Glacier drills Bravettes

Glacier softball coach Joel Bemis had just one hope going into Friday's crosstown softball doubleheader with the Flathead Bravettes.

He wanted the Wolfpack (2-5, 4-7) to play relaxed.

"When you play a crosstown, you just hope they're not nervous and they're relaxed and that's exactly what our girls did today," Bemis said.

"They were relaxed and they played with a nice poise today, I thought," he said.

They did indeed. The Wolfpack was relaxed to the tune of two Western AA victories over the Bravettes, 12-0 and 16-1.

"These were a couple big wins for us … needed wins. We've just been hanging around, right on the edge of winning some games. We keep learning how to compete and today we just kind of got it," Bemis said.

"It was good to see girls hit the ball and get a little confidence," he said.

Glacier sophomore Kendra Bouley threw a one-hitter in the first game. She faced 18 batters, struck out five and walked two.

"She had a very nice outing," Bemis said.

Bouley was helped by a quick offense - Glacier scored eight runs in the first two innings and finished the game with a dozen hits.

The Wolfpack scored three runs in the first - on just one hit. One batter was hit by a pitch, one got aboard on a fielder's choice, there was one single and a walk. The Bravettes got a force out at second base, but the Wolfpack loaded the bases with two outs.

Flathead followed that with a base-emptying throwing error.

"We put the ball in play. When you get baserunners, you can do some things. Find a way to get on base and we can do some things," Bemis said.

From there, the Wolfpack poured it on - five runs in the second and two in each of the third and fourth innings.

"It was good for the girls to play with a lead. We've played down a lot this year. We got a lead there and you could see the confidence level go up," Bemis said.

The only blemish was a fifth-inning throwing error.

Offensively, Lyndsey Hoffenbacker was 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs for Glacier. Brittany Franklin was 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Abby Connolly and Kristen Storle were each 2-for-4.

"I was just so pleased with what Kristen Storle did today. She had a great day. She just put the bat on the ball when we needed it," Bemis said.

"That's a girl who's come so far since last year. To see her making great contact with the ball has been pretty neat to see."

The second game was close for three innings - Glacier led 4-1.

"We struggled to hit the pitcher (Alisha Lingle). But we got hits when we needed them and we got baserunners," Bemis said.

Both teams threw the ball around a bit. The Wolfpack had four errors and the Bravettes nine.

But the Bravettes also woke the bats up. They had six hits and loaded the bases twice. They pushed one run across in the third, then had three straight singles in the fourth.

Flathead coach Tim Severson saw some things he liked, too.

"We made some inexperienced mistakes, but we're young. It's slowly coming together," he said.

"We got better today in some areas. I think we defensively pieced some things together tonight. We are slowly getting better," he said.

"I thought we saw some positives."

Those included three sophomores - Cherise Stivers at third base, Karlee Stacy at first and Christyne Hanson in left field.

Stacy got her first varsity hit in her first at-bat.

"Hanson ran down a couple balls that were tough catches," the coach added.

"I think if we clean up our errors, we're going to be competitive. We'll get some wins. We'll be fine. All we need to do is work hard every day," he said.

"We're inexperienced, but our girls come and work hard every day. I really think we're going to be playing some good softball by the end of the season," he said.

Offensive leaders in the second game were Sabrina Kenfield, 2-for-4, Hoffenbacker, 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, Storle, 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

For Flathead, Stacy was 1-for-2, Kendra Bennett was 1-for-1 with an RBI, and Hanson, Stivers and Casey Roylston all had hits.

The Bravettes get started on the rest of the season by hosting another doubleheader today. Western AA leader Hellgate will be at the Conrad Complex for games at 1 and 3 p.m. Glacier is off now until next Thursday when it travels to Missoula to take on Missoula Sentinel and Missoula Big Sky.

Glacier 352 20 - 12 12 1

Flathead 000 00 - 0 1 4

Kendra Bouley and Brittany Franklin. Meagan Hash and Megan Olszewski.

Glacier - Anna Costa 1-1, Brittney Brown 1-2, Lyndsey Hoffenbacker 2-4, Brittany Franklin 3-3, Abby Connolly 2-4, Sabrina Kenfield 0-4, Kristen Storle 2-4, Zoey Pettit 0-4, Megan Connolly 1-3.

2B - Hoffenbacker.

RBIs: Hoffenbacker 4, Franklin 3, Abby Connolly 2.

Flathead - Meagan Hash 0-0, Kassi Martin 1-2, Alisha Lingle 0-2, Kendra Bennett 0-2, Megan Olszewski 0-2, Emily Joles 0-2, Brenna Palmer 0-2, Casey Roylston 0-2, Cherise Stivers 0-2.

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Glacier 004 408 - 16 6 4

Flathead 001 000 - 1 6 9

Jessie Compton and Brittany Franklin. Alisha Lingle and Cherise Stivers.

Glacier - Anna Costa 0-4, Brittney Brown 1-3, Hoffenbacker 1-4, Franklin 1-3, Abby Connolly 0-5, Kenfield 2-4, Storle 1-3, Pettit 0-3, Kendra Bouley 0-1, Megan Connolly 0-3.

2B - Hoffenbacker, Storle

RBIs - Costa 2, Hoffenbacker 2, Kenfield 2, Storle 2, Pettit 1.

Flathead - Hash 0-4, Martin 0-4, Lingle 0-3, Karlee Stacy 1-2, Bennett 1-1, Chrystyne Hanson 1-3, Stivers 1-3, Hailley Johnson 0-3, Roylston 1-3.

RBIs: Bennett 1.