The Lady Broncs of Hamilton and the Lady Falcons will both advance to their respective state softball tournaments this Thursday. Hamilton will go into the state A tournament as the No. 1 seed from the Southwest A conference. They drew a first-round bye and will play the winner of the Park County/Laurel game at 6pm on Thursday. That tournament is at Belgrade. Florence will play in Great Falls at the State B/C tournament. They will play at 1:30 pm against the No. 3 team from the east, Huntley Project.
Hamilton coach Jason Goligoski is feeling pretty good about his team and their chances at state even though they don’t have a senior on the team. He said that Brie Clifford and Taylor Goligoski both have had quite a bit of experience at national level tournaments. With Clifford pitching and Goligoski at shortstop, Coach Goligoski figures these two will anchor the team and keep the young team from getting overwhelmed at the state tournament.
“We’re peaking at the right time, we’ve won 7 games in a row, we’re 9-1in the last 10 games. The girls are starting to buy in and do the little things that it takes to win. If we show up and we play to our ability and our capability, anything could happen,” he said.
Coach Goligoski thinks the west has stronger teams than the central and eastern divisions do. He looks at Polson and Frenchtown as the teams to beat but concedes that on any given day, anyone can win.
“We’re peaking at the right time, we’ve won 7 games in a row, we’re 9-1in the last 10 games. The girls are starting to buy in and do the little things that it takes to win. If we show up and we play to our ability and our capability, anything could happen,”
Hamilton defeated Corvallis in the final game of the regular season Thursday night, 9-2. Brie Clifford pitched a complete game for the Broncs with Katie Wickham catching. Shay Mohn went 2-for-3 for the Lady Broncs with two doubles. McKayl Rothie, Tayler Reynolds and Grace Zohner all had RBIs for Hamilton.
Corvallis’ Gianna Schrock finished her high school career with a double and was 2-for-3 at bat. Corvallis finished their season with only two wins but according to coach Richie Borden; the young team ‘grew quite a bit’.
Corvallis 020 000 0 – 2 5 4
Hamilton 304 011 x – 9 9 2
Zena Smith and Gianna Schrock. Brie Clifford and Katie Wickham. W – Clifford. L – Smith.
CORVALLIS – Schrock 2-3, Taia Tully 0-3, Erika Allen 0-3, Miquela Kriskovich 1-3, Hanna Capko 1-3, Kira Doyle 0-2, Brenna Bourgeois 1-3, Kelsey Irwin 0-2, Smith 0-2, Taylor Gagnon 0-1.
HAMILTON – M. Rothie 1-3, Taylor Goligoski 1-3, Clifford 0-4, Tayler Reynolds 1-4, Shay Mohn 2-3, Sabrina Friday 1-2, Grace Zohner 1-4, Kaytlyn Menk 0-4, Kloie Nye 2-3.
2B – Schrock, Bourgeois, Mohn 2, Nye. RBIs – Bourgeois, Rothie, Reynolds, Zohner.
Florence was at the Western B/C Divisional in Ronan. They played Deer Lodge in their first game and won, 7-5. Courtney Byrne was the winning pitcher. Megan Byrne went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. She had two RBIs. Hayley Cole also had a home run and an RBI. Courtney Byrne went 1-for-3 and hit a double and knocked in a runner.
Florence met up with Ronan in the championship game on Saturday. The Lady Falcons fell short and lost, 7-5, to the Maidens. Courtney Byrne was the pitchder. Cole had two home runs in the game and had three RBIs. She was 2-for-3 at bat. Paige Bodner had a double and had two RBIs.
Stevensville finished out their season with a 5-2 loss to Anaconda, and an 11-1 loss to Butte Central. They finished with a 3-5, 9-10, record.
Cutlines
Hannah Peterson of Hamilton finished in second place at the Southwest A Divisional tournament. Jean Schurman photo
Bridger Walczynski of Corvallis will vie four his fourth state championship in the Class A tennis tournament this week. The senior won the state doubles championship the last three years with three different partners. This year, as in 2012, he will partner with DJ Pekoc to defend his title. Jean Schurman photo
Corvallis sweeps Southwest Divisional A tennis
Both the Corvallis boys and the Corvallis girls brought home the divisional championship at the Southwest A tennis tournament in Hamilton and Corvallis over the weekend. The boys edged out Butte Central by one point to earn the trophy. The girls had a wider margin over Dillon. The top four will advance to the state tournament which will be held in Polson and Ronan this weekend.
The Darby duo of Brianna Massey and Courage Louviere finished fifth at the state Class B tournament in Missoula over the weekend.
Boys
At Hamilton
Team scores: Corvallis 50, Butte Central 49, Hamilton 23, Stevensville 23, Dillon.
Singles
Semifinals – Alma Powell, Cor, def. Northey Tretheway, BC, 6-2, 6-2; Reese Isherwood, Ham, def. Derek Ralph, BC, 6-2, 6-4.
Championship – Powell, Cor, def. Isherwood, Ham, 6-1, 6-2.
Consolation final – Northey Tretheway, BC, def. Kale Guldseth, BC, 6-2, default.
Doubles
Semifinals – Bridger Walczynski/DJ Pekoc, Cor, def. Patrick Kenney/Tyler Trudnowski, BC, 6-1, 6-2; Jim Joyce/Frank Joyce, BC, def. Kolton Lamiaux/Kaden Peeples, BC, 6-0, 6-2.
Championship – Walczynski/Pekoc, Cor, def. Joyce/Joyce, BC, 6-0, 6-0.
Consolation final – Jeremy Jessop/Shade Jessop, Cor, def. Joseph Fecteau/Curtis Liston, Ste, 6-3, 6-0.
Girls
At Corvallis
Team scores: Corvallis 56, Dillon 37, Hamilton 26, Stevensville 3, Butte Central 2.
Singles
Championship – Laramie McHugh, Cor, def. Hannah Peterson, Ham, 6-3, 6-4.
Consolation final – Elizabeth Hennessy, Cor, def. Erica Huppert, Ham, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Doubles
Championship – Sydnee Madruga/Megan Lengyel, Cor, def. Kansas Suenram/Whitney Southam, Dil, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.
Consolation final – Holly Hansen/Taryn Judge, Dil, def. Emma Decker/Annie Sangster, Cor, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.