Kats go 1-2 on the week

The Columbia Falls softball team went 1-2 on the week, but the losses were games they could have just as easily won with another hit or two.

On April 9, the Wildkats lost a squeaker to Polson 2-1 after the Lady Pirates scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead. The Kats had a 1-0 lead until that point, as sophomore pitcher Ashley Trueblood struck out six, had no walks and gave up just three hits in the first conference game of the season.

The Kats had a tough time getting runners over the plate, stranding girls on third base in the first and the sixth innings, but they battled back the next day to beat crosstown rival Whitefish 15-0 in four innings.

The Kats had a bit of a slow start against the Lady Bulldogs, scoring just two runs in the first but pouring it on in the second as Whitefish, which had two outs in the inning, struggled. The Kats made them pay, piling up eight runs in the inning as they cruised to their first conference win.

Columbia Falls had 11 hits, while Trueblood allowed just three hits against the Dogs. Tiffany Hummer had a hot bat for the Kats, going 3-for-3, and Carlee Brown had a double.

On April 12, the girls lost another close game to Glacier High School, 5-3. The girls were up 3-0 after three and a half innings, but the Wolfpack rallied in the bottom of the fourth with four runs and added another in the fifth to hold on the for the win.

The girls are now 2-2 overall. Coach Dave Kehr is happy with the way the girls are playing overall.

“We’ve just got to hit the ball a little better,” he said. “We stranded enough runners (against Polson) to win that game.”

Trueblood is pitching very well with lots of movement and a nice change.

The girls have a home game against Flathead High School on Tuesday after presstime and then a key conference game Thursday against Libby.

“They’re a good hitting team,” Kehr said of the Lady Loggers.