AA softball: Glacier earns trip to state
<p>Glacier senior Anna Jenks (right) slides safely into third base Thursday afternoon during Glacier’s Western AA softball game with Helena High at Kidsports Complex. </p>
<p>Glacier sophomore Ali Williams celebrates with teammates Thursday afternoon after Glacier swept two games from Helena High at Kidsports Complex. Williams had two home runs. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
If the Glacier Wolfpack softball team had struggled at the plate this season, you couldn’t tell on Thursday afternoon.
Glacier exploded for 27 hits in a two-game sweep of the Helena High Bengals and secured a birth in the 2014 State Class AA Softball Tournament in Great Falls next weekend.
The first game was tied at two heading into the bottom of the fifth inning until the Wolfpack configured a rally against Bengals ace Jess Girard.
Eleven batters went up to the plate in the inning, junior first baseman Tacey Howe hit a two-run triple and Glacier scored seven runs to take a commanding lead.
It would score two more in the sixth to take the first game, 11-3.
Left fielder Katie McHugh had five RBIs to lead the Wolfpack.
“In both games, I felt like it took us a couple innings to get going,” Glacier head coach Andy Fors said.
“Once we had somebody in our lineup step up and hit the ball everyone else seemed to follow suit.”
The good vibes continued right into the second game. Junior shortstop Kayla Russell hit a stand up triple in the first inning and scored on Ali WIlliams’ two-run moon shot to left field.
The Bengals would fight back, however, scoring twice in the third inning to trail by one, and they held Glacier scoreless in the fourth.
The Wolfpack remained poised and followed Williams’ bat and arm to take control of the game.
Freshman Erin McHugh and senior center fielder Taylor Riggles started the sixth inning with back-to-back singles.
Williams drove them in when she hit a three-run homer, a line drive to dead center, and the Wolfpack scored five runs in the inning.
“Ali definitely has the ability to put it over the fence every time she gets up to bat,” Fors said.
“To see her do that today, obviously helped us on the scoreboard, but it’s a great time for her to find her rhythm and be able to take that into the state tournament.”
Leading 10-2, the Wolfpack put up four more runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by junior second baseman Kayleena Ikeda’s three-run home run that hit the top of the fence and bounced over for a four-bagger.
It was her fourth RBI in the game, as she went 4 for 4 at the plate.
“We chose to move Kayleena down in the order a little bit because we felt we could get some people on a head of her, and that paid off for us today,” Fors said.
“This is great for her confidence. She’s battling back from that shoulder injury earlier this season, so for her to be able to do what she did in the biggest game we’ve had all year was really great to see.”
Williams pitched all 14 innings for the Wolfpack. She struck out five Bengals in each game and kept her composure when Helena seemed to be threatening Glacier’s lead.
“I felt like we all just came together and broke out today. Once the first hit went, we all just went off. It was fun to play with them.” Williams said.
“I think all my pitches were working well. My pitching coach said I was hitting my spots pretty well, so I felt pretty good out there.”
Senior catcher Hannah Atlee hit a triple in the sixth and freshman Christina DuFour had a double in her pinch-hit appearance in the seventh, as the Wolfpack displayed one of their top all-around performances heading into the state tournament.
“We’ve been very pleased with our defense in these previous couple of weeks,” Fors said.
“Now to have our offense follow in those footsteps, the timing for us is huge. To be able to throw runs up on the board and hold them from scoring a lot of runs, there’s not a better time in the year this could come for us.”
The state tournament is May 29-30 at Multi-Sports Complex in Great Falls.
Game 1
Helena High 110 000 1 — 3 9 1
Glacier 011 072 x — 11 13 2
Jess Giard and Jordan Hinman. Ali Williams and Hannah Atlee. W — Williams. L — Giard.
HELENA HIGH — Tylar Holland 2-4, Hailey Crawford 0-4, Emma Meredith 2-4, Erin Emanuel 2-4, Anna Fischer 0-4, Ashley Nash 1-3, Mickey Edgar 0-3, Hinman 1-3, Taryn Holland 1-3.
GLACIER — Taylor Riggles 2-4, Kayla Russell 0-3, Ali Williams 1-3, Hannah Atlee 2-3, Kayleena Ikeda 0-2, Anna Jenks 2-4, Katie McHugh 3-4, Tacey Howe 1-2, Erin McHugh 2-4.
2B— K. McHugh, Atlee. 3B— Howe. RBIs, Williams, Atlee, Ikeda, McHugh 5, Howe 2, E. McHugh.
Game 2
Glacier 210 025 4 — 14 14 2
Helena 002 000 0 — 2 8 2
Jess Giard, Terra Gilchrist (6) and Jordan Hinman. Ali Williams and Hannah Atlee. W — Williams. L — Giard.
GLACIER — Taylor Riggles 1-5, Kayla Russell 2-5, Ali WIlliams 2-4, Hannah Atlee 1-5, Kayleena Ikeda 4-4, Ana Jenks 0-4, Katie McHugh 3-4, MacKenzie Brester-Knight 0-0, Tacey Howe 0-5, Erin McHugh 1-2, Christina DuFour 1-1.
HELENA —Tyalr Holland 1-4, Hailey Crawford 0-4, Emma Meredith 1-4, Erin Emanuel 2-3, Anna Fischer 1-3, Ashley Nash 1-2, Mickey Edgar 1-3, Hinman 0-3, Taryn Holland 1-3.
2B— DuFour. 3B — Russell, Atlee. HR — Williams 2, Ikeda. RBIs — Meredith 2, Williams 5, Ikeda 4, K. McHugh 2.