Softball: Pack shuts out Kats in marquee matchup

COLUMBIA FALLS — Friday’s matchup of state softball champions just about had it all: Dynamic pitching, noisy hits and — despite the chill and brief drizzle — much better weather than the Orioles-Pirates game.

Glacier rode a one-hit shutout from pitcher Ella Farrell to a 7-0 win over Columbia Falls in front of a large, bundled-up crowd. Wildkat baserunners were as rare as an open parking spot around their field, though Tayler Lingle led off the bottom of the first inning with a single.

After that Farrell walked three and fanned 13, showing why she is Montana’s reigning Gatorade Player of the Year. She also had two hits and drove in a run at the plate.

The big Glacier hits were a solo home run from Kenadie Goudette in the third inning, and RBI singles from Karley Allen and Paishance Haller in a four-run fifth. 

“I thought we had a really balanced performance,” Glacier coach Abby Snipes said. “I wouldn’t say any of our hitters had her best night, but they all came through at different moments. We left a lot of runners on base (14 in all) and in scoring position. So, stuff to work on.”

The defending AA champion Wolfpack had 11 hits and drew seven walks from Columbia Falls ace Maddie Moultray, who also fanned nine. Goudette, 0-for-2 in Glacier’s season-opening 15-0 win over Missoula Hellgate on Thursday, supplied all the offense Farrell needed by hitting a 2-1 pitch to center for her 13th career homer.

“After last night’s performance I was just in my head a little bit,” the senior said. “So I kind of just went up and said, ‘It’s my senior year, just have fun.’ And I just swung and it went over.”

Wildkats coach Dave Kehr bemoaned not getting more baserunners, but noted that Friday was the first day they were able to take infield-outfield on their home field. 

It’s early, and Farrell was Farrell.

“I like to see her,” Kehr said. “She’s good, and we knew she was good. It’s good pitching to open with. She has a good changeup, and really good velocity. She does a nice job.”

Farrell also set the bar for what’s to come on Columbia Falls’ schedule. Moultray was key to their State A championship last season, and she won’t be the only returning ace.

“Everybody’s back in A,” Kehr said. “Polson’s (Samantha Rensvold) is back, and Ronan has the girl that came from Polson (Nikki Kendall) and she’s throwing well, I heard today. I think every team that was at the state tournament has their pitcher back.”

There were some Wildkat highlights. Right fielder Bella Mann had a diving catch on a foul to end the fourth inning; when Goudette hit a sacrifice fly for the final run of the fifth, left fielder Sydnee Burke and catcher Demye Rensel teamed up to cut down a baserunner trying to get to third.

Burke also almost tracked down a ball Haller squared up in the sixth inning — a cross-face, coulda-shoulda that would have been a pretty dynamic catch.

“We had some errors here and there but we made some good plays,” said Kehr, who noted Burke, Mann, shortstop Onnika Lawrence and Annika Reid at first base are all at new positions. “Really good plays.”

“That was a good test ahead of what we’re going to see next week, with teams in our conference,” said Snipes, whose club is at Missoula Big Sky Tuesday, at home against Sentinel Thursday and at the Helena schools Saturday.

“Ella had a very dominant performance. It’s hard sometimes to start a season — I think you expect a little jet lag to happen almost. But Ella really came out and established herself and showed how hard she worked in the offseason to perfect her craft a little bit more.”

The Pack were without a couple regulars Friday, in Cazz Rankosky and Bella Hodous, but they still brought the lumber.

“This year we’re having a lot more fun, because of how we connected last year as a team,” Goudette said. “We did lose some really good seniors, but still have almost all of our starters returning. Throughout the offseason and these first couple games, we’ve just connected to a new level.”

Glacier    001    041    1    -    7    11    0

C-Falls    000    000    0    -    0    1    4

Ella Farrell and Karley Allen. Maddie Moultray and Demye Rensel.

GLACIER — Kenadie Goudette 2-4, Nakiah Persinger 3-5, Emma Cooke 0-3, Farrell 2-4, Paishance Haller 2-3, K. Allen 1-4, Zoey Allen 0-4, Khirsten Terrell 0-4, Olivia Warriner 1-2, T Holt 0-0, K. Walcheck 0-0. 

COLUMBIA FALLS — Tayler Lingle 1-3, Addy Bowler 0-1, Haden Peters 0-3, Moultray 0-2, Rensel 0-3, Annika Reid 0-2, Bella Mann 0-3, Italia Hoerner 0-2, Onnika Lawrence 0-2.

2B — Haller. HR — Goudette. RBIs — Goudette 2, Haller 2, Farrell, K. Allen, Warriner. 

    Columbia Falls pitcher Maddie Moultray (9) delivers in the second inning against Glacier at Columbia Falls High School on Friday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Glacier pitcher Ella Farrell (12) delivers in the third inning against Columbia Falls at Columbia Falls High School on Friday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Columbia Falls second baseman Addy Bowler (11) underhands to first for an out against Glacier at Columbia Falls High School on Friday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Glacier's Karley Allen (17) connects on an RBI single in the fifth inning against Columbia Falls at Columbia Falls High School on Friday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Glacier's Paishance Haller (27) connects on an RBI single in the fifth inning against Columbia Falls at Columbia Falls High School on Friday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider