Pony softball team is on the diamond

Around a decade ago, the Havre High softball team was in its infancy. But last season, the program made big strides by winning a game and playing well at the Class A state tournament in Polson.

And never before has a Havre softball team come into a season with the expectations this team will face and a big reason for those expectations is the fact that all nine starters from last year returned to the team. Just not all of them are healthy.

Much to the chagrin of head coach Bob Evans Sr., who took the reins back from Dan Wirtzberger this season, the Ponies will not be at full strength at any point this season as senior Rachel Majeres has already been declared out for the year with a knee injury. Majeres, who was an All-State pitcher last season, will be missed on the mound as well as at the plate, where she was one of HHS' most dangerous hitters. Fellow senior Tori Mazurkiewicz, who was a starter for the Ponies last season, has also been ruled out for the season.

"We were really optimistic going into this year and we still are," Evans said. "We lost Rachel and she was our No. 1 pitcher, so we will have to have some other kids step up. I know Dani (Wagner) can step up and she will be ready to go. We just miss a little bit of depth to start with. We looked to be two-deep at pitching and now we have to move some things around."

The biggest change that comes out of Majeres' season-ending injury is Wagner taking over as the No. 1 pitcher in the rotation. That means she is going to be pitching a lot of innings and while having her waiting in the wings to take over was a blessing, she will also be spending much less time in her spot in center field, where she earned All-State honors last season.

"Dani is one of the best center fielders that we have had in this program," Evans said. "And you always want to be strong up the middle of the defense, but we need her on the mound with Rachel being out."

Another player who will need to spend more time on the mound this season is senior Paige Henderson, who is back after earning All-State honors a season ago. The senior is a phenomenal defensive shortstop but she is also very good at the plate and serves as Havre's leadoff hitter.

"Paige is one of the best shortstops in the state," Evans said. "We don't want to have to move her from short because it's hard to fill that spot, but we just don't have much depth with our pitching."

Yet, even with the loss of Majeres and Tori Mazurkiewicz, the Ponies still have an impressive collection of talent. The roster currently includes three other returning players that earned All-Conference honorable mention honors a season ago starting with Harlee Boucher at first base, as well as her younger sister Scout Boucher in right field and Shania Carlson at catcher.

Havre also has some other young, talented players such as Jacey McDonald, who was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the season-opener against Glasgow Tuesday. She will be in the outfield.

"Jacey had a really big state tournament for us last year," Evans said. "She can really hit the ball. She is athletic and she will be right in that 3-4-5 spot."

The rest of the varsity roster is made up of Jordyn Warren, Madison Tommerup, Morgan Mazurkiewicz, Jacqueline Martin, Claire Worm, Lucy Tarlton, Payton Howard, Tara McCormick and Sammy Huston.

"I still like the depth that we have and I think we are going to be one of the better teams in our conference," Evans said. "We just don't have as much depth as we thought we were going to have."

In order to win the Central A, the Ponies will have to dethrone the Belgrade Panthers, who have been the top dog in Central A softball for some time. But, even if the Ponies aren't the top team they will compete with Lewistown, Browning and Livingston for a berth in the state tournament.

While the season has already gotten underway with a loss at home to Glasgow Tuesday, the Ponies will be back in action this weekend when they head to Great Falls for a Jamboree where they will take on Bozeman, Billings Skyview, CMR and Great Falls High. After taking on Great Falls, Havre will take on Browning Tuesday at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field. HHS will also play Glasgow, Belgrade, Lewistown and Livingston, and compete in the Belgrade Invitational and the Butte Central Invitational later as the schedule advances.

"It will be good for our young kids to get some experience," Evans said. "We will get to see some good competition against some AA schools, who I the past we have competed pretty well against."