The Lady Broncs sailed through two games in Sidney at the Class A state softball tournament before running into Belgrade in the undefeated game. The Panthers knocked Hamilton, 15-0, into the consolation bracket. They then met up with Frenchtown for the second time in the tournament, and lost, 11-7, to finish in third place.
Hamilton took on Polson in their first game of the tournament. Although Polson scored first, Hamilton’s pitcher, Sky Lopez held the Pirates off for the rest of the game. Kelsie Meis, who went 1-for-3 at bat, had a double and an RBI. Tessa Della Silva had the other RBI and Hamilton went on to win, 2-1.
Hamilton’s second game was against Frenchtown. Frenchtown scored early in the game with runs in the first and third inning but then Lopez went to work and held them off for the rest of the game. Hamilton didn’t score until the fourth inning and went on to win, 7-4. Rachel Richardson went 2-for-4 with home run and a double. She finished with three RBIs. Meis had a double. Della Silva had two RBIs and Mallory McGill had one.
Lopez didn’t pitch in the third place game against Frenchtown due to an injury. Hayley Hudgins stepped in to the circle and ended up taking the loss. But the Hamilton bats were strong. Rachel Richardson continued to close out her senior year with hits. She had a home run and three RBIs. Rachael Ringer went 1-for-2 with an RBI. McGill also had an RBI.
Stevensville opened their tournament play with a win over the higher seeded Glendive Red Devils. Sarah Morrison took the win for the Yellowjackets. Callie Lendman went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Mikayla Newman, Haley Kampka, Morrison and Kaylee Berning all had RBIs. The Yellowjackets then played and lost to Frenchtown, 11-1. The Yellowjackets lost out to the Havre Blue Ponies in a tight game, 14-13.