CROSSTOWN SOFTBALL: Flathead stuns Glacier

Kaileight Denna didn’t know if it was fair.

Tasia Gates wasn’t certain either.

But when the home plate umpire’s index finger twirled as it pointed skyward, Denna glided around the bases, her teammates poured out of the dugout and Flathead was on its way to a 3-2 win over Glacier in the second game of the crosstown doubleheader late Thursday afternoon at Boyle Field at the Conrad Complex.

The win was Flathead’s first of the season.

Denna’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the sixth inning off all-state pitcher Ali Williams, who in the top of the inning had tied the game with a solo home run of her own, broke a 2-2 tie.

“I can’t believe that it just happened,” Denna said of her home run, just the second of her varsity career.

“Especially after my couple strikeouts (earlier in the day). I just kind of went up there and was like ‘I’m just going to hit the ball. I’m going to do me’.”

Denna’s towering blast cleared the fence by plenty but was just fair down the left field line.

“I kept my eye on it and I knew it was kind of trailing a little bit,” Gates, the Bravettes’ third-year head coach said. “When I saw it drop that’s when I knew it was fair and then I looked at the blue and saw it.

“It was exciting. It felt good.”

The drama didn’t end with Denna’s home run, either. With two outs in the top of the seventh inning and Williams on deck, Meg Hornby singled to left field. After a brief bobble, Bailey Nunn threw to second base to seemingly nab Hornby trying to take an extra bag. Hornby was originally called safe, but after Gates questioned the call the umpires conferred and the call was overturned, ending the contest.

“It felt like we finally got a call that went our way,” Gates said. “I’m darn proud of the girls. Walking out to the field to talk to them after that game I got chills.”

The Bravettes (1-8, 0-5 Western AA) pounded out seven hits against Williams in the win and never trailed, jumping ahead with an unearned run in the first inning. Flathead’s lead was 2-0 after Kylee Meredith’s two-out RBI single in the third before Glacier scraped across a run in the fifth ahead of Williams’ home run.

“They hit the ball as well today off of Ali (Williams) as any team we have seen,” Glacier coach Andy Fors said. “Their hitters do a nice job.”

The Wolfpack (5-4, 4-1) won the first game of the doubleheader, 10-0, in a game shortened by the 10-run rule after five innings. That contest was the lone conference affair, and was lopsided from the start.

Glacier scored in every inning in the first game, taking advantage of four Flathead errors. Williams was sensational in that contest, allowing only a Becca Knutson single in the third inning and recording 12 strikeouts. On the day, Williams struck out 25 in 12 innings of work.

Williams also homered in the first game, rocketing a two-run shot to left in the second inning. The senior went 2 for 4 with three walks on the afternoon, scoring three runs and driving in three others.

“(The girls) are disappointed,” Fors said. “There’s a lot of emotion that goes into crosstown, you always want to win these games, but our goal this week was to be more productive on the offensive side and we were way more productive today.

“We hit the ball, I thought, much harder in the second game, we just hit right to them. They don’t have anything to hang their heads about. We’ll learn from it and move on.”

Kylee Beccari started the first game in the circle for the Bravettes but was relieved with two outs in the fifth inning by Knutson, who started the second game and went the distance to earn her first win of the season. Knutson allowed six hits and struck out four in the victory.

The Bravettes and Wolfpack each play Missoula Hellgate next, with the Knights visiting Glacier today at Kidsports at 4 p.m. Flathead will play at Hellgate on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Glacier 10, Flathead 0 (5 inn.)

Glacier 131 23 — 10 8 0

Flathead 000 00 — 0 1 4

Ali Williams and Christine Connolly (G); Kylee Beccari, Becca Knutson (5) and Jayden Russell (F). WP — Williams. LP — Beccari.

GLACIER — Ali Williams 1-1, Christina DuFour 1-3, Erin McHugh 0-3, Alivia Atlee 2-4, Anna Schrade 1-3, Christine Connolly 0-2, Emma Shew 0-1, Serra Monroe 1-1, Sarah Frandsen 0-0, Sarah Stern 1-3, Meg Hornby 1-2.

FLATHEAD — Jayden Russell 0-2, Abbie O’Brien 0-2, Riley Chouinard 0-1, Kylee Meredith 0-2, Kaileight Denna 0-2, Kaitlin Torgerson 0-2, Becca Knutson 1-2, Bailey Nunn 0-2, Kylee Beccari 0-1, Kyann Devera 0-0.

HR — Williams. RBIs — Williams 2, DuFour, McHugh, Schrade, Shew, Stern.

Flathead 3, Glacier 2

Glacier 000 011 0 — 2 6 0

Flathead 101 001 x — 3 7 2

Ali Williams and Christine Connolly (G); Becca Knutson and Jayden Russell (F). WP — Knutson. LP — Williams.

GLACIER — Ali Williams 1-3, Christina DuFour 0-3, Erin McHugh 1-3, Alivia Atlee 1-3, Anna Schrade 1-3, Christine Connolly 1-3, Serra Monroe 0-2, Sarah Frandsen 0-0, Sarah Stern 0-2, Meg Hornby 1-2, Madison Johnson 0-1, Emma Shew 0-0.

FLATHEAD — Jayden Russell 1-3, Abbie O’Brien 1-3, Becca Knutson 2-3, Kylee Meredith 1-3, Kaileight Denna 1-2, Riley Chouinard 0-3, Kaitlin Torgerson 1-3, Bailey Nunn 0-3, Kylee Beccari 0-2, Kyann Devera 0-0.

2B — Knutson (F). HR — Williams (G); Denna (F). RBIs — Williams (G); Meredith, Denna.