Big Bat Benson

Some athletes just must make things right.

Any mistake demands atonement, no matter how long it takes.

And as mistakes go, Polson's then-freshman softball player Staci Benson thought she'd made a biggie.

The Pirates held a one-run lead over Frenchtown in the sixth inning of the 2007 state championship game.

With a runner on, Frenchtown outfielder Lauren Lofts sent a long fly ball toward the 4-foot-11 freshman outfielder.

It should have been an out.

"It bounced off my glove and gave them a home run," Benson moaned.

So much for that one-run lead.

"She was devastated. She had her hands on her head ... she was quite devastated," said Polson head coach Larry Smith.

"Immediately her teammates surrounded her. That was neat. The leaders got everybody right back into it," he remembered.

As luck would have it, Benson was due up second in the bottom of the seventh.

"You can make up for this with your bat," Smith told her.

Benson got her chance with one out.

"‘I've gotta hit the ball,'" Benson remembers thinking.

The first thing she did was collect two strikes.

She took a moment, calmed down, then ripped a double into right center.

"She more than made up for it. That put us in good position," Smith said.

Three batters and one more out later, Benson crossed the plate to tie the game. The Pirates won their fourth state championship a few minutes later.

Benson is a senior now.

A shoulder injury has caused her to move from outfield to shortstop, but she's collected all-conference and all-state honors and has led the Pirates to a 15-6 record overall, 6-2 in league play.

Her batting average as of mid-May was .490. At that point, she led the Pirates with 19 runs scored and had batted in 15 runs. She also had hit two doubles, four triples and one home run. Her slugging percentage was .745.

But she still marvels at that day.

"It was nervewracking to be the only freshman. Everyone thought of me as being as old as everyone else. But it seems like I was really young," she said.

"I knew I had to get a hit. I honestly do really well when I'm under pressure. I'm almost calmer. My focus comes into play so well. I just really focus on what I have to do," she said.

It's always been that way for Benson. Hard work and natural ability go hand-in-hand.

She's always played either up an age group - or with the boys.

She grew up on a horse ranch and still loves Flathead Lake, fishing, hiking and anything active.

"I didn't do any girly things. I used to play baseball when I was little. I liked the thrill of it, I guess, and I was always pretty good at it."

Softball fit for Benson.

She's felt overlooked at times in the other sports - she admits she would have liked to have been a hitter in volleyball or a post in basketball.

"I was so small. I had to push myself to be as good as I wanted to be."

"I was never the big, tall scorer. I just had to do whatever I could do," she said.

Softball became a favorite because "it's very team-oriented, but it's also individual.

"Being smart in sports came easy to me. I've always had a pretty good idea of what needs to happen," she said.

That's what she enjoys about her spot in the infield.

"You get the most action there. It's just fun. At shortstop you have to be super quick and aware. Shortstop takes a lot of leadership."

She was good enough that she was no surprise to the Pirates coaches.

"I watched her when she played 12U and 14U," Smith said.

Smith's biggest worry back then? He had a good, experienced team already - he wondered how he was going to keep Benson out of the lineup.

"She's just a tremendous girl to coach. I'm very honored to coach somebody with her attitude and her skills. She might be the smallest player on the field stature-wise, but she's got the biggest heart of anybody. She's a dandy, a very team-oriented person.

"She and I over all these years, we have a little ongoing thing," Smith smiled.

"She has extremely great bat control. She can swing at high pitches, low, outside or inside.

"We bring it up about every other game. I tell her, ‘you've never seen a pitch you didn't like.'

"How she can generate all that power is beyond me. She gets every ounce into it - and she has perfect timing," Smith said.

"Size makes no difference. It's more the size of your heart than anything," Smith said.