Wolfpack takes 3rd at AA softball
The Glacier Wolfpack’s annual sojourn through the consolation bracket ended a game early this spring, with a 7-5 loss to Great Falls CMR in the State AA softball third-place game Saturday.
Kaylei Schultz’ two-out, two-run double off the fence in center put the Rustlers (16-8) ahead 6-5 in the sixth inning, continuing a trend of answering every Wolfpack charge.
In the top of the sixth Glacier had scored twice — Olivia Warriner’s groundout brought in one run and Taelor Holt’s RBI single plated Karley Allen, who’d also singled — to lead 5-4.
CMR made two quick outs in its half, then got two singles ahead of Schultz’ wall-banger. Ruby Dean followed with another double to score Schultz with the game’s final run.
The Pack went down in order in the seventh, sending CMR to the title game against Billings West.
Glacier scored twice in the top of a rainy first inning at the University of Montana Softball Field, only to see CMR answer with two in its half of the inning — also after making two quick outs.
“They were a four seed coming in but we didn’t treat them like a four seed,” Glacier coach Gary Evans said of the Rustlers. “I still believe that anybody who makes it to the tournament, throw the numbers in the air and just play. Good program, well-coached, good athletes. We knew we had our hands full.”
Allen went 3-for-4, including an RBI single that scored Tensley Conner for a 3-2 Glacier lead in the fourth. The Rustlers got that run back on Emma McGraw’s RBI triple up the right field line, and she scored on Mylie Adams’ sacrifice fly for a 4-3 CMR advantage.
And so it went. The defending champion Wolfpack ended up 20-5 with a third-place trophy.
“We’re younger and I think the moment was pretty big,” Evans said. “We only had two kids (Warriner and Ava Grady) on the field that played in it last year. And we played hard. We had good at-bats from everybody in the lineup, which is what we were looking for.”
The Pack had famously won six games after an opening round loss to take last year’s championship, and had bounced back to win three times Friday after an opening loss to CMR. Winning the rematch would have left a tall hill: Billings West hurler Tatum Bush threw her fourth shutout of the tournament in the Lady Bears’ ensuing 10-0 win over CMR in the title game.
“It’s bittersweet because of where the program has been the last two or three years, or even longer,” Evans, who took the coaching reins from Abby Snipes this season, with Snipes becoming Glacier’s activities director. “We were able to sustain the momentum a little bit.
“It would have been nice to reach the ultimate goal, but our early-season goal was to make it to State. Then when we did that, it was make it to Saturday. We achieved a couple goals.” “We didn’t quite get the ultimate goal but that’s tough to get, I don’t care who you are. So hats off to both these teams.”
Emma Smith had an RBI single in the first that put Glacier up 2-0; she and Warriner had two hits against Adams, who went all seven innings in the circle for CMR, allowing three earned runs with four strikeouts.
Warriner and Grady, as usual, switched positions in the fourth inning, Grady moving from shortstop into the circle with one out. She allowed four hits and a walk in 2 2-3, fanning three. Warriner allowed four hits and two walks in 3 1-3, striking out two.
Glacier 200 102 0 - 5 11 3
CMR 200 203 x - 7 8 3
Olivia Warriner, Ava Grady (4) and Emma Smith. Mylie Adams and Hailey Marr.
GLACIER — Karley Allen 3-4, Warriner 2-4, Taelor Holt 1-4, Grady 0-4, Smith 2-4, Sophia Frederick 1-4, Tensley Conner 1-4, Addy Cunningham 0-3, Lanee Andreson 1-3, Ella Bailey 0-0, Joslyn Crofts 0-0.
GREAT FALLS CMR — Emma McGraw 3-4, Adams 1-3, Kaylei Schultz 1-4, Ruby Dean 1-4, Riley Mares 1-2, Marr 0-3, Aspyn Zuelke 0-3, Maddie Boggs 1-3, Signe Hanson 0-1, Taylin Dees 0-1, Jameson Barnes 0-0.
2B — Schultz, Dean. 3B — McGraw. RBIs — Allen, Warriner, Holt, Smith, Schultz 2, McGraw, Adams, Dean, Mares.
Billings West 10, CMR 0
Bush threw a five-inning one-hitter, with four walks; she struck out 10 Rustlers. Her tournament totals: 29 innings, nine hits and seven walks allowed, and 43 strikeouts.
Alise Steinmetz hit a grand slam in the first inning to give the Lady Bears (19-3) all the runs they needed, but Bush hit an RBI double in the second and came in on Sara Schneider’s single. Bush also had an RBI groundout in the third that made it 8-0.
The Lady Bears scored their ninth and 10th runs in the bottom of the fifth, the last coming on a passed ball. That ended the game under the mercy rule.
It was West’s first title since 2014 and first under coach Preston Sanders. The Lady Bears have four titles overall. It was the first championship game for CMR (18-9) since back-to-back state crowns in 2016-17.