Bouley, Glacier stump Knights

Glacier relied on another strong performance by Kendra Bouley in the circle and some timely hits in the early going to stick a 3-0 Western AA softball loss on Missoula Hellgate at Kidsports Complex on Thursday.

Bouley effectively shut Hellgate down 1-2-3 through four innings until surrendering a sixth-inning, two-out double to deep right field. She fanned 11 batters in six innings of work and walked two in improving to 4-1 on the season.

Jessie Compton relieved Bouley to start the seventh and struck out the final two hitters she faced to pitch out of a jam. Hellgate, thanks to two fielding errors by Glacier in the seventh, had runners on second and third base with one out.

Bouley and Compton both threw complete game one-hitters on Saturday in beating Helena Capital, 4-0, and Helena High, 2-0, respectively.

“They are throwing well, both of them right now,” Glacier coach Joel Bemis said.

“Very impressive.”

With a crosstown doubleheader today with Flathead, 3 and 5 p.m. at Kidsports, and Bouley throwing a lot of pitches in the fifth inning, Bemis made the switch in the circle.

“It was nice to bring Jessie in and close the inning out,” he said.

“She was able to bear down and strike out the last two batters.”

Bouley wasted 11 pitches in the fifth inning on one batter — Tiffany Tompkins, who fouled off several fastballs. The batter before her — Mary Yoder — also had her fair share of foul balls.

“I think she (Bouley) was getting a little tired. That’s a great option (for a coach) to have two great pitchers like that, where one can come in and back the other one up. I appreciate the way they both have worked hard this season, putting the team first. They both know their roles.”

Glacier had plenty of opportunities to blow this game wide open. The Wolfpack left the bases full in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings and stranded 13 runners total. The only inning the Wolfpack did not have a baserunner was the fifth.

“I told the girls it could have easily been a 7-0, 8-0 game, maybe more than that the way we left runners stranded,” Bemis said.

“I’m pleased with the way we found a way to win, even though we didn’t hit the ball well. We played solid defense, had solid pitching. It was fun to watch the girls battle, compete and win a game.”

Glacier’s Anna Costa drove in a run with a double in the third inning, and Lyndsey Hoffenbacker had a second inning RBI single.

Abby Connolly, who went 2-for-4, twice entered the batters’ box with the bases loaded, but failed to drive in a run. She hit an infield grounder, which resulted in a force out, and was robbed of an extra-base hit by Hellgate left fielder Sandy Brown in the sixth inning on a well-hit ball.

It was the second meeting of the season for both teams. Glacier (6-2 overall and 5-1 league) won the first one 4-2.

The Wolfpack have won three straight.

Missoula Hellgate    000    000    0    —    0    1    3

Glacier    021    000    0    —    3    5    1

Leyna Downey and Jesse Ouellette; Kendra Bouley, Jessie Compton (7) and Brittany Franklin. W — Bouley. L — Downey.

MISSOULA HELLGATE — Downey 1-2, Sarah Hendricks 0-3, Ouellette 0-3, Mac Schultz 0-3, Mary Yoder 0-3, Tiffany Tompkins 0-3, Sandy Brown 0-3, Ariel Rodriguez 0-2, Cara Guderian 0-2.

GLACIER (6-2, 5-1) — Anna Costa 1-3, Zoe Pettit 0-4, Franklin 0-1, Lyndsey Hoffenbacker 1-2, Baylee Quay 0-2, Sabrina Kenfield 0-2, Abby Connolly 2-4, Bryttani Knopp 0-3, Kendra Bouley 1-2.

2B—Costa; Downey; RBIs—Costa, Hoffenbacker.