Roundup: Ronan thumps Loggers in B/C divisional softball
ANACONDA — Ronan’s offense exploded to blow away a pair of close games at the Western B/C divisional softball tournament on Friday and secure a spot in the state tournament.
The Maidens scored nine runs in the fifth inning of a second round game against Libby to advance to today’s championship semifinals. The win locks Ronan into the top four finishers, all of which will play in the Class B/C state tournament in Kalispell next weekend.
Ronan entered the fifth tied with the Loggers at 1-1, but quickly took advantage of Libby mistakes to pull ahead. After a leadoff double, and flying out in their second at bat, the Maidens reached 10 straight batters safely, taking advantage of three Libby errors in the stretch. The run gave Ronan a 10-1 lead entering the sixth inning, where the Maidens reached two more on errors, and scored a run to take the 10-run advantage at 11-1. Pitcher Carston Rhine needed only seven pitches to retire the side in the bottom of the inning to secure the victory.
Ronan beat longtime Class B powerhouse Florence-Carlton 17-7 in its opener, fueled by a 10-run second inning. Ronan will meet Anaconda in the semifinals after the Copperheads topped Missoula Loyola 5-1 in the other second round game.
Libby will now need to win twice today to advance to the state tournament, beginning at 9 a.m. with its loser-out opener against Plains. The Loggers would face the winner of Loyola-Florence in the fourth-place game with a win, the winner of that matchup moving on to state.
Libby rolled in its opening round game against Mission-Arlee-Charlo, putting up seven runs in the second inning on the way to a 13-6 rout.
Madisen Monigold was 3 for 5 from the plate with a double and four RBIs to lead the Loggers. Ashley Walker was 2 for 5 with a pair of RBIs.
Troy had trouble keeping up with Anaconda, the host team at the tournament, in its first round game.
The Copperheads touched up Troy for 18 hits, including eight runs in the second inning and at least one run in all six innings, en route to a 13-3 blowout.
Missoula Loyola beat Plains 9-0 in the other opening round game.
Florence kept its season alive with a late flourish in its loser-out contest against Mission. Tied 3-3 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the Falcons scored 10 runs in the frame to end the contest early and keep their season alive. They will play Loyola this morning with the hopes of moving to the fourth place game.
Plains also kept its season alive with a late rally, beating Troy 18-8 in five innings.
Play continues today at 9 a.m. with loser-out play. The championship seminfinal is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. with the championship game at 3 p.m. and another at 5 if necessary. The top four teams from this weekend’s tournament advance to the state tournament next week in Kalispell.
Western B/C Divisional Tournament
Friday at Anaconda
Second Round
Ronan 11, Libby 1
Ronan 100 091 — 11 10 0
Libby 001 000 — 1 4 8
Carston Rhine and Sadie Wirz. Lindsey Walker, Khalyn Hageness (5) and Sammee Bradeen.
RONAN — Kaitlyn Sassaman 1-3, Gabriella Wirz 1-4, Rhine 3-4, Amanda Morency 1-4, Kiana Brown 1-4, S. Wirz 0-4, Jordyn Clairmont 2-4, Courtnee Clairmont 0-4, Katlyn Santos 1-3.
LIBBY — Madisen Monigold 0-2, Hageness 1-2, Ashley Walker 0-3, Jordan Turner 2-3, Alyssa Marshall 0-3, Haylee Cannon 0-3, Lindsey Walker 0-2, Bradeen 1-2, Taryn Luscher 0-2.
2B—Sassaman, Rhine 2. RBIs—Brown, G. Wirz 2, Rhine 3, Morency 2, Santos, C. Clairmont. A. Walker.
Anaconda 5, Loyola 1
Loyola 000 100 0 — 1 7 3
Anaconda 000 001 4x — 5 7 1
First Round
Libby 13, Mission 6
Libby 070 132 1 — 13 13 2
Mission 004 101 0 — 6 10 2
Khalyn Hageness and Sammie Bradeen. Ran’Dee Charlo, Jaycee Andersen (5) and Kenzie Couture. W — Hageness. L — Charlo.
LIBBY — Madisen Monigold 3-5, Hageness 0-2, Ashley Walker 2-5, Haylee Cannon 0-5, Alyssa Marshall 2-4, Jordan Turner 1-3, Linsey Walker 2-4, Bradeen 2-4, Taryne Luscher 1-3.
MISSION — Mikalyn Roylance 1-4, Jordyn Eichert 4-4, Couture 2-4, Morgan Malatare 1-3, Andersen 0-1, Charlo 1-3, Ashley Tanner 0-3, Tomi Brazil 0-1, Madison Savage 0-3, Vanessa Kent 1-4.
3B — Malatare. 2B — Monigold, Marshall; Couture, Eichert. RBIs — Monigold 4, Walker 2; Roylance 2, Kent 2.
Anaconda 13, Troy 3 (5)
Troy 003 00 — 3 5 2
Anaconda 181 21 — 13 18 1
Kaitlyn Downey and Lei Tunison. Andi Mavrinac and Hannah Schaefer. W — Mavrinac. L — Downey.
TROY — Tunison 1-2, Downey 0-1, Alyssa Lewis 1-2, Grace Dolan 1-3, Riley Maggie 2-3, Cami Finley 0-2, Cheyenne Jordan 0-1, Kylie Carr 0-3, Tana Thill 0-2.
ANACONDA — Erin Chapman 3-3, Sydnie Peterson 3-3, Schaefer 0-3, Michaela Cortright 2-4, Shea Forsberg 2-3, Randee Jo Johnson 3-4, Kassie Flores 2-3, Mavrinac 1-3, Johannah Forsberg 2-3.
HR — Flores, S. Forsberg, Johnson. 2B — Mavrinac, Johnson, S. Forsberg. RBIs — Dolan, Maggie; Johnson 3, S. Forsberg 2, Chapman 2, Flores 2, Peterson, Schaefer.
Loyola 9, Plains 0
Loyola 202 122 0 — 9 7 3
Plains 000 000 0 — 0 2 5
Ronan 17, Florence 7 (6)
Florence 140 011 — 7 5 4
Ronan 0(10)1 006 — 17 12 8
Shannon Byrne and Chloe Arthur. Carston Rhine and Sadie Wirz. W — Rhine. L — Byrne.
FLORENCE — Natalie Drodz 1-4, Byrne 2-4, Natalie Dulac 0-4, Arthur 0-3, Shay Waldbillig 1-3, Kali Leibenguth 0-2, Brooklyn Little 1-3, Sarah Schurg 0-3, Danara Greer 0-3.
RONAN — Kaitlyn Sassaman 2-4, Gabriella Wirz 0-5, Rhine 2-5, Amanda Morency 3-5, Kiana Brown 1-2, S. Wirz 1-2, Jordyn Clairmont 0-2, Courtnee Clairmont 3-4, Katlyn Santos 0-2.
3B — Drodz; Sassaman, Morency. 2B — Sassaman, C. Clairmont. RBIs — Little; C. Clairmont 4, Sassaman 2, Morency 2, S. Wirz.
Loser-out
Florence 13, Mission 3 (5)
Mission 003 00 — 3 4 1
Florence 300 0(10) — 13 10 1
Plains 18, Troy 8 (5)
Troy 303 20 — 8 10 6
Plains 603 63 — 18 16 2
Kylie Carr, Mackenzie Wallace (4) and Lexi Tunison. Jessica Thompson, Kassidy Kinzie (3) and MacKenzie Angle. W — Thompson. L — Carr.
TROY — Tunison 3-3, Kaitlyn Downey 0-3, Alyssa Lewis 1-3, Grace Dolan 0-4, Riley Maggie 0-3, Cami Finley 2-3, Cheyenne Jordan 2-3, Carr 1-2, Tristen Winebark 1-2.
PLAINS — Diana Woodward 2-4, Danika Whitcomb 2-3, Kinzie 1-5, Thompson 3-4, Hailey Coe 1-4, Kristen Josephson 2-2, MacKenzie Angle 1-3, Natalee Deschamps 2-4, Karley Lawson 2-3.
3B — Lawson. 2B — Lewis, Carr; Thompson. RBIs — Lewis 2, Winebark 2, Maggie, Jordan, Carr; Josephson 3, Kinzie 2, Coe 2, Lawson 2, Woodward, Whitcomb, Thompson, Angle, Deschamps.
Polson 24, Whitefish 2
WHITEFISH — Polson made quick work of a Northwestern A conference game against Whitefish, blowing out the Bulldogs in four innings.
Quinn Motichka was 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs to lead Polson at the plate. Whitefish’s Jordan Sletten had the team’s only hits, going 2 for 2 with a double.
Polson 34(11) 6 — 24 19 1
Whitefish 101 x — 2 3 3
Haley Fyant and Ashley Benson. Jordan Sletten and Baileigh Krause. W—Fyant. L—Sletten.
POLSON — Kaelyn Smith 3-4, Laurel Bitterman 2-3, Benson 3-4, Lydia Dupuis 2-4, Hannah Potter 1-2, Quinn Motichka 3-5, Hannah Fryberger 0-2, Camas Renault 1-2, Fyant 1-3, Paige Noyes 1-1, Kaylanna DesJarlias 0-0, Whitney Barr 0-0, Breyland McCall 0-0, Mikayla Croft 1-1.
WHITEFISH — Sletten 2-2, Michaela McDowell 0-2, McKenzie Carl 0-2, Krause 0-2, Abby Carson 0-1, Isabelle Klempel 0-1, Rebecca Catina 0-1, Abby Reese 0-1, Lily Stedman 0-1.
2B—Smith, Benson, Motichka 2, Croft. Sletten 1. 3B—Bitterman. RBIs—Smith 2, Bitterman 2, Benson 2, Dupuis 3, Potter 2, Motichka 4, Renault 1, Noyes 1, DesJarlias 1, Croft 1.