Pirates' big inning stops Kats

POLSON - You have to be solid all the way around when you play the defending Class A state softball champion Polson Pirates.

That's the lesson the Columbia Falls Wildkats learned on Thursday.

The Pirates scored seven runs in the second inning en route to a 12-4 Northwestern A victory over previously unbeaten Columbia Falls (6-1 overall, 3-1 league) at the Polson Softball Complex.

"We seem to do that. We seem to have that one or two big inning and that seems to get the other team down," said Polson coach Larry Smith.

He'd rather the Pirates consistently bring home one or two runs per frame, Smith confessed.

"But I'll take it any way they want to do it," he smiled.

The Pirates scored those seven runs, then answered every Columbia Falls effort to climb back into the contest.

"Every time they did make a little run, we responded very well. That's the sign of a champion there. You fight right back. If you give something up, you fight right back," Smith said.

"We made a few defensive mistakes, but we'll clean that up. Hitting-wise, (the Pirates) did very well. I can't say anything negative about their hitting," Smith said.

"We gave them a big inning ... we made some little mistakes all the way through the game, though," said Columbia Falls coach Dave Kehr.

"We gave them a base here, a base there, a hit there, a hit here ... walked one in. You can't do that against these guys," Kehr said.

"You can't give them a big inning and then you can't give them little things, extra bases here and there. You've got to play solid all the way around. You've got to pitch well, hold them to a single if they hit a single," he said.

The Wildkats did answer early.

Pirate leadoff hitter Kodi Woods sent the third pitch she looked at to the fence in left center - and then showed her speed. By the time Columbia Falls got the ball in, Woods was on third base with a triple.

Ashley Johnson sacrificed to get her home moments later.

The Wildkats dug in at that point, and then got that run back in the top of the second.

Wildkat second baseman Niki Birky got aboard on an error and scored on Jaylynn Cantu's single.

"They made a nice run. They can hit the ball, every one of them, one through nine," Smith said of the Wildkats.

But the bottom of the second?

Seven Pirate runs, four hits, including a double and a triple and a run walked home.

"(The second inning) was probably a little tough on (the Wildkats). It took a little energy away from them. Their dugout got kind of quiet," Smith said.

"Those are mental things and you've just got to bounce back from them," he said.

Kehr saw some things about which to be encouraged.

"I thought we hung in there really well. The girls kept coming up and batting and batting and batting. I thought we stuck with it," Kehr said.

"Down 9-1, we could have given up, but they kept hitting. They were right in there. I just think we gave up too much too early and that's just the way it is."

"But Jessica (Owens) started coming around pitching. Niki Birky got on every time. Erika (Nelson) hit that change-up at the end ... We're right there and we will see them again," Kehr said.

Madison Sandefer led the Wildkats at the plate. She was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Jordan Lefebvre was 1-for-3 with an RBI and Jaylynn Cantu had two RBI.

For Polson, Makaliah Wilson was 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI. Heidi Rausch was 3-for-4 with a triple and Kodi Woods was 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI. Sallie Sams was 3-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

Wilson's homer got oohs and ahhs from the crowd - it made a satisfying smack as it bounced off the scoreboard between left and center field.

"She hit it up high. That was a line drive. It was still climbing when it hit. It would have been out in the streets if it hadn't hit the scoreboard," Smith said.

"(The girls) get a kick out of hitting the scoreboard," he smiled.

Columbia Falls 010 210 0 - 4 6 1

Polson 171 102 x - 12 14 3

Jessica Owens and Erika Nelson. Shalaina Duford and Kayla Duford. W - Duford. L - Owens.

Columbia Falls - Jessica Owens 1-4, Renae Nelson 0-4, Shaun Rowe 0-4, Niki Birky 1-2, Erika Nelson 1-4, Madison Sandefer 2-4, Jordan Lefebvre 1-3, Jaylynn Cantu 0-3, Kathrin Jetty 0-2.

RBI - Sandefer 1, Lefebrve 1, Cantu 2.

Polson - Kodi Woods 2-3, Ashley Johnson 1-4, Shalaina Duford 2-3, Sallie Sams 3-4, Heidi Rausch 3-4, Kayla Duford 1-3, Kylie Knutson 1-4, Makaliah Wilson 1-3, Martina Marquardt 0-3.

HR - Wilson. 3B - Woods, Rausch. 2B - Sams. RBI - Woods 1, Johnson 1, S. Duford 1, Sams 2, K. Duford 2, Knutson 1, Wilson 1.