto the lead. After two straight singles to start the inning, Gingery drove in a run with a single to right. Morse then scored on a sacrifice bunt from Verploegen to make it a 6-1 game.

"This has been a resilient group all year and they don't quit," Vigliotti said about the Ponies' response in the elimination game. "Our leadership just took over and it willed us to a win."

Lewistown responded with a run in the bottom of the fifth. The Golden Eagles then got rolling in the bottom of the sixth to cut Havre's lead to 6-5. Havre responded in the top of the seventh with an RBI single from Verploegen to push the lead to 7-5. The Ponies then recorded three outs in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win and stay alive in the tournament.

Verploegen earned the win pitching as she allowed seven hits, two earned runs and she recorded 12 strikeouts. At the plate, Huse played well as she went 2-4 with two RBIs for the Ponies.

Unfortunately for the Ponies, their season came to an end Saturday afternoon with a 7-4 loss to eventual state runner-up Billings Central in an elimination game. With their season on the line, the Ponies did get off to a strong start in the top of the first. With runners on base, Keeley hit a single to center to drive in a run for a 1-0 lead.

Haney scored on a passed ball to add onto the lead for the Ponies. Keeley then scored on a fielder's choice to push Havre's lead to 3-0. But the Rams responded with a couple runs in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 3-2. The Rams scored again in the bottom of the third to tie the game 3-3.

In the top of the fifth, Keeley gave the Ponies the lead again with an RBI double to left. But the Rams got the bats going in the bottom of the fifth to score four runs to take a 7-4 lead. The Ponies then went scoreless the rest of the way as their season came to an end.

Verploegen pitched the entire game as she allowed nine hits and five earned runs and recorded four strikeouts in the loss. At the plate, Keeley had the strongest game for the Ponies going 2-4 with two RBIs.

The Ponies finished the 2023 campaign with a record of 21-6. Most impressively, they won the Eastern A Divisional championship and they finished fourth at the Class A State Tournament. Looking back on the season that the Ponies had, Vigliotti is quite proud of what they accomplished.

"This is probably the best season that Havre High softball has had in its 20 year existence," Vigliotti said. "The work that everybody put in during the offseason even though they were doing everything from basketball to volleyball to softball to Key Club and whatever else they're involved in, it's just a reflection on them that they're able to and want to put in the work in the offseason. It showed during the season and I just couldn't be prouder of this group."

The Ponies will lose several seniors such as Carlson, Haney, Gingery, Huse and Wirtzberger. HHS softball will see the return of impact players such as Morse, Keeley and Verploegen on the mound, so Vigliotti expects the Ponies to be a contender moving forward.

"The program is in good shape," Vigliotti said. "The seniors laid the foundation for how to go about your business, how to get ready and prepare for the season in the offseason and during the season. They've showed the younger group how to lead and how to get there so now you just hope that this younger group will carry that on and I believe that they will."

Havre 10, Libby 4

LIB 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 - 4 12 4

HAV 0 0 3 1 4 2 X - 10 9 1

WP - Elle Verploegen

LP - Foss

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

Laurel 3, Havre 0

LAU 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 - 3 7 0

HAV 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 2

WP - A. Roth

LP - Elle Verploegen

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

Havre 7, Lewistown 5, LO

HAV 0 0 4 0 2 0 1 - 7 12 4

LEW 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 - 5 7 0

WP - Elle Verploegen

LP - K. Jensen

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

Billings Central 7, Havre 4, LO

HAV 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 4 5 2

BC 2 0 1 0 4 0 X - 7 9 4

WP - B. Thompson

LP - Elle Verploegen

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