Blue Ponies set for Northeast A Divisionals

All the hard work leads to this moment as the postseason finally arrives for the Havre High softball team. Starting this Tuesday, the Blue Ponies will compete in the Northeast A Divisionals in Miles City. As the tournament's No. 1 seed, HHS head coach Tony Vigliotti expects the Ponies to continue playing well and accomplish their goal this week.

"We're playing well. Our pitching has been good, we've been consistent at the plate and we've been doing a lot of the little things better defensively," Vigliotti said. "I think we're ready to go and I think we expect to go down there and win."

The Ponies enter the tournament with an undefeated record in the Northeast A. They will begin the tournament on Tuesday at 3 p.m. with a game against either Sidney or Miles City, who will play each other on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Havre swept both teams this season and won all four of those games by at least 15 runs. Havre played Miles City at the beginning of the season with a doubleheader in Miles City. The Ponies started the season strong with a 20-2 win and a 19-1 victory over the Cowgirls. While Havre dominated those games, Vigliotti expects Miles City to be a different team this time out.

"Every team is going to improve throughout the year," Vigliotti said. "Tournament time is a different animal so we're going to go in and hopefully play our game and play well."

If Miles City loses to Sidney on Tuesday morning, the Ponies would face Sidney to open divisionals. Havre swept the Eagles this season with a 21-2 win and a 15-0 win this season. But with everything they have worked for this season on the line, Vigliotti knows they cannot take Sidney lightly.

"We've played them a couple times this year but you can't take anybody for granted," Vigliotti said. "When you get to tournament time, you just got to play your best."

If Havre wins on Tuesday afternoon, it would advance to the divisional title game on Wednesday at 3 p.m. where the Ponies would face either Lewistown or Glendive. The Ponies got the better of Glendive this season, including a 10-0 win at home earlier this month. However, the Red Devils competed in their first meeting earlier this season that Havre won 21-18.

But the Ponies would most likely face Lewistown in the title game, who is the defending Northeast A Divisional champion and defeated Havre, 11-1, in the title game last season. Havre swept Lewistown this season with a 17-2 win at home and a 14-13 win on the road. Even with this game being a neutral site, Vigliotti expects another tough contest between the rivals.

"Anytime we play Lewsitown, it's a rivalry. There's just a different feeling when you go in and play your rival," Vigliotti said. "We've played well against them and if we play our game, we'll be just fine."

Many Ponies will look to turn their strong regular seasons into strong showings in the postseason. Molly Huse has had an exceptional year for Havre with a .600 batting average, 40 RBIs and six home runs. Alyssa Oliver has also made an impact with a .492 batting average, 33 RBIs and six home runs.

Avery Carlson has been a key player for Havre at the plate and on the mound. At the plate, she has a .536 batting average, 22 RBIs and a home run this spring. On the mound, she has a 6-3 record with a 5.897 ERA and 53 strikeouts this season.

As they head into the postseason, the Ponies hope to take what they learned from this past weekend's Butte Invite which wrapped up the regular season. The Ponies started the weekend on Friday with a 3-3 tie against Hardin. The Bulldogs struck first in the top of the first inning. After a pair of singles to start the game, Merasia Fisher grounded out into a fielder's choice to bring a runner home and give Hardin the early lead.

But the Ponies were able to hold Hardin scoreless over the next few innings. In the bottom of the third, Havre finally got on the scoreboard with an RBI double from Lizzi Haney to tie the game.

In the top of the fourth, Hardin responded with a two-run home run from Carmen Pallone that gave Hardin a 3-1 lead. In response in the bottom of the fourth, Huse hit a solo shot to center field to cut the deficit to one run. Oliver kept the momentum going with an RBI single to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth. But the Ponies could not pull out a victory as Huse struck out to end the game.

Carlson pitched all five innings for the Ponies as she allowed three earned runs, four hits and two walks. She also recorded five strikeouts in the game. She also led the Ponies offense as she went 2-for-3 at the plate.

Later on Friday night, the Ponies found their rhythm with a 10-3 victory over Ronan. The Ponies took an early lead in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI single from Huse that brought a runner home. The Ponies then kept it rolling in the bottom of the second. After loading the bases, Haney hit a single to center field to bring in two runners and push the lead to 3-0. A groundout from Oliver then allowed the two runners on base to score and give Havre a 5-0 lead.

Ronan was able to find some momentum in the top of the fourth. After two runners got on base to start the inning, Wenona Patton-Tenas scored on a passed ball to get Ronan on the board. Hailey Hakes then grounded out to get another runner home. Mira Corum then scored to cut the deficit to 5-3.

But the Ponies were able to retake momentum in the bottom of the fourth. After two runners got on base to start the inning, an RBI single from Haney brought a runner home. Oliver then drove in another run with a groundout. Huse kept it rolling with a sacrifice fly to drive in another run. Back-to-back hits from Camille Keeley and Jersi Morse continued to drive in the runs and push the lead to 10-3.

The Ponies then recorded three quick outs in the top of the fifth to secure the win. Elle Verploegen pitched all five innings as she allowed two earned runs, three hits and six walks while striking out seven batters. Jersi Morse led Havre in hits as she went 3-for-3 from the plate and Oliver recorded three RBIs in the contest.

Havre wasted no time in taking control in their 20-5 win over Stevensville on Saturday morning. After loading the bases with no outs, an RBI double from Huse gave Havre a 2-0 lead. Oliver then pushed the lead to 3-0 when she scored on a passed ball. Keeley kept the pressure on with an RBI single that drove in another run. After loading the bases again, Carlson hit a double to center field that cleared the bases to make the lead 7-0.

Stevensville was able to cut the lead to 7-2 thanks to a two-run home run in the bottom of the first. However, the Ponies just kept rolling in the top of the third. After two runners got on base to start the inning, Carlson hit a home run to center field to extend the lead to 10-2. Later in the inning with the bases loaded with two outs, Keeley hit a triple to right field to clear the bases. Morse then brought Keeley home with an RBI single to make the score 14-2.

The Ponies continued to tee off of Stevensville with four more straight hits that brought in four more runs. Oliver then capped off the inning with a two-run home run to center field to give Havre a 20-2 lead.

Stevensville tried to stay in the game with three runs in the bottom of the third, but Verploegen was able to record three outs to end the game early by run rule. Verploegen pitched all three innings for Havre where she allowed five earned runs, five hits and two walks. On offense, Carlson led the team with seven RBIs as she went 3-for-4 from the plate. Confidence was high throughout the lineup as multiple Ponies had multiple hits and RBIs throughout the contest.

"We've been pretty confident at the plate and there's going to be games where everybody's hitting the ball," Vigliotti said. "It just seemed like up and down the lineup, we put the ball in play."

Unfortunately, the Ponies were not able to take their momentum into their 8-3 loss to Libby on Saturday afternoon. After a scoreless first inning, Libby took control in the bottom of the second. After a walk and a single to start the inning, Destinee Crawford hit a single to right field to bring home a runner for a 1-0 lead. On a groundout from Lyndee McElmurry, two more Libby runners scored to push the lead to 3-0.

Paislee MacDonald knocked in another run with an RBI double later in the inning. Mackenzie Foss followed that up with a double of her own to bring MacDonald home. A Havre error then allowed another Libby runner to score and extend the lead to 6-0.

The Ponies were not able to break through on offense until the top of the fifth. With two runners on, Huse cleared the bases with a single to left field. She then scored to cut the deficit to 6-3 on an RBI single from Hannah Gingery.

But Libby scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to secure the win to end the weekend. Carlson and Verploegen split time on the mound through the contest. Carlson pitched the first two innings where she allowed five earned runs, six hits and two walks. Verploegen pitched the last three innings where she allowed one earned run and one hit while recording five strikeouts. Huse led Havre with two RBIs as she went 1-for-3 at the plate.

With the Butte Invite over, the Ponies finished the regular season with an 8-0 conference record and an overall record of 12-7-1. As they now head into this week's divisionals, Vigliotti believes their performance in Butte shows they are ready for the challenge ahead.

"We played well defensively and we swung the bats pretty well," Vigliotti said. "We just need to stay after it and be confident when we go to the plate, be confident defensively and have trust in our pitchers."

The HHS softball team begins the Northeast A Divisionals in Miles City this Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Havre 3, Hardin 3

HRD 1 0 0 2 0 X X - 3 4 1

HAV 0 0 1 1 1 X X - 3 5 1

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 2-3, Lizzi Haney 1-3, Alyssa Oliver 1-3, Molly Huse 1-3, Hannah Gingery 0-2, Camille Keeley 0-1, Jersi Morse 0-2, Keylee Kline 0-1, Elle Verploegen 0-1, Danni Wirtzberger 0-2.

Havre 10, Ronan 3

RON 0 0 0 3 0 X X - 3 3 4

HAV 1 4 0 5 X X X -10 8 1

WP - Elle Verploegen

LP - Kiara Sherman

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 0-1, Lizzi Haney 2-3, Alyssa Oliver 0-3, Molly Huse 1-2, Hannah Gingery 1-3, Camille Keeley 1-3, Jersi Morse 3-3, Keylee Kline 0-3, Danni Wirtzberger 0-2.

Havre 20, Stevensville 5

HAV 7 0 13 X X X X - 20 18 0

STE 2 0 3 X X X X - 5 5 1

WP - Elle Verploegen

LP - L. Brusha

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 3-4, Lizzi Haney 1-3, Alyssa Oliver 2-3, Molly Huse 2-4, Hannah Gingery 1-3, Camille Keeley 2-3, Jersi Morse 3-3, Keylee Kline 3-3, Danni Wirtzberger 1-3.

Libby 8, Havre 3

HAV 0 0 0 0 3 X X - 3 6 3

LIB 0 6 0 0 2 X X - 8 7 0

WP - Mackenzie Foss

LP - Elle Verploegen

Havre Batting - Avery Carlson 1-3, Lizzi Haney 1-2, Alyssa Oliver 1-3, Molly Huse 1-3, Hannah Gingery 1-2, Camille Keeley 1-1, Jersi Morse 0-1, Elle Verploegen 0-1, Keylee Kline 0-2, Danni Wirtzberger 0-2.