Dwyer's big day sends FHS to state

The first thing Liz Dwyer did after she settled into the Conrad Complex batter's box Thursday afternoon was look to Flathead Bravette softball coach Dale Beerman for a sign.

The Bravettes had runners on second and third base with just one out, but the first game of a best-of-three playoff with Helena High had stretched into the 10th inning.

Dwyer was ready to move on.

"I wanted to get the game done, get the job done," she said afterward.

So, she looked to Beerman.

"I said 'relax. Keep your head down and hit the ball hard,'" the coach told her.

"Next thing we knew, she was rounding third. One of the furthest home runs I've seen," Beerman said.

That hit - which carried over the left field fence - gave Flathead a 3-0 win in the first game. The Bravettes rallied from a two-run deficit to claim the second game - and a berth in next weekend's Class AA state tournament - 7-4.

"So, we go to state. Fantastical!" Beerman smiled.

"They came to play ball today," he added.

Dwyer and everyone else at the Conrad Complex knew instantly it was a home run.

"I just saw it all the way," the junior outfielder said.

"It felt good. Thank goodness those girls (Ashley Fusaro led off with a double and Amanda Lidstrom worked a walk) got on base," Dwyer said.

Dwyer wound up 3-for-8 on the day with the homer, a double and six RBI. Fusaro was 4-for-6 with two doubles.

But the Flathead defense was the story of the day.

Senior pitcher Britanni Danielson scattered six hits, struck out four, walked no one and hit one Bengal batter in the first game. In the second game, sophomore Brianna Compton gave up just five hits, struck out five, walked one and hit one.

"Both pitched gutsy games today," Beerman said. "If you get a pitcher to stay ahead of batters, you will win games.

"We didn't hit the ball too well in the first game. We were thinking too much.

"But we played good defense," he added. "Great defense. (Shortstop) Brandi Boreson played great defense."

The Bravettes were flawless behind Danielson in the first game.

Both teams played error-free softball.

The Bravettes committed two errors behind Compton in the second game.

"But then they regrouped, came back, hit the ball, bunted the ball and (the Bengals) threw it around a little bit," said Beerman.

Winning the first game "gave us some confidence," Dwyer said.

"We knew we could (win). We started to hit the ball in the first game. We just kept it going."

Helena's lone pitcher also appeared to tire a bit in the second game.

Junior Amanda Heller threw a wonderful first game. Despite a prior knee injury, she struck out 11 Bravette batters, allowed four hits and gave up just one walk.

"She definitely got tired," Dwyer said.

"It's tough when you're the only pitcher. She still pitched well, but you could tell she was tired.

"We had heart. We had a lot of confidence. We knew our coaches believed in us and we knew we could do it," she added.

Beerman gave a lot of the credit to assistant coaches Sarah Twichel, Joel Bemis and Shirley Willis.

"They're positive with the kids and I'd just like to thank those people."

Bravettes 3, Bengals 0, 10 innings

Helena 000 000 000 0 - 0 6 0

Flathead 000 000 000 3 - 3 4 0

Amanda Heller and Veronica Johnson. Britanni Danielson and Ashley Fusaro. WP - Danielson. LP - Heller. HR - Liz Dwyer (F). 2B - Fusaro (F), Heller (H).

Heller - 4 hits, 11 strikeouts, 1 walk.

Danielson - 6 hits, 4 strikeouts, 0 walks, 1 hp.

Helena - Drew Mihelish 0-4, Mandee Caroll 0-4, Veronica Johnson 0-3, Amanda Heller 3-4, Andie Rice 1-3, Amanda Vischer 1-4, Natasha Kearney 0-3, Kristen Delude 1-4, Mackenzie Clark 0-4.

Flathead - Brandi Boreson 0-4, Rachel Bennett 0-4, Ashley Fusaro 2-4, Amanda Lidstrom 0-3, Spencyr Schmaltz 0-4, Liz Dwyer 1-4, Christina Zorn 0-3, Kris Robertson 1-3, Leslie Quay 0-3.

RBIs: Dwyer 3.

Bravettes 7, Bengals 4

Helena 003 000 1 - 4 5 2

Flathead 100 033 x - 7 10 1

Amanda Heller and Veronica Johnson. Brianna Compton and Ashley Fusaro. WP - Compton. LP - Heller. 2B - Dwyer, Fusaro (F), Johnson (H).

Heller - 10 hits, 6 strikeouts, 6 walks.

Compton - 5 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk, 1 hp.

Helena - Mihelish 1-3, Carroll 0-4, Johnson 1-4, Heller 0-3, Rice 1-2, Vischer 0-2, Kearney 1-3, Delude 0-3, Clark 1-2.

RBIs: Rice 1.

Flathead - Boreson 1-3, Heather Haegele 1-3, Fusaro 2-2, Dwyer 2-4, Schmaltz 1-4, Lidstrom 1-3, Zorn 0-3, Bennett 1-3, Brittney Nelson 1-3.

RBIs: Dwyer 3, Lidstrom 1, Schmaltz 1.