Heartbreaking loss for Bravettes
The Daily Inter Lake
HELENA - Helena High's Ashten Colvin ended Flathead's softball season in heartbreaking fashion Thursday night.
Colvin hit an eighth-inning, walk-off home run in the final game of a best-of-three Western AA playoff series, blocking the Bravettes from next week's state tournament in Great Falls.
Flathead won the opener 2-0 before Helena pulled away 10-1 in the second game.
The Bravettes finished 11-12 overall in coach Dale Beerman's final season.
Flathead 2, Helena 0
Pitching through a painful rib injury, Flathead's Meagan Hash hurled a four-hit shutout.
The Bravettes scored one run apiece in the second and seventh innings while playing error-free defense.
Becca Felde had two hits for Flathead, followed by Shaina Evans, Anna Costa and Catie Costa with one each. Catie Costa drove in both runs.
Flathead 010 000 1 - 2 5 0
Helena 000 000 0 - 0 4 1
Meagan Hash and Alanna Handford. Josie Grotbo and Sarah Sesselman. W - Hash. L - Grotbo.
FLATHEAD - Heather Haegele 0-4, Hash 0-3, Kendra Bennett 0-2, Shaina Evans 1-3, Handford 0-3, Becca Felde 2-3, Anna Costa 1-3, Catie Costa 1-2, Brenna Palmer 0-3.
HELENA - Carly Grant 2-3, Noel Perez 0-2, Grotbo 0-3, Sesselman 1-3, Sarah Jackson 0-2, Ashten Colvin 0-3, Carmon Cole 1-3, Sydney Carpenter 0-3, Brittany Mayer 0-2.
RBI - C. Costa 2.
Helena 10, Flathead 1
The Bengals scored in each of the first five innings, while the Bravettes didn't score after the first.
Helena catcher Sarah Sesselman went 2-for-4 with a home run, and Noel Perez, Colvin and Sydney Carpenter added two hits apiece.
Helena 221 230 0 - 10 9 0
Flathead 100 000 0 - 1 5 1
Grotbo, Grant (5) and Sesselman. Hash, Shaina Evans (4) and Handford. W - Grotbo. L - Hash.
Helena - Grant 1-3, Noel Perez 2-5, Grotbo 1-3, Sesselman 2-4, Sarah Jackson 0-3, Ashten Colvin 2-3, Carmon Cole 0-4, Sydney Carpenter 2-4, Brittany Mayer 0-3.
Flathead - Heather Haegele 1-3, Hash 0-3, Kendra Bennett 1-3, Evans 0-3, Handford 1-3, Becca Felde 1-3, Anna Costa 0-2, Catie Costa 1-3, Brenna Palmer 0-0.
2B - Grant, Perez, Colvin, Carpenter. HR - Sesselman. RBIs - Perez 2, Sesselman 2, Mayer.
Helena 3, Flathead 2 (8)
The Bravettes jumped to a 2-0 first-inning lead, which held up until Helena made it 2-1 in the fourth and 2-all in the fifth.
Colvin snapped the tie in the extra frame with a solo blast.
Hash pitched the distance for Flathead, scattering 12 hits while the Bravettes racked up nine of their own.
Flathead 200 000 00 - 2 9 1
Helena 000 110 01 - 3 12 0
Meagan Hash and Alanna Handford. Carly Grant, Josie Grotbo (2) and Sarah Sesselman. W - Grotbo. L - Hash.
Flathead - Heather Haegele 0-4, Hash 1-4, Kendra Bennett 0-4, Shaina Evans 3-4, Handford 1-3, Becca Felde 2-3, Anna Costa 0-3, Catie Costa 1-3, Alysha Lingle 1-3.
Helena - Grant 1-4, Noel Perez 2-4, Grotbo 2-4, Sesselman 1-4, Sarah Jackson 1-4, Ashten Colvin 1-4, Carmon Cole 2-3, Sydney Carpenter 2-3, Brittany Mayer 0-3.
2B - Jackson, Cole. 3B - Perez. HR - Colvin. RBI - Evans, Handford, Colvin.