Girls split with Blue Ponies

The bats went hot. Then they cooled. The result was a softball split with Havre last Saturday.

In the first game, Havre jumped out to a 2-0 lead the in the first inning, but the Kats scored a run in the bottom of the inning and then tied it with another run in the third at two apiece.

The girls scored a run and took the lead in the fourth and then blew the game wide open in the sixth with seven runs.

Shaun Rowe went two-for-two and Michonne Cronquist went one-for -three, including a big double in the sixth with the bases loaded.

Niki Birky, Cronquist, Erika Nelson and Jessica Owens all had doubles. Birky's double nearly cleared the fence. The team also did a good job of manufacturing runs. Owens and Renae Nelson had nice bunts to get on base and with their speed, were able to advance to second.

Rowe had two RBIs, Cronquist had 2 and pitcher Morgan Rowe, who went the distance, had one.

In the second game, Havre jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Owens and the Kats never recovered. Nelson went two-for-four in the leadoff spot, but didn't get enough hitting behind her.

Coach Dave Kehr said there were some odd plays in the first — two Havre bunts fell between the pitcher and third.

Weird bunts aside, the Kats bats went cold in the second game.

"We hit the ball well in the first game," he said. "But not well enough in the second."

The Kats travel to Libby today (Thursday) and then down to Frenchtown over the weekend for a tourney there. They'll face Corvallis and Hamilton Friday and Frenchtown and Anaconda Saturday.

The girls are now 2-2 on the season, with a 9-0 win against Class B Eureka last Thursday.

The JV team is also off to a strong start. They're 5-0 and beat Eureka last week 23-1 and Havre 8-1.