AA softball: Pack battles back into title game
HELENA — The Glacier Wolfpack are still fighting.
After a 7-2 setback at the hands of Helena Capital, Glacier won three games at the State AA softball tournament Saturday to get back into the championship round.
They’ll face the Capital Bruins Sunday at noon at the Mike Miller Fields in Helena, needing to beat them twice to defend their 2023 title.
“Long day,” said Glacier coach Abby Snipes, after her squad beat Billings West 7-6 late Saturday. “Good day. We’re in the chipper.”
Glacier is 21-4 and happy to give ace pitcher Ella Farrell a day to rest her arm. The Wolfpack beat Helena 4-2, then Great Falls CMR 12-2 before beating West on Emma Cooke’s tie-breaking, two-run home run in the seventh inning.
The tournament, moved to Helena after snow blanketed Belgrade and canceled games on Thursday, was at one point going to be completed in Belgrade on Monday. The presence of Capital and Glacier kept things in Helena.
Glacier 7, West 6
Farrell threw a complete game, scattering eight hits and four walks. She struck out five.
Olivia Warriner had a double and RBI for the Pack; Cazz Rankosky drove in two runs.
The Golden Bears (17-5) made up a 5-0 deficit in the third inning, then rallied in their half of the seventh after Cooke’s homer, getting a two-out, RBI single from Caris Paul.
Farrell got the next hitter to pop up to end it.
Glacier 12, CMR 2
Warriner threw the last three innings of this one, taking over after the Pack built a 9-1 lead in the second.
Cooke, Kenadie Goudette and Zoey Allen all homered for the Glacier; Goudette had three hits and drove in three runs; Cazz Rankosky, who caught every inning Saturday, had two hits and three RBIs, and Cooke drove in three as well.
Allen had two RBIs. The Rustlers ended up 12-13.
Glacier 4, Helena 2
Farrell was masterful, allowing seven hits, hitting one batter and fanning 10.
After Ashley Koenig homered in the first for the Bengals (11-13), Warriner hit a solo homer in the second inning, and Goudette hit an RBI single to put the Pack up 2-1.
Zoey Allen hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning for a 4-2 lead that Glacier would not relinquish.
“People came up really strong in different moments,” Snipes said. “That first game after your first loss at state is a tough one, and we just gritted it out.”
Capital 7, Glacier 2
Anna Cockhill homered and Belle Glowacki had two hits and drove in three runs for the Bruins, who built a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning.
Capital pitcher Kathryn Emmert ran her scoreless streak to 14 innings before Farrell and Warriner hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth. Then Emmert threw three more spotless innings, and finished with nine strikeouts against five hits and one walk.
State AA
May 24-25 Helena
(Tournament moved from Belgrade)
Friday
Helena 12, Great Falls CMR 5
Billings Senior 9, Flathead 8
Missoula Sentinel 12, Gallatin 10
Helena Capital 9, Billings Skyview 5
Billings West 8, Helena 6
Billings Senior 14, Missoula Big Sky 3
Glacier 12, Missoula Sentinel 2
Capital 10, Belgrade 0
Big Sky 9, Skyview 4, loser out
CMR 13, Sentinel 6, lo
Helena 11, Gallatin 3, lo
Belgrade 16, Flathead 2, lo
Saturday
Billings West 9, Billings Senior 5
Capital 7, Glacier 2
Helena 9, Big Sky 8, lo
CMR 2, Belgrade 1, lo
Glacier 4, Helena 2, lo
CMR 2, Billings Senior 1, lo
Capital 2, Billings West 1, semifinal
Glacier 12, CMR 2, loser is fourth
Glacier 7, Billings West 6, loser third
Sunday
Mike Miller Fields, Helena
Game 22: Helena Capital (20-4) vs. Glacier (21-4), noon, championship
Game 23: If necessary