Lady Pirates face State upset at home
Carrie Pichler
Polson Lady Pirate Jaylin Kenney
Carrie Pichler
Polson Lady Pirate Jessica Bagnell
Carrie Pichler
Polson Lady Pirate Kaelen Wall
Carrie Pichler
Polson Lady Pirate Lydia Dupuis
Carrie Pichler
Polson Lady Pirate Sarah Rausch
Carrie Pichler
Polson Lady Pirate Taylor Brackey
Carrie Pichler
Polson Lady Pirate Taylor Brackey
Carrie Pichler
Polson Lady Pirate Jaiden Toth
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
POLSON — The Lady Pirates came across tough competition and maybe even some jitters as they hosted the Class A State softball tournament last week.
Head Coach Larry Smith said playing in front of the hometown crowd played into those jitters, and the Lady Pirates ultimately came away split 2-2 in the double elimination.
“It was tough to take at home,” Smith said about the elimination. “Enthusiasm from the community put pressure on them, I could sense it right away.”
In game one played on Thursday, the Lady Pirates faced off against Laurel. After falling behind in the third inning, the Lady Pirates fought back to take the 8-5 victory. Polson put up 11 hits total with catcher Jaylin Kenney and Pitcher Jessica Bagnell responsible for the bulk. Kenney was 3-4 and Bagnell was 2-3 with a double and two RBIs.
Against Hamilton late Thursday evening, a marathon was abuzz on the diamond with the Lady Pirates losing the back and forth battle to the Lady Broncs, 11-12 in eight innings. Ashley Benson was 2-3 with a double and a run batted in. Jaiden Toth pushed three runs across with a couple of hits and Hannah Potter went yard with a solo homerun.
On Friday the Lady Pirates opened up with a dominating 18-2 win over Anaconda. Bagnell threw the first two innings from the circle and picked up the win while freshman Emma Shew closed it out pitching the rest of the game. Potter and Kaelen Wall combined for seven RBIs between them with Potter batting in four and Wall with three. Both had a homerun to add to the fire.
In their final game of the tournament — and of the year — the Lady Pirates fell to Belgrade 5-7. Despite the elimination, Kenney was a perfect 4-4 at the plate with an RBI and Wall finished up her season smacking another homerun while adding three RBIs in her 2-4 game.
Though the Lady Pirates ended in what some would call an upset, Coach Smith says the Lady Pirates have nothing to hang their heads about.
“We had a very good season,” he said. “Many teams would love to trade places with us as far as our wins/losses go. Coming from me, they had a very good year.”
As for his seniors, Smith said he wants them to “look back on the good times and the things they have done.” Those same seniors have more than one State trophy on display with their names on it, he added.
“They played hard,” he said. “They played it well.”
Coach wrapped up the 2014 season with the words, “I’ve been told you can’t win them every year – but we try.”
Smith said the Lady Pirates will see a wave of new athletes coming up from the summer ASA softball program, adding speed to his bench, which is something he thinks the Lady Pirates have been lacking. He is excited to see fresh faces kicking off with the ASA Polson Splash Classic Tournament June 6-8 in Polson.
Results
Polson 0 1 0 3 3 1 – 8
Laurel 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 – 5
Jaylin Kenney 3-4, Toth 1-4, Jessica Bagnell 2-3, Kaelen Wall 1-3, Hannah Potter 1-2, Taylor Brackey 1-3,
2B – Bagnell, Brackey, Dupuis. RBIs – Bagnell (2), Benson (2), Kenney, Potter, Bitterman, Dupuis.
Polson 1 3 1 2 1 0 3 0 – 11
Hamilton 2 0 2 2 0 4 1 1 – 12
Jaylin Kenney 2-5, Jaiden Toth 2-4, Jessica Bagnell 0-3, Hannah Potter 1-4, Taylor Brackey 1-5, Kaelen Wall 0-5, Kyrie Bitterman 2-5, Ashley Benson 3-4, Lydia Dupuis 1-4.
2B – Kenney, Toth, Dupuis, Benson. 3B – Kenney. HR – Potter. RBIs – Toth (3), Kenney, Bagnell, Potter, Benson, Dupuis.
Polson 7 8 2 0 1 – 18
Anaconda 0 0 0 0 2 – 2
Jaylin Kenney 1-5, Jaiden Toth 1-3, Jessica Bagnell 1-4, Hannah Potter 2-3, Talia Sanderson 0-1, Taylor Brackey 1-3, Kaelen Wall 1-2, Natalie Slonaker 1-1, Kyrie Bitterman 1-3, Ashley Benson 0-3, Lydia Dupuis 0-1, Emma Shew 0-1.
2B – Bagnell. HR – Wall, Potter. RBIs – Potter (4), Wall (3), Kenney (2), Toth (2), Brackey, Shew.
Polson 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 – 5
Belgrade 0 2 2 3 0 0 – 7
Jaylin Kenney 4-4, Jaiden Toth 0-3, Jessica Bagnell 1-4, Hannah Potter 0-4, Taylor Brackey 0-4, Kaelen Wall 2-4, Kyrie Bitterman 0-3, Ashley Benson 1-3, Lydia Dupuis 1-3, Emma Shew 0-1, Sarah Rausch 1-1.
2B – Benson. HR – Wall. RBIs – Wall (3), Kenney, Potter.
