Ponies earn a split in season-opening jamboree

Heading into its first competition of the new season, the Havre High softball team had its concerns. But after facing four tough teams the Blue Ponies took a big step in the right direction. On Friday, the Central A Ponies were in Great Falls for the Great Falls Jamboree. And in their four games, the Ponies found success in two. First the CMR Rustlers handed the Ponies a 14-2 loss, but the Ponies bounced back to defeat the Great Falls High Bison 3-0. The Butte Central Maroons defeated the Ponies 8-0, but to close out their road opener the Ponies defeated the Bozeman Hawks 8-2. Getting a win over a Class AA program would have been a major accomplishment for the young, inexperienced Ponies. But earning two wins over AA talent was even more impressive. Friday's jamboree wasn't all about wins and losses for HHS. The Ponies have some holes to fill in this year's roster, and their season opener was meant for just that. The Ponies were more concerned with getting everybody playing time and adjusting their lineup. But the Ponies showed they could still compete, and the got their season started off right. "I was excited," Havre High head coach Bob Evans said. "I was impressed. The girls played really well for their first time out." To top it off, the Ponies found ways to win without a major contributor. Senior and four-year varsity player Holly Cartwright didn't make the trip due to being ill. And with her gone, the Ponies were left with yet another hole to fill. "We are just trying to get her (Cartwright) rested up," Evans said. "Taking one girl out of our lineup, as young as we are really makes a big difference. Instead of having one or two, we had three or four girls that haven't really played much before, and they played really well." The Rustlers are a tough team and the Ponies found that out the hard way. The Blue Ponies earned two runs on three hits, while the Rustlers earned 14 runs on 14 hits. Kelli Kelsie went 2-of-2 to lead the Pony offense, and Aby Ita followed, going 1-of-2 for the team's only hits. The Rustlers put up seven runs in both the third and fourth innings, but the Ponies also contributed to that. Losing their season opener 14-2 was tough, but the Ponies also hurt themselves. The final score could have been much closer, but HHS made some mistakes that resulted in unearned Rustler runs, including dropping routine fly balls with the bases loaded. Pitching was the key in the Ponies win over the Bison. Tabitha Myers was on the mound and pitched very well. She shut out the Bison, and allowed only three hits and no walks. HHS earned all three runs in the second inning. Kelsey and Ashlie Keeling were both 1-of-2 to lead the Pony bats. In the loss to the Maroons, the Ponies also hurt themselves. HHS could have easily held the Maroons to five runs, but gave up some on errors once again. But even with better defense the Ponies still struggled on offense. They only earned two hits, but scored zero runs. Kelsie and Ita both had hits for the Ponies. "We just didn't score," Evans said. "And you can't win without scoring." Giving the lineup a little shuffle may have also come into play in the Ponies' loss to the Maroons. The Ponies knew they would have some trouble, but Evans still needed to get a look at all possible varsity prospects on Friday. And that meant giving Davee Mcleod and Mary Lyons a spot in the starting lineup. "We didn't have as experienced team as we had the other games," Evans said. "I wanted to give them (Mcleod and Lyons) a game to see how they reacted to varsity play. And I just wanted to get a look at them in case we needed them as the season goes on, and I thought they reacted really well." In the Ponies' last game of the jamboree they bounced back for the second time, earning a solid win over the AA Hawks. HHS saw a good outing on offense. Their bats somewhat slumbered to start the weekend, but came alive with 13 hits against Bozeman. "We just went out and hit the heck out of the ball," Evans said. "All of my kids really stepped up." Ita earned her first win of the season as the Ponies pitcher, as well as picked up two more hits on two at-bats. Dylan Williams went 2-of-3 and Myers led the way with a 3-of-3 appearance. Kelsie and Donovan also earned two RBI's a piece. On the weekend the Ponies had their bright spots as well as their problematic areas. The play by the infield was very good, as was that of the pitching staff. The outfield struggled at times, but the mistakes came from the Ponies young and inexperienced players still finding their bearings. But overall the Ponies now have a better hold on this year's team. They got a good look at their varsity hopefuls as well as grabbed two big wins. They went from being a young team not knowing how they would perform to a competitive team that showed they are down but not out. "Overall I was pleased." Evans said. "I was a little nervous going into that because we haven't had the time to put together who plays where. We had some kids not show up this season so we had holes to fill. We were still experimenting and the kids did very well. If we can get Holly (Cartwright) healthy I am pretty confident we should have a competitive team."