Blue Ponies trample Cowgirls in doubleheader

Winning at home has been a familiar theme for the Havre High softball team as they have not lost a game at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field this season. And their dominance at home was put on full display Tuesday when they swept conference opponent Miles City in a doubleheader.

"Good day for the Blue Ponies," HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti said. "Anytime you can get two conference wins and not give up a run, good day."

The wins improved the Ponies to 9-3-1 this season and 4-1 in conference play. They have won seven of their last eight games, all of which came at home to make them 7-0 on their home soil.

Havre opened the day with an 8-0 win over Miles City in the first game. The Ponies took the lead early in the bottom of the first inning when a sacrifice fly from Sam Lovenguth got Avery Carlson home to give Havre a 1-0 lead. The Ponies then made it 2-0 in the bottom of the second when Alyssa Oliver scored on a fielder's choice.

Havre put more distance between them and the Cowgirls in the bottom of the third when Quinn McDonald hit a two-run home run to center field to make it 4-0.

"Just sit back, wait on the ball and play it the best I could," McDonald said on her approach at the plate.

The Ponies scored again in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly from Lizzi Haney to get Carlson home. In the fifth inning, Lexi Haney hit a double to left field that drove in two more runs. An RBI single from Danni Wirtzberger then made it 8-0.

The Cowgirls could not break through on the scoreboard thanks to another strong pitching performance from Lexi Haney. While she only struck out two batters, she only allowed four hits, one walk and no runs. The win was her fifth of the year out of her eight starts.

"Lexi's been consistent all year and we've come to expect that from her," Vigliotti said. "Really pleased with her and nice to see her hard work pay off."

McDonald led the team with two RBIs and two hits. She credits her team for motivating her to have a strong season that sees her lead the team in both RBIs and batting average.

"It all goes to the team. I couldn't do it without them," McDonald said. "As soon as you get up to the plate and they start cheering, that just makes you want to drive farther for it and want to get that ball."

In the second game, the Ponies quickly got after it as they defeated Miles City, 23-0, in four innings. Havre was designated the away team for the game so they batted first. They used that opportunity to take a quick 2-0 lead before Miles City got a chance to bat. A wild pitch allowed Carlson to score to take the lead and then a Miles City error allowed Jocelyn Staples to add onto the lead.

The Ponies looked to put the game away early in the second inning as they took advantage of Miles City's poor pitching to get the bases loaded with no outs. At one point, the Ponies scored on five straight at-bats in the inning. It first started with a hit batter and walk to extend Havre's lead 4-0. The Miles City pitcher then threw four wild pitches over the next three batters that allowed Havre to take an 8-0 lead.

Havre did not let up as they scored six more runs in the third to make it 14-0. In the fourth inning, they went through their entire batting order to build a 23-0 lead. Carlson then recorded three quick outs against the Cowgirls in the bottom of the fourth to end the game early.

Along with Havre' strong offensive performance, Carlson pitched a great game as well. Not only did she strike out eight batters and no runs, but she also recorded a no-hitter in four innings to pick up her fourth win in five starts this season.

"Avery every time out I think is going to get better and better," Vigliotti said. "We got to cut down on some walks but she's going to continue to get better and better the more innings she has."

Lovenguth led the Ponies with three RBIs and one home run in the second game, all of which came in the fourth inning. She also led the team with three hits. Carlson also recorded three RBIs and led the team with four runs scored.

The doubleheader against Miles City began a week that sees the Ponies play four conference games as they will next play Lewistown and Sidney this weekend. Vigliotti believes how his team performs this week may factor into deciding the winner of the Northeast A.

"It's a big week for us," Vigliotti said. "This puts us at 4-1 in conference with a big game on Friday night against Lewistown so big week and looking forward to Friday."

Havre and Lewistown will play at Sixth Avenue Memorial Field Friday at 5 p.m.

Havre 8, Miles City 0

Miles City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 3

Havre 1 1 2 1 3 0 X - 8 8 2

WP - Lexi Haney

LP - A. Hagameister

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 2-4, Lizzi Haney 0-3, Jocelyn Staples 0-3, Sam Lovenguth 1-4, Quinn McDonald 2-4, Alyssa Oliver 1-2, Lexi Haney 1-3, Keylee Kline 0-2, Danni Wirtzberger 1-3.

Havre 23, Miles City 0

Havre 2 6 6 9 X X X - 23 10 0

Miles City 0 0 0 0 X X X - 0 0 4

WP - Avery Carlson

LP - Ryleigh Simonsen

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 2-2, Lizzi Haney 0-3, Jocelyn Staples 1-3, Sam Lovenguth, 3-3, Quinn McDonald 1-3, Alyssa Oliver 1-4, Lexi Haney 1-3, Paige Parsons 0-1, Danni Wirtzberger 1-2.