James' bat lifts 'Kats

| April 12, 2006 1:00 AM

The Daily Inter Lake

COLUMBIA FALLS - Amber James almost hit for the cycle, going 3-for-4 on the day with two RBIs in leading Columbia Falls to a 10-8 Class A softball victory over Ronan.

James singled, doubled (first inning) and tripled (third inning) from her No. 4 spot in the lineup. Her two RBIs came in the third inning.

"She hit the heck out of the ball," said Columbia Falls coach Dave Kehr.

"She ripped the ball. She's a tough out."

Ferh said the Wildkats "ran the bases pretty well and scored some runs," to win their second-straight contest.

Jennie Johnson went the distance on the mound for Columbia Falls to even her record at 1-1.

Columbia Falls hosts Whitefish on Thursday, 3 p.m. varsity and 5 p.m. junior varsity.

WILDKATS 10, MAIDENS 8

Ronan 102 320 0 - 8 6 2

Columbia Falls 204 310 x - 10 7 5

K. Larson and J. Strozzi; Jennie Johnson and Amber James. W - Johnson, 1-1 (6 hits, 6 walks, 3 strikeouts). L - Larson.

Ronan - L. Lynch 0-2, Strozzi 1-4, Larson 0-2, K. Sorrell 1-4, C. Starkel 1-4, A. Soukup 0-2, D. Dilile 1-4, N. Starkel 1-4, K. Orr 1-3.

Columbia Falls - Sam Connor 2-4, Venesha Riley 2-2, Cedar Smath 0-3, Amber James 3-4, Amanda Milliard 0-3, Brandy Rowe 0-2, Brittany White 0-2, Kayla Stinger 0-2, Tia Yaeger 0-2, Ashlee Nickerson 0-1.

2B-James; 3B-Riley, James; RBIs- James (2), Milliard (2), Stinger (2).