Split decision for FHS, Polson Plenty of errors, hits, runs make for

entertaining twinbill

Ugly.

Ugly and more than a little bit wild.

That's the best way to describe Tuesday's Flathead Bravette/Polson Lady Pirate softball doubleheader.

Between them, the Bravettes and Pirates committed 11 errors in the first game of the twinbill and six in the second game.

Flathead rallied from a seven-run deficit to win the first game 15-14, but the Class A defending state champion Pirates (14-3, 11-1) bounced back to easily claim the second game, 14-2.

The bats were alive and well in both games, too.

There were 29 hits in the first game and 32 in the second game.

The Bravettes turned in two home runs and three doubles among their 18 first-game hits while the Pirates had a triple and a double amongst their 23 hits in the nightcap.

Even though they gave up a big lead in the first game, the Pirates left the Conrad Complex feeling pretty good about themselves.

"(The Pirates) knew they had opportunities to win that (first) game," said Polson head coach Larry Smith. "I know we could have played better.

"But we're gaining our confidence back that we had at the beginning of the season. Our confidence in offense and defense - and our confidence in each other."

For Flathead, the night was nothing but frustrating.

"You don't let people score 28 runs on you over two games," said a disappointed Bravette coach Dale Beerman afterward.

"I was surprised that both of us gave up that many runs. I thought they were going to be low-scoring games," Smith said.

"We made a bunch of errors, threw the ball around and (the Pirates) play good ball. They get after it," Beerman said.

"They made a lot of errors and we made a lot of errors," Smith agreed.

"Pitching-wise, nobody was getting struck out. Everybody was putting the ball in play," he added.

"We just pitched the ball down the middle of the plate to see who could hit it the farthest," Beerman agreed.

The second game gave the early appearance of meeting Smith's expectations - Polson led 2-1 after the first inning and 4-2 after three.

But a fourth-inning error turned costly for the Bravettes.

They sat the first two Pirate batters down in short order, but then gave up a single to Pirate senior Strohm Fouty. An error on what should have been a routine 'out' on Polson senior catcher Jenni Nesladek opened a three-run floodgate for Polson.

The Pirates just put too many runners on base for the Bravettes to handle.

"That's what we do. We put people on base and we force (the opposition) into making mistakes. That's what we do," Smith said.

Jaelin Vandeberg led the Pirates offensively. She was 7-for-8 at the plate for the night with a triple and six RBI. Dylen Zetterberg was 6-for-8 with three RBI and Keely Torgison was 6-for-9 with a double and five RBI.

Liz Dwyer led the Bravettes. She was 3-for-4 in the first game with a home run, two doubles and two RBI. Leslie Quay also had a home run and six RBI in the first game. Julie Roberts was 2-for-3 in the second game with a double.

"We've got to play better," Beerman said.

"We've got to cut down on the errors and focus. I think focus is a big part of this whole thing. When we focus, we're pretty tough. But when we don't, we're not very good."

The Bravettes play host to Western AA leader Big Sky for their final regular season games Thursday.

BRAVETTES 15, LADY PIRATES 14

Polson 003 704 0 - 14 11 4

Flathead 410 117 1 - 15 18 7

Nicole Brasher and Jenni Nesladek. Britanni Danielson and Ashley Fusaro. W - Danielson. L - Brasher. HR - Dwyer (F), Quay (F). 2B - Lidstrom (F), Dwyer (F) 2.

Polson - Strohm Fouty 1-3, Jenni Nesladek 0-3, Tami Bonkowski 1-4, Keely Torgison 2-4, Jaelin Vandeberg 3-3, Dylen Zetterberg 2-3, Lindsey Rafter 1-3, Brittany Jones 1-4, Nicole Brasher 2-4.

RBIs: Fouty 1, Nesladek 2, Bonkowski 1, Torgison 1, Vandeberg 2, Zetterberg 1, Rafter 1.

Flathead - Brandi Boreson 2-5, Christina Zorn 3-5, Amanda Lidstrom 1-5, Ashley Fusaro 3-5, Spencyr Schmaltz 2-5, Liz Dwyer 3-4, Leslie Quay 2-4, Rachel Bennett 2-5, Brittney Nelson 2-4.

RBIs: Lidstrom 2, Fusaro 2, Dwyer 2, Quay 6, Nelson 2.

LADY PIRATES 14, BRAVETTES 2

Polson 220 302 5 - 14 23 3

Flathead 101 000 0 - 2 9 3

Nicole Brasher and Jenni Nesladek. Brianne Compton and Julie Robertson. 3B - Vandeberg (P). 2B - Torgison (P), Boreson (F), Haegele (F), J. Robertson (F).

Polson - Fouty 3-6, Nesladek 4-6, Vandeberg 4-5, Torgison 4-5, Bonkowski 3-5, Zetterberg 4-5, Rafter 0-5, Jones 2-5, Brasher 0-5.

RBIs: Nesladek 1, Vandeberg 5, Torgison 4, Bonkowski 1, Zetterberg 1, Rafter 1, Jones 2.

Flathead - Boreson 1-4, Heather Haegele 2-5, Lidstrom 2-5, Dwyer 0-4, Zorn 1-4, Compton 0-4, Kris Robertson 0-3, Julie Robertson 2-3, Courtney Plympton 1-3.

RBIs: Zorn 1.