Lady Pirates saddle state champ Lady Broncs with first loss
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POLSON — It was the kind of test that veteran softball coach Larry Smith prefers. And he was happy to see his young Lady Pirate squad pass the test, though they may not have aced it.
Polson kicked off the softball season with a major test against the Frenchtown Broncs last Thursday afternoon. And although they gave up three unearned runs off fielding and throwing errors in the fourth inning, the Lady Pirates looked fairly sharp in beating the Broncs 10-3.
Freshman Shay Duford earned her first varsity win on the mound for Polson.
Duford was hit early ... literally. She spread out three hits over the first four innings without giving up a run, plus took a line drive in the leg early in the fourth. But after walking it off, she drilled a fastball over the plate for a strike and appeared unfazed, though she gave up three walks in that inning.
Polson’s defense was flawless early and late, but gave up three runs to Frenchtown in the top of the fourth inning, all of them unearned. Throwing errors to first base on separate plays by Sallie Sams and Shay Duford let Frenchtown tie the game at 3-3.
But Polson’s defense quickly got back on track and shut down the Lady Broncs over the final three innings.
Polson’s offense also kicked in with three big runs to regain the lead 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth. The run started with Staci Benson powdering the first pitch for an RBI single to drive in Kylie Knutson. Then Kayla Duford doubled to drive in Benson and Woods made it 6-3 by scoring from third on a ground-out.
Shay Duford struck out seven batters and walked five, though the only walk that hurt the Lady Pirates was the one after taking the line drive in the shin.
“We were very satisfied with her performance ... couldn’t have been happier,” Polson head coach Larry Smith said. “I think the difference was striking out that first batter ... that gave her the confidence. And I think she realizes what a great defense she has behind her.”
Polson turned a 4-6-3 double play in the second inning, with Sams making a nice backhanded stab and Benson finishing off the double-play with a frozen rope from second to first.
“Getting that double-play was great. They only tried to steal once in the second inning and Kayla threw her out ... and that was the end of that,” coach Smith noted. “The defense played superb except for those mental lapses (in the fourth) ... and they were both at point blank range and tried to throw it too hard. They hit (first baseman Wilson), but not in the glove. They were close plays, too.”
The outfield played well, too, though they weren’t extremely tested.
“They’re young, but they’ve got speed and they’ve all got arms. Teams will have a hard time getting hits to drop,” Smith said of his outfielders.
Polson’s offense looked strong, too, putting together 17 hits all over the diamond.
“We never drew a walk. Our kids were attacking the first pitch,” Smith said.
Leadoff batter Benson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, followed by Kodi Woods going 2-for-4, Kayla Duford going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and cleanup batter Riley Kenney hitting 3-for-4 with an RBI. Wilson also hit an impressive .750 and knocked in two, while Kylie Knutson hit 2-for-4 and Shay Duford was 2-for-4 at the plate.
“Staci (Benson) is just a solid, consistent hitter. She takes very few pitches,” coach Smith said. “I razz her about it a little that she never saw a pitch she didn’t like. And she says ‘That’s right.’”
“Kodi Woods is playing with a lot of confidence, both offensively and defensively. She bunts a lot and gets on, even when they play a bunt defense ... very, very quick,” Smith said. “Wilson has extremely quick hands, too ... and she’ll definitely be tough against fast pitchers. She got caught on a couple changeups ... but she just needed to be in that situation. Now she’ll know it’s coming.”
So Smith was more than satisfied with an opening win, especially since it was against last year’s state champs.
“I was just very satisfied for the first game, especially against a team like Frenchtown. As a team we were batting right at 500 against a very good pitcher ... man, that’s great,” Smith concluded.
This week the Lady Pirates open conference play with a game in Whitefish on Friday. The varsity plays at 5 p.m.; there’s no junior varsity game since Whitefish doesn’t have enough players.
Summary
Polson 10, Frenchtown 3
Frenchtown 000 300 0–3 4 4
Polson 111 304 x–10 17 3
Keller Leishman and Jordan Hulla. Shay Duford and Kayla Duford. WP - S. Duford 1-0. LP - Leishman 0-1.
FRENCHTOWN - Katie Kees 0-3, Sakai Scheffer 1-4, Keller Leishman 0-3, Kayla Bordner 1-2, Abby Indreland 1-2, Sarah Lester 0-2, Shelby Jutila 0-3, Madison McGuire 1-3, Jordan Hulla 0-2.
POLSON - Staci Benson 2-3, Kodi Woods 2-4, Kayla Duford 2-4, Riley Kenney 3-4, Sallie Sams 1-4, Ashley Johnson 0-4, Makaliah Wilson 3-4, Kylie Knutson 2-4, Shay Duford 2-4.
2B - Kayla Duford, Wilson. RBIs - Benson 2, Woods, Kayla Duford 2, Kenney, Sams, Wilson 2.
