State Champions
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BUTTE — The Polson Lady Pirates claimed their eighth Class A softball state championship in school history in a decisive fashion on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Pirates defeated the Frenchtown Lady Broncs 9-3. On Thursday, at Stodden Park in Butte, the Lady Pirates opened state tournament action with a 9-2 win over the Corvallis Lady Blue Devils. In the circle, Katelynne Druyvestein held the Lady Blue Devils to just two runs on three hits, striking out 13 and walking three. At the plate, for the Lady Pirates, Mckenna Hanson, Josie Caye and Kobbey Smith
each had two RBIs.
The Lady Pirates narrowly held off a late-inning rally by the Fergus Lady Eagles to slip away with a 5-4 victory 5-0 heading into the bottom portion of the sixth inning during bracket action on Friday afternoon. Hanson’s three-run home run led the Lady Pirates at the plate. Druyvestein fanned 14 Eagle batters and walked one.
In early semifinal action on Saturday morning, it took the Lady Pirates extra innings to defeat the unbeaten Laurel Lady Locomotives 1-0 to advance to the championship game. Mossy Kauley’s double pushed a Lady Pirate base runner across the plate in the top half of the ninth inning - which proved to be the game winner.
In nine innings Druyvestein allowed no runs on six hits, no walks and had 16 strikeouts. During the championship game late Saturday afternoon, Druyvestein was again masterful in the circle, allowing three runs on four hits. She walked none and struck out six Frenchtown batters in the 9-3 championship game win. Caye and Kauley each had home runs to pace Polson at the plate.
The Lady Pirates finish their 2021 season as State Class A girls softball champs with an overall record of 23-1-1.
