Pony fastpitch takes aim at the Class A state tournament

Despite a loss in the Northeast A divisional championship game in their last home game, the Havre High softball team looks to rebound and go on a deep postseason run for a state title this weekend in Butte.

Even though the Blue Ponies will face their toughest competition yet, HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti feels confident heading into the tournament.

"I feel good. I think we're in a good place," Vigliotti said. "We're heading in the right direction. Have been all year."

Havre enters their final weekend of the season as the No. 2 seed from the Northeast A. While they had a strong season that led to a 14-4-1 record, the Blue Ponies are coming off an 11-1 loss to Lewistown last week. If the Blue Ponies are going to get back on track to make a run, they just need to put it behind them and refocus.

"Just wasn't our day that day. Lewistown made every play, pitcher pitched a great game," Vigliotti said. "We just have to keep doing what we do, put that one away and get ready for Thursday."

The Ponies will begin the tournament Thursday at 1 p.m. when they will face Butte Central. Even though Butte Central's youth reminds him of his team, Vigliotti is confident that his team can take care of business to open the tournament.

"They're similar to us. I think they're fairly young so it should be a good matchup for us," Vigliotti said. "A game that I think we should win, so we'll just try and do what we do."

In their last three games, the HHS offense has averaged 3.33 runs a game. If their offense is going to get it going at the plate this weekend, they will need players like Quinn McDonald and Avery Carlson to put the ball in play. McDonald will look to add to her team-leading 28 RBIs this season and Carlson should get on base with her team-leading .522 batting average and .595 on-base percentage. Despite the inclement weather in Havre limiting their time to practice this past week, Vigliotti has focused on getting their offense back on track.

"We've been focusing on that the last few days and we'll continue to do that. We just have to continue to put the bat on the ball," Vigliotti said.

Butte Central has a record of 12-8 and enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed from the Southwest A. If the Ponies are going to get past the Maroons, they will need to hold off their batters. Brooke Badovinac leads the Butte Central offense with a .500 batting average and has 38 RBIs and four home runs on the season. Mia Keeley could also be a challenge at the plate as she has a .417 batting average and 21 RBIs this season.

To slow down these batters, Havre will turn to senior Lexi Haney to pitch. In her 85.2 innings pitched this season, she has a 2.615 earned run average and has recorded 90 strikeouts to only 13 walks. In her 13 starts this season, she has a record of 10-3-1 this season.

If the Ponies win their opening game of the tournament, they will play another game Thursday against Laurel at 5 p.m. Havre played the Locomotives early in the season but suffered a 13-3 loss to them. Laurel enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed from the Southeast A and are undefeated with a record of 17-0.

"Laurel's a good team and we played them early in the year, so I'm sure they've improved. We've improved a ton," Vigliotti said. "Come tournament time, it's all about win and advance, and we'll just try and do that."

If the Ponies get the chance to play Laurel, they will need to slow down their bats this time. Cora Styles leads the Locomotives with a .456 batting average and has 19 RBIs this season. Lexie Stahlman has a .433 batting average and has 18 RBIs on the year, and Mikayla Moorman has a .431 batting average and 10 RBIs this year.

Havre is not the only Northeast A team to qualify for the state tournament as divisional champion Lewistown will begin tournament play Thursday at 3 p.m. With their divisional championship, the Golden Eagles earned a bye to open the tournament. Their offense will be led by Jessica Morgan, who has a .506 batting average and 37 RBIs this season. Morgan has also had success pitching for the Eagles this year, including two wins against Havre. The Eagles also have Madison Affolder, who has a .476 batting average and 24 RBIs this year.

The Eagles, of head coach Mike Mangold, a Big Sandy native, will play either Livingston or Columbia Falls, who play each other Thursday at 11 a.m. Livingston enters the state tournament as the No. 2 seed from the Southeast A. The Rangers have a record of 12-9-1 on the season. Livingston has many batters that can hit the ball. Marissa Taylor leads the team with a .529 batting average and has 28 RBIs on the season. Skylar Higgs has driven in 30 runs this season along with her .513 batting average. Shannon Nelson has a .507 batting average and 14 RBIs this season. Columbia Falls is the No. 3 seed from the Northwest A and has a record of 11-11 on the season. They are one of the few teams the Ponies faced this season and Havre defeated them, 5-4, early in the season. Their offense is led by Alyssa Blankenship, who has a .507 batting average and 23 RBIs this season.

Even though they have a 4-13 record, Glendive earned the No. 3 seed from the Northeast A after defeating Miles City in the divisional consolation game last week in Havre. They will face Corvallis, the No. 2 seed from the Southwest A, Thursday at 11 a.m.

Corvallis has a record of 13-8 this season. One batter that could lead Corvallis on a postseason run is Sami Knapp with her .484 batting average and 20 RBIs on the year. If Glendive wins against Corvallis, they will advance to play Polson Thursday at 3 p.m. Polson is the No. 1 seed from the Northwest A and has a record of 19-1-1 on the season. Polson's offense will be led by Lexie Orien and McKenna Hanson, who each have a .545 batting average and combined 68 RBIs this season.

Frenchtown will also compete for a state title this weekend as the No. 1 seed from the Southwest A. Frenchtown finished 18-5 this year thanks to Cassidy Bagnell and Juna Ashby. Bagnell leads the team with a .452 batting average while Ashby has a .436 batting average and 22 RBIs this year. Frenchtown will play either Libby or Billings Central, who will play each other Thursday at 1 p.m. Libby is the No. 2 seed from the Northwest A and has a 9-10 record. Libby's offense will be led by Bethany Thomas who has a .423 batting average and 15 RBIs this year. Billings Central enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed from the Southeast A and has an 11-7 record.

The tournament has a double-elimination format, so if Havre loses a game early, they still have a chance to go on a run for a state title. If Havre is going to survive the gauntlet and bring home their first ever state title, they will need their pitching and defense to be as strong as they have been all season.

"We just have to keep doing (what we did) most of the year and that's pitch well," Vigliotti said. "Put the ball in play, make the plays that we should make defensively and then stay away from those mental mistakes that cost you big innings."

Havre will play Butte Central to start the state tournament Thursday at 1 p.m. in Butte.