Ponies earn big road sweep in Livingston

The Havre High softball team may not have beaten the Belgrade Panthers in Havre on April 18 but the Blue Ponies did find something in that game that got them going offensively. And ever since then, the Havre offense has been on fire, a trend that continued this past Saturday in Livingston.

HHS, which was on the road to take on the Livingston Rangers, a Central A conference rival, put together an outstanding offensive performance as the Ponies won not just one but two games over the Rangers by the score of 15-7 and 13-8.

The sweep of Livingston in the doubleheader improved the Ponies record to 7-6 overall and 4-2 in Central A conference play. The sweep also means that Havre has now won three straight games after dispatching of Browning last Thursday.

"We had a really great day," HHS head coach Bob Evans Sr. said. "It was really big for us to go down there and get two wins against Livingston. We just hit the ball really well and that was the big difference maker for us. Our pitching was so-so and our defense was pretty good, but the hitting was the biggest thing for us."

When Evans says the Ponies hit the ball well against the Rangers, he wasn't kidding. In two games, Havre belted eight home runs and scored a total of 28 runs. He said a big key for his team is stepping up to the plate with confidence, which they have been doing ever since going head-to-head with Belgrade.

"We know that we aren't going to see any pitching that is better than what we saw against Belgrade," Evans said. "And I think our girls realized that we can score some runs. We just have to get after it in every inning, but it's been great to see."

The first game of the doubleheader was all about Paige Henderson, as the senior not only earned the win as the starting pitcher but also went 4-for-4 at the plate with an incredible three home runs to pace HHS. Dani Wagner also added a home run in the eight-run victory for the Ponies.

"Paige did a good job on the mound for us and she hit the ball really well," Evans said. "She hit three-home runs in the first game, and they were hit hard, too. She has been doing a great job for us and ever since we moved her down into the five spot, the people in front of her are doing a great job of getting on base for her."

In the second game, the Ponies got out of the gates slowly as the Rangers built an early 4-0 advantage. Yet, the Havre offense once again saved the day. The Ponies started bunting, which Livingston struggled to handle, leading to some errors by the Rangers and runs for Havre.

Then, the Ponies went back to the long ball as Wagner and Jacey McDonald each hit a pair of home runs in the second game to help Havre outscore the Rangers 13-4 to close the game and take home a five-run victory.

"They jumped out ahead of us in the second game," Evans said. "But we just kept hitting the ball well and Dani and Jacey both hit a couple of home runs. We also started tearing them up a little bit with our bunting. That forced them into some errors and got some things going for us a little bit."

Wagner, who was exceptional at the plate, also took care of business on the mound, earning the win after allowing eight runs for Havre. Jordyn Warren and Harlee Boucher also contributed to the effort with a pair of hits each.

The Ponies will have another big week in front of them as they have three games scheduled, two of them against Central A rival Lewistown. The first game will be Thursday in Lewistown at 4 p.m. That will be a makeup of an earlier game that was canceled due to weather. Then, Saturday, Havre will return home to host the Eagles at 9:30 a.m., before playing a game in the Havre Invitational.