Softball: Bravettes blast Kats

COLUMBIA FALLS — It’s pretty tough for freshmen to make an impact in varsity sports.

However, not for Flathead third baseman Kylee Meredith.

The Bravettes’ freshman drove in 5 RBIs, including a three-run homer, as Flathead defeated Columbia Falls 9-1 for a nonconference road victory on Tuesday.

The two teams went scoreless in the first inning and sat through a 20 minute rain delay before Meredith took Ashley Trueblood’s inside pitch deep over the left field fence for the three-run shot in the top of the second.

“I just went up there with a lot of confidence,” Meredith said.

“The past few games I haven’t been hitting really well so I went up there with a clear mind and just watched that pitch come in.”

The Bravettes put up two more runs in the third inning on a base hit by freshman pitcher Kylee Beccari that drove in sophomore shortstop Abbie O’Brien.

Senior catcher Kaylee Henderson also reached home safely on the play after an errant throw from the Columbia Falls outfield.

The Wildkats lone run came in fourth inning when senior catcher Courtney Murray drove in Trueblood with a base hit.

Unfortunately for Columbia Falls, it’s all they could muster.

The Bravettes responded in the fifth with more Meredith.

With two runners on and one out, Meredith hit a line drive to the left-center field gap, scoring senior outfielder Lynsey Potter and senior first baseman Cassidy Smith, as she trotted safely into second with a stand up double.

Flathead scored four runs in that inning, and Beccari kept the Wildkats at bay while the Bravettes claimed the victory on a soggy field in Columiba Falls.

“I think we played really well today,” Meredith said. “We just played together. It really showed. We all connected and were hitting it well, fielding well. I think we just meshed together today.”

O’Brien was three for five for the Bravettes, and Beccari struck out five Wildkats in her complete game five-hitter, much to the delight of Flathead head coach Ashley Fusaro.

“(Beccari) really moved the ball around today and got ahead on batters which helped her out a lot.” Fusaro said.

“We had an excellent practice yesterday and worked on cleaning up our errors and hitting better, and that’s what we did today. Everybody got their job done,”

Columbia Falls was lead by senior third baseman Tiffany Hummer who went two for four with a double. Senior first baseman Amanda Morrison went one for two for the Wildkats.

Despite the loss, Trueblood struck out eight Bravettes in her seven innings of work.

“We’ve got to put some pressure on them,” Columbia Falls head coach Dave Kehr said.

“That was not a good defensive game for us. You can’t give a team six outs. We gave them six outs a couple of times, four outs once. There’s nothing you can do about that. (Ashley) pitched well.

“We’ll just have to work on hitting the ball, what to look for. This was a nonconference game so we’ve got a chance to work on some things before a couple conference games coming up.”

The Wildkats will head to Ronan for a 6 p.m. start on Thursday while the Bravettes get ready for their crosstown double-header with Glacier.

The first game is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the second game at 5 p.m. this Thursday.

Flathead 032 040 0 — 9 13 3

Columbia Falls 000 100 0 — 1 5 6

Kylee Beccari and Kaylee Henderson. Ahsley Trueblood and Courtney Murray. W — Beccari. L — Trueblood.

FLATHEAD — Abbie O’Brien 3-5, Iris Matulevich 1-5, Kaitlin Torgerson 0-3, Kijrstjn Kruse 1-2, Kaylee Henerson 2-2, Kylee Beccari 1-3, Lynsey Potter 0-4, Cassidy Smith 1-4, Kylee Meredith 2-4, Shayla Tweet 2-4.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Carlee Brown 1-3, Tiffany Hummer 2-4, Madi Fetters 0-3, Breanna Friar 0-3, Winter Kemppainen 0-2, Ashley Trueblood 0-2, Amanda Morrison 1-2, Courtney Murray 1-2, Kaitlyn Hoerner 0-3.

2B — O’Brien, Meredith, Hummer. HR — Meredith. RBIs — Meredith 5, Beccari, Murray.