Kats top Dogs, face Sidney in state tourney

By JOE SOVA/Hungry Horse News

With the No. 3 seed on the line, Columbia Falls took Whitefish to task in high school softball last Thursday, posting a 12-7 victory over the Bulldogs.

The Wildkats, the third seed from the Western A Conference, will face Sidney in the first round of the Class A State Tournament on Thursday in Butte. Sidney is the No. 4 seed from the Eastern A Conference. Game time is 1 p.m. at Copper Mountain Park.

Pounding out 21 hits, CFHS cruised past Browning 19-4 on Friday to close out the league season with a 6-4 record. The Kats are 13-7 going into the state tourney.

Defending state champion Polson has the top seed from the Western A. The Pirates and Libby went into the last weekend of the regular season with 8-0 league marks. Libby edged Polson 3-2 on Friday in Libby, but the Pirates edged the Loggers 6-4 on Saturday in Polson. With the tie-breaker run differential, Polson earned the top seed to state from the Western A and Libby is seeded second. Both teams have first-round byes in the 12-team double-elimination bracket.

Unlike the first meeting of the season, the CFHS-Whitefish game Thursday featured 19 runs, 20 hits and eight errors.

"We let some things happen. We made some mistakes but it was a good win to get. We made some plays when we had to," Kats coach Dave Kehr said. "Whitefish is playing better. They're hitting the ball well.

"We can play better an we'll get it together for the (state) tournament," the coach added.

Scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning, the Kats led the Dogs 8-4 after three. With usual pitcher Torey Ost bothered by a hip problem, Carolyn Sharpe started for the Bulldogs. Sharpe was roughed up early by the Kats. Ost came on to pitch, but Sharpe came back to finish the game.

In the key fourth inning, Kats starting and winning pitcher Morgan Rowe wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam without giving up a run.

With the Kats leading 9-6, a potential big fifth inning ended on a pickoff at third base. Whitefish scored once in the sixth, but the Kats built the lead to 12-7 with three runs in the bottom half — two on a single by Mandy Toavs and another on a Rowe single.

"We came back every time," Kehr said. "I'm happy to see that from the girls."

Amber James and Renae Nelson each had two hits for the Kats. James and Toavs each drove in two runs.

Shannon Holmes, who homered in the first inning, had two hits for the Dogs, as did Camille Williams and Clarke.

The Kats erupted for 10 runs in their first at-bat at Browning, and had a six-run fourth inning. The game went only five innings. Browning committed seven errors.

Amanda Millard was 4-for-4 for the Kats. James was 4-for-5, and Kayla Stinger was 3-for-5.

Rowe tossed a 1-hitter to get the win. The Kats defense committed three errors.

THE KATS OPENED last year's state tournament against Sidney as well, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 9-3 victory.

"It's a good draw for us. I like where we're sitting. I'm happy going in third," Kehr said.

Kehr said the Eagles have five or six players returning from last year's state tournament team.

"They were solid with decent pitching and hitting," Kehr said.

The coach spoke about the most important aspects of playing in the state tourney.

"We have to play solid defense and then put some runs up, support our pitching," he said. "We can't walk people and we can't make mistakes."

Rowe has been pitching well for the Kats with Jessica Owens a capable reliever.

"Good pitching makes the defense look better," Kehr said.

If the Kats post a win over Sidney, they face Belgrade in the quarterfinals Thursday at 5 p.m.

"We'll get the top seed from the east if we advance," Kehr said.

The other first-round match-ups Thursday: Billings Central (2E) vs. Butte Central (4C), 11 a.m.; Hamilton/Victor (3C) vs. Laurel (3C), 11 a.m.; and Frenchtown (2C) vs. Whitefish (4W), 1 p.m. Polson (1W), Corvallis (1C), Libby (2W) and Belgrade (1E) have first-round byes.

The tournament runs through the championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday. Last year, Polson beat Frenchtown in back-to-back title games, 12-2 and 10-9 to earn the state crown. After an opening win over Sidney last year, CFHS lost to Hamilton and Belgrade and was eliminated.

Whitefish 220 021 0 — 7 10 3

Col. Falls 422 013 x — 12 10 5

Sharpe, T. Ost (1), Sharpe (6) and Clarke; Rowe and James. LP — Rowe. LP — Ost.

Whitefish (4-6, 7-15)

FauntLeRoy 0-4, Holmes 2-5, Clarke 2-5, Mortensen 1-3, D. Ost 1-3, Ybarra-Brunty 0-0, Long 1-4, T. Ost 1-4, Williams 2-4.

Columbia Falls (5-4, 12-7)

Milliard 1-4, Yaeger 0-2, L. Nelson 1-4, James 2-3, Stinger 1-3, R. Nelson 2-3, Toavs 1-4, Rowe 1-2, Smith 1-3.

2B — Mortensen, Ost; Rowe. HR — Holmes. RBIs — Holmes, Mortensen, T. Ost; Milliard, James (2), Nelson, Toavs (2), Rowe, Smith.

Columbia Falls (10)01 62 — 19 21 3

Browning 001 03 — 4 1 7

Rowe and James; Hodson and McKay. WP — Rowe. LP — Hodson.

Columbia Falls (6-4, 13-7)

Milliard 4-4, Yaeger 1-4, L. Nelson 1-4, James 4-5, Stinger 3-5, R. Nelson 2-5, Skiles 2-5, Rowe 2-4, Smith 1-3, Cronquist 1-2.

Browning

McKay 0-2, Sinclair 1-2, Fish 0-2, Gervais 0-2, Wellman 0-2, Wolftail 0-3, Hodson 0-3, Belcont 0-2, St. Goddard 0-2.

2B — Milliard. RBIs — Milliard (3), L. Nelson (2), James (2), Stinger, R. Nelson, Skiles, Rowe (2), Smith; Fish, Gervais, Wellman.