Havre softball team hits the road

While most Havre High athletes competing in spring sports will be off Monday, the day after Easter, the players of the softball team will be busy hitting the road to take on arch rival Lewistown.

The Ponies, who are 1-1 on the season so far and 1-0 in Central A conference play, will look to notch a second straight win to early in the season against the Eagles Monday evening. The first pitch is set for 4 p.m.

“I know that our girls are really looking forward to playing Lewistown,” HHS head coach Bob Evans Sr. said. “There is definitely no love lost between us and Lewistown, so I know the girls will be ready to go.”

The Ponies are coming off a 17-0 shellacking of the Browning Indians last Tuesday at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field in Havre and will look to keep that momentum going with a win over the Eagles In order to do that, HHS will need a strong effort on the mound from junior Dani Wagner, who is the team’s top starting pitcher.

“Normally we play a lot of doubleheaders or in tournaments so we will use multiple pitchers,” Evans said. “But with the game against Lewistown just being a single game, we are going to pitch Dani as long as she can go.”

Wagner, who has gotten off to a solid start, tossed three perfect innings against Browning Tuesday and struck out three batters as she earned her first win of the season.

With Wagner on the mound, the defense behind her relies heavily on the play of shortstop Paige Henderson, who is also among the best hitters on the roster. Henderson hit a three-run home run on Tuesday against the Indians, which followed another home run that she hit at the Great Falls Jamboree last Saturday. For the season, Henderson is 8-for-11 at the plate with a team-high four extra base hit, four runs batted in and seven runs scored.

While Henderson and Wagner occupy top spots at the top of the order, the Havre offense is good from top to bottom with Scout Boucher and Jacey McDonald playing key roles at the top of the order followed by others such as catcher Shania Carlson and Morgan Mazurkiewicz, who plays second base and hit an inside the park grand slam against Browning, as well as Payton Howard, Harlee Boucher and Jordyn Warren.

When Wagner is pitching, Scout Boucher is out in center field, while McDonald is in right and Warren is in left. Harlee Boucher is at her customary position of first base and Howard is at hers at third. But, when Henderson pitchers, Wagner bumps out to center, Scout Boucher moves to second and Mazurkiewicz moves to short.

In addition to possessing a solid starting lineup, the Ponies are also blessed with a solid bench that features the likes of Tara McCormick, Maddison Tommerup, Claire Worm, Lucy Tarlton and Jacqueline Martin.

“I like the way that our defense has been playing,” Evans said. “The bad thing about our pitchers is that they are two of our best defensive players, too, so it hurts not having them out there but we need them pitching more than we do in the field.”

Lewistown may not be one of the top teams in the Central A and aren’t on the same level as Central A kingpin Belgrade, but the Eagles are a scrappy bunch and Evans believes they will give Havre a battle.

“They are a competitive team,” Evans said. “They may not have the greatest team, but they will give us a tough game and I expect it to be a competitive game.”

The Ponies and Eagles will go head-to-head Monday in Lewistown at 4 p.m. The Eagles will then come to Havre later in the season May 2.