Kats 'run with it'

The memory brings a smile to Jordan Lefebvre.

It was the look on the face of Columbia Falls' softball coach Dave Kehr as Lefebvre slid into third base last Thursday evening for a triple against the Libby Loggers.

It was the sixth inning - and the game (which could have been the difference between second and third in the Northwestern A conference) was tied at 10.

Lefebvre smacked a shot deep down the third base line and ran hard.

When she popped up at third base - a mere smidge ahead of the ball - she had a huge raspberry on her thigh and an even bigger smile.

Kehr's eyes were as big as she'd ever seen them. He'd told her to stop at second, but she had never looked up.

"I slapped his arm and said ‘take a breath, it's OK!'" Lefebvre laughed.

"Had she paused she wouldn't have made it," Kehr said with a shake of the head.

Kathrin Jetty singled moments later and Lefebvre turned out to be the winning run.

That win is indicative of a huge turnaround for the Wildkat softball program - from 10-10 and missing the state tournament a year ago to 15-5 and claiming the No. 2 slot in the conference.

The Wildkats open the Class A state tournament at 10 a.m. today against Southwestern A Corvallis.

"We just hit the ball better when we need to. This is what happens when you hit the ball. We had more girls in open gym and they worked hard this year. And they just get along well. It's a nice team," Kehr said.

"We took that, learned from it and now we're running with it," Lefebvre said of last season's lumps.

"As coach says, the season started in December, not in April. It's been a great season, fun to play," Lefebvre said.

"The girls seem to want it more and we've had a lot of leadership from the seniors. It's been fun and I'm excited to be going to state again," she said.

"It's been a great season so far. I think my favorite part - no matter where we are in the our lineup, no matter who is up, they want to get a hit for the team," said senior shortstop Renae Nelson.

"We're all very close. We all build off each other and we all play as a team. Everybody is a part of the team,"Nelson said.

"As a whole, we all work together on defense. We all need each other," she added.

"Plus, we're all just really competitive. From the bottom to the top of our lineup, we want to work, we want to compete," Nelson said.

The Wildkats have also proven they can score runs at any time - they scored 10 in one inning against Ronan on April 7 to rally from a 7-0 deficit.

"All it takes is one hit for it to become a rally," Nelson said.

But the Libby contest is one that will live on for many of the Wildkats.

"It was a really fun game to play, the type of game that makes you nervous and excited all at the same time," Nelson said.

Her own favorite moment of the 2011 softball season came in the bottom of the seventh - up 11-10 with no outs and a Logger runner on first base, Nelson and Niki Birky turned the first double play of the Wildkat season.

"We can do anything just as long as we set our minds to it," Lefebvre said.

"We are so ready. We deserve (to be at state). We have worked hard for it."