Havre High fastpitch grew this season

Sometimes the season Conservation District to meet June 12

The Hill County Conservation District's June meeting has been moved to Sunday June 12.

It will take place at 10 a.m. at the Fireman's Campground in Beaver Creek Park. In the event of inclement weather or Park closures, the meeting will cancelled and re-noticed for a later date

For more information on the Hill County Conservation District please call 265-6792 ext. 101.

just doesn't play out how a team would like. This season, that was unfortunately true for the Havre High School softball team, as the Ponies limped through a season filled with cancelations, injuries and no postseason tournaments.

But one thing was clear, and that was despite having a rough season under first-year head coach Mike Thill, the Blue Ponies improved leaps and bounds from beginning to end.

Coming into the 2011 season the Central A Ponies were as young and inexperienced as they have been in their short six-year term as a softball program.

HHS housed only four seniors, Alex Herrig, Chelsea Nottingham, Andrea Nault and Dylann Williams, and the Ponies knew it was going to be an uphill battle. With a tough conference as well as nonconference schedule including teams such as Belgrade, Butte Central, Lewistown, Hardin, Anaconda and Laurel, HHS knew they had some growing up to do and they needed to do it sooner rather than later.

And the Ponies did just that. After starting the season with four losses at the Great Falls Jamboree, and then winning just one out of their next four games, the Ponies really took strides to improve on their season. HHS was sitting at 1-4 in the conference and 1-6 overall to start the season, and finished up with a 3-7 conference record and 6-11 record overall, with key wins over Cut Bank (5-1), Whitefish (14-5) and Hardin (5-4) in the second half of the season.

Havre really started the road to rebuilding during the summer with open gyms, but the Ponies also worked hard all season long. The girls never gave up, and even stayed after practice for voluntary workouts on numerous occasions.

"They worked hard and did everything I asked of them," Thill said. "I pushed a lot in practice, but they responded well and worked hard everyday."

Defensively, the Ponies probably saw the most improvement.

At the beginning of the season they really struggled with errors from the infield as well as outfield. Whether it was a dropped ball or blown throw, the Ponies hurt themselves on several occasions and even cost themselves a win or two early on. In mid-April the Ponies trailed Butte Central 4-2 after three innings of play, but committed five errors that turned a tight ballgame into a 15-3 loss. HHS also combined for 11 errors in a doubleheader with Columbia Falls that resulted in two big losses.

But as the season progressed, the Ponies' mistakes began to grow few and far between as they improved with every game.

"The defense really improved," Thill said. "In the first weekend or first couple of weeks, if I would have hit the ball as hard as I did in the last week of practice to our infield and outfield, we would have had everybody banged up. During our last couple of practices I wouldn't have hit the ball any harder to anybody, and the girls were fielding everything I hit. I just couldn't do that the early part of the year."

Nottingham, Williams, Herrig, Michaela Boles and Mary Lyons handled most of the infield duties, while Nault and Masha Barnekoff were steady in the outfield.

HHS also saw good production from their offense, as the bats came alive as the season progressed.

At the beginning of the season Thill really focused on the fundamentals of bating with each and every batter. But as the season drew on, the HHS bats began to put the knowledge to use as they earned more base hits, put down bunts, moved the base runners and grabbed more runs. This was especially relevant in the Ponies' last game of the season, when they manufactured a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to defeat Hardin 5-4.

"We tried to change how a lot of the girls approached hitting the ball," Thill said. "We made them aware of the count and showed them how to look for a pitch they could drive somewhere, versus just standing up there and swinging. They started thinking a lot more as the season went on and made a whole lot less mental errors."

It was unfortunate the Ponies couldn't finish out their season, as they were truly playing their best softball late in the season. After suffering cancelations at the beginning of the season, rain ended their season early, wiping games against Lewistown, Hardin, Laurel and Glendive off the schedule with no rescheduling.

A major bright spot in the Ponies' season was sophomore Davee McLeod.

McLeod pitched every varsity game this season, as well as led the Ponies offense from the lead-off position. She led the team in base hits, stolen bases and doubles, as well as made her mark on the mound.

"As the season went on and she saw teams for a second time," Thill said. "She wasn't intimidated by anybody. She is just mentally tough and that is great for a sophomore who isn't really a pitcher, but just a fine softball player who we needed to step up. She had a lot on her plate and never complained, she just went out and did her job."

Williams, Herrig, Nault, Boles and Nottingham also gave the Ponies a huge boost offensively this season.

Injuries also plagued the Ponies this season, but will ultimately help the Ponies in the long run. Clarissa Martin dislocated her knee early on, and Roxanna Jensen did the same thing about mid-season. And late in the season Boles twisted her ankle. But even with some of the Ponies' key players sidelined off and on, that opened the door for freshmen Jacinta Finneman, Sydne Huston and Katie Beck, who all ended up with a solid amount of varsity minutes.

"If we could have cut some of those injuries that would have made a big difference," Thill said. "But on the flipside of that, a lot of the younger kids got some experience and that will make them a lot stronger for next season."

Looking forward, the Ponies still have a lot of growing to do, but are well on their way to rising back to the top of the Class A ranks. They had nine freshmen this season, and have another good group coming in next year from the middle school.

Next season could be another big step in the right direction for the Blue Ponies.

HHS will hold their annual season ending awards ceremony Thursday, June 2, at 6 p.m. at the Havre High School.