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Blue Ponies throttle Eagles at home

After falling on the road at Lewistown Thursday, the Havre High softball team looked to bounce back in a conference game against Sidney Saturday at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field.

While the Blue Ponies allowed a late surge by the Eagles, Havre pulled out the 20-7 win in five innings.

"They responded well," said HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti. "Will take the conference win. Avery (Carlson) pitched a good game. We put some balls in play, but we got to figure out how to finish."

Not only did the win improve the Ponies' record to 7-3-1 on the season and 2-1 in conference play, but it extended their undefeated start at home to 4-0. While Vigliotti cannot pinpoint exactly why they play so well at home, he believes that the fans and venue positively affects his players.

"I don't know if a guy can ever really explain why you play good at home," Vigliotti said. "Our crowd is always good and the girls like playing at home. I think we've got one of the nicest facilities in the state so it's comforting to be here and it shows when they play."

While the Ponies had a sizable lead through most of the game, it was the Eagles who struck first in the top of the first inning when a Taylor Hanson single to center field drove in a run to give Sidney a 1-0 lead. Havre responded in the bottom of the first when an Eagle error allowed two runners to score to give Havre a 2-1 lead.

The Ponies took firm control of the game in the bottom of the second when they scored eight runs. It started with a Carlson double that drove in a run to make it 3-1. Lizzi Haney then made it 5-1 with a double to right field that drove in two more runs. A couple more hits drove in some more runs to extend Havre's lead to 10-1.

"We ran the bases well, taking extra bases when they do make a mistake and that's part of the game," Vigliotti said. "We preach putting the ball in play, running the bases right and we did that today."

The Ponies dominated the game for the next two innings as they extended their lead to 20-1. However, the Eagles did not go away in the top of the fifth as they tried to avoid an early end because of the mercy rule. The Ponies committed several errors and allowed several hits in the inning to allow the Eagles to score six runs. The game finally ended when Carlson struck out Trudi Speldrich.

"A little disappointed with the way we finished," Vigliotti said. "When we only need three outs, we got to figure out how to finish those games. We gave up some runs late, we had some mental mistakes that we talked about that we don't want to have and eventually something like that can hurt you."

Carlson picked up the win to improve to 3-1 as a starter this season. She struck out seven batters and allowed five hits and six walks. While she only allowed one earned run, seven runs were scored on her. Even though the Eagles scored several runs late in the game, Vigliotti was pleased with Carlson's performance.

"Avery's got that kind of game in her, she just needs more innings," Vigliotti said. "The more innings Avery gets, the more consistent she's going to get and she showed that today."

Many Havre batters had strong days at the plate. Quinn McDonald continued her strong season as she led the Ponies with three hits. Haney led the Ponies with four RBIs on the day, which she credits her teammates for getting into position.

"You just got to be patient and wait for the pitch," Haney said. "It's more of a team effort. Those people that were on base, you just hit them home and it goes on the board."

Even though the Ponies had a dominant win, Vigliotti believes that the game demonstrated that his squad still has room for improvement.

"There was a couple times where I didn't like our approach at the plate. Even when you're up big, we have to keep doing things right, we have to swing at good pitches," Vigliotti said. "We can win games like this, but we still got to do things the right way."

The Ponies will next play against Miles City at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field Tuesday.

Havre 20, Sidney 7

Sidney 1 0 0 0 6 X X - 7 5 3

Havre 2 8 2 8 X X X - 20 12 2

WP - Avery Carlson

LP - Taylan Hanson

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 1-2, Lizzi Haney 2-2, Jocelyn Staples 0-4, Quinn McDonald 3-4, Lexi Haney 1-3, Keylee Kline 2-3, Jersi Morse 1-1, Ellie Collins 1-4, Paige Parsons 1-2, Danni Wirtzberger 0-1.

 

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