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Lady Bulldogs finish a game away from state tourney

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THOMPSON FALLS — The Lady Bulldogs’ season came to an abrupt and disappointing end at the Western B-C Divisional Tournament in Thompson Falls Saturday.

In the loser-out game, the Lady Bulldogs couldn’t overcome a four-error, four-run inning and were eliminated from the inaugural divisional tournament with a 7-3 loss to the Lady Wardens.

It was the second year in a row that Deer Lodge has ended their season. 

The Lady Bulldogs beat the Lady Wardens both times they faced them in the regular season, outscoring them 18-5 in the process, but anything can happen in a tournament and Mission coach Susan Weaselhead said things just seemed to go the other way Saturday.

Despite hitting the ball hard, the Lady Bulldogs finished with only seven hits.

“We had hits. We were hitting the ball hard it just seemed like wherever we hit it, they were standing. We just couldn’t find the holes,” Weaselhead said.

Even though the Lady Bulldog batters weren’t  finding the holes, they still had a 2-1 lead until the top of the fourth, when the Lady Wardens scored four runs after four Lady Bulldogs errors, something that has plagued Mission throughout the season – Lady Bulldog errors led to three runs in their 7-3 loss to Loyola in the semifinal game. 

After the fourth, Weaselhead said she could see frustration set in to her team and it would add with each passing inning.

“As they were watching innings go by they kept trying harder and harder, instead of just playing their game,” Weaselhead said.

The Lady Bulldogs entered the tournament with an 11-6 record and as the fourth seed. In previous years, the Lady Bulldogs would’ve earned an automatic bid for the state tournament, but instead they ended up one-game away from the finals.

“There was a lot of dissapointment. It was especially hard for the seniors. They were hoping to go on and trying their hardest to get there and it just didn’t work out,” Weaselhead said. 

The Lady Bulldogs opened the tournament with an 8-0 blanking of Drummond. They had a dozen hits in the game with seven of their nine starters getting one. Senior Katie McDonald went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Kinley Pope, Jasmine Gilleard and Dalena Weaselhead each had two hits and a RBI.

Kyla Olson struck out five in six innings of work to pick up her 12th win of the season.

In the semifinals against the second-seeded Loyola Heartbreakers, Dalena Weaselhead drove the first pitch she saw to deep centerfield scoring two runs to give the Lady Bulldogs a 2-1 lead after the first inning. 

Loyola tied the game in the fifth then added three runs in the sixth  and added two insurance runs in the seventh.

Bella Dally, who went 2-for-3, scored in the seventh, but that was as close as the Lady Bulldogs would get.

 

Summary

Mission 8, Drummond 0
Drummond 000 000 0–0 4 1
Mission 305 000 x–8 12 2

Emilie Angelo and Breanna Wight. Kyla Olson, Loren Erickson (7) and Katie McDonald. W - Olson.L - Angelo.

DRUMMOND - Sarah Angelo 0-4, Amanda Wight 0-4, Ashley Mannix 0-3, Emilie Angelo 0-3, Bridgette Oberweiser 0-3, Rhianna Pool 1-2, Breanna Wight 2-3, Brianna Jesse 1-3, Kimmy Paske 0-3.

MISSION - Bella Dally 1-4, Kinley Pope 2-4, Katie McDonald 3-4, Janeal McDonald 1-3, Dalena Weaselhead 3-4, Jasmine Gilleard 1-3, Kyla Olson 1-3, Serena Long 0-3, Bryanna Steele 0-3.

 

Loyola Sacred Heart 7, Mission 3
Loyola 100 013 2–7 6 2
Mission 200 000 1–3 6 4

Sarah Goodman and Heather Huguet. Kyla Olson and Katie McDonald. W - Goodman. L - Olson.

LOYOLA - Goodman 1-3, Stevie Kahle 0-3, Andrea Hoffman 0-5, Laura Snook 1-2, Kari Tirrell 1-3, Huguet 1-4, Colleen Miller 0-2, Caelin Miltko 0-2, Sam Manley 2-3.

MISSION - Bella Dally 2-3, Kinley Pope 0-3, Katie McDonald 1-4, Janeal McDonald 0-3, Dalena Weaselhead 2-4, Jasmine Gilleard 0-3, Olson 0-3, Serena Long 0-3, Bryanna Steele 1-3.

 

Deer Lodge 7, Mission 3
Deer Lodge 010 40 02–7 8 4
Mission 002 001 0–3 7 5

Kellie Despain and Chelsie Micu. Kyla Olson and Katie McDonald. W - Despain. L - Olson.

DEER LODGE - Shelby Applegate 1-4, Annie Lombardi 2-4, Paige Kruzich 1-4, Syd McKee 1-4, Danni Johnson 1-4, Andi Lambert 1-3, Ivy Duncan 1-2, Despain 1-3, Taylor Redfern 0-3.

MISSION - Bella Dally 1-4, Kinley Pope 3-4, Katie McDonald 0-4, Janeal McDonald 0-2, Dalena Weaselhead 1-3, Jasmine Gilleard 0-2, Olson 1-2, Serena Long 0-3, Bryanna Steele 1-2.

 

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