Bravettes drop doubleheader
The weather was inconsistent, but the Bruins weren't.
Helena Capital won both softball games against the Bravettes during Saturday's doubleheader at Kidsport.
Flathead dropped the first game, 13-3, and the second, 6-0.
Capital took advantage of the Bravettes' numerous mistakes during the early game. The Bruins scored 12 unearned runs.
"We made too many errors, and we weren't talking," Flathead coach Dale Beerman said. "We talked about that after the game."
The second game didn't start much better for the Bravettes as Capital scored three runs in the first inning.
Flathead's battery- pitcher Brianna Compton and catcher Julie Robertson - played straight through both games. Compton sent four Bruin batters back to the dugout with strikeouts during the second game.
Capital was held scoreless in the second inning, but came back in the third to put up two more runs before the Bravettes could get three outs. Unfortunately for Flathead, Helena's defense wasn't allowing anything to get by.
The Bravettes connected at the plate only to find the ball quickly scooped up by a Bruin infielder.
During the fourth inning, Capital looked ready to run up the lead even more. The Bruins had two on base with no outs. Helena's Christina Smetana smacked a base hit, but a key out at third base kept the Bravettes from facing a bases-loaded situation.
A nearly-identical play on the next at-bat and then a strikeout stopped Helena from doing any more damage.
Flathead's best chance to score came in the bottom of the fourth. Compton got on base after being hit with a pitch, and moved to second after Liz Dwyer outdueled Helena's pitcher for a walk. Julie Robertson came to the plate with one out and her teammates ready to come home.
She hit a strong line drive toward left field, but Helena's Kelsi Brekke made a giant leap at shortstop and snagged the ball out of the air. Brekke then made a quick toss to second base for the double play to end the inning.
The biggest hit of the game came in the bottom of the fifth when Lindsay Ingram crushed a shot to deep left field. As she rounded second, coach Beerman didn't want her to try for three, but she never slowed.
Ingram just beat the ball into third base.
Beerman lifted his hat of his head and told Ingram to look at the extra gray hairs she had given him.
Capital managed to score once more in the sixth inning, and the Bravettes never found a way to answer.
"Helena is a good team, but they aren't unbeatable," Beerman said. "Compton and Robertson both played very well today."
Flathead moves to 1-3 for the season and goes on the road next week to Missoula Big Sky and Butte.
BRUINS 13, BRAVETTES 3
R H E
Capital 310 402 3 - 13 7 0
Flathead 100 200 0 - 3 5 n/a
Lindsey Trenary and Shanna Schmitz; Brianna Compton and Julie Robertson. W - Trenary. L - Compton.
Capital - Christina Smetana 1-3, Shannon Furlong 0-4, Shanna Schmitz 0-4, Lindsay Cline 3-4, Amanda Heller 1-3, Kelsi Brekke 1-4, Lindsey Trenary 1-3, Shannon George 1-2, Kalli Heller 1-2.
Flathead - Christina Zorn 0-4, Heather Haegele 1-3, Brianna Compton 0-3, Spencyr Schmaltz 0-3, Liz Dwyer 0-3, Brittney Nelson, Hannah Vanek 0-3, Julie Robertson 2-3, Catie Costa.
2B - Compton
BRUINS 6, BRAVETTES 0
R H E
Capital 302 001 0 - 6 6 3
Flathead 000 000 0 - 0 4 2
Amanda Heller and Shanna Schmitz; Brianna Compton and Julie Robertson. W - Heller. L - Compton.
Capital - Christina Smetana 1-2, Shannon Furlong 1-2, Shanna Schmitz 2-4, Lindsay Cline 0-3, Amanda Heller 0-3, Kelsi Brekke 1-3, Lindsey Trenary 1-3, Jordyn Gillespie 0-3, Kalli Heller 0-3.
Flathead - Heather Haegele 1-3, Brianna Compton 1-2, Liz Dwyer 0-3, Spencyr Schmaltz 1-2, Julie Robertson 0-3, Brittney Nelson 0-3, Christina Zorn 0-3, Lindsay Ingram 1-2.
3B - Ingram, Brekke