Frenchtown pounds Polson pitchers

The Daily Inter Lake

POLSON — Polson racked up 12 hits against Frenchtown but couldn’t keep the Broncs off the basepaths in a 10-6 Northwestern A conference loss on Tuesday.

Polson (6-4 overall, 1-1 Northwestern A) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but Frenchtown piled on the runs in the middle innings to retake advantage in the game.

Frenchtown (9-2, 2-0) scored five runs in the third inning, including a triple from Allison Hochhalter and an inside the park home run from Meg Delaney. The Broncs scored three more runs in the fourth inning to take an 8-2 lead.

Polson got back three runs in the fifth inning, but couldn’t get quite close enough, falling behind again in the top of the seventh when Frenchtown added a pair of runs.

Polson got one run back in the bottom of the inning but it wasn’t enough.

The Pirates held their own in the batters box, with Laurel Bitterman leading the way with a 2 for 4 performance, two RBIs and a home run. Kaelyn Smith was 3 for 3 with a triple and Camas Renault 3 for 4 with a double. Haley Fyant was also a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate.

Frenchtown’s Brynn Leishman was 3 for 4 at the plate with a double and got the win in the circle. Delaney finished 2 for 4 with five RBIs to lead the Broncs on offense.

The game was as competitive as it has been in the last decade between the two Northwestern powers. Polson and Frenchtown have won the last eight Class A state championships and nine of the last 10.

Frenchtown 005 300 2 – 10 9 0

Polson 200 030 1 – 6 12 0

Brynn Leishman and Dana Jacobs. Haley Fyant, Camas Renault (4), Fyant (5) and Ashley Benson. W – Leishman. L – Fyant.

Frenchtown (9-2, 2-0) – Meg Delaney 2-4, Jordan Cole 1-3, Leishman 3-4, Allison Hochhalter 1-4, Morgan Snow 1-4, Carley Thompson 0-4, Callie Bagnell 1-3, Dana Jacobs 0-2, MiKaila Neilson 0-2.

Polson (6-4, 1-1) – Kaelyn Smith 3-3, Laurel Bitterman 2-4, Hannah Fryberger 1-4, Fyant 3-3, Ashley Benson 0-4, Renault 3-4, Quinn Motichka 0-4, Paige Noyes 0-3, Natasha Gravelle 0-1, Kaylanna Desjarlais 0-1, L. Castilla 0-1.

2B – Leishman. Renault. 3B – Hochhalter. Smith. HR – Delaney. Bitterman. RBIs – Delaney 5, Hochhalter 3, Snow. Bitterman 2, Renault, Fryberger.