There is a group of girls from Florence, Missoula, and even one from St. Ignatius, that can really play softball. They won the state championship for the 10U division two years ago. And then, on Sunday in Bozeman, they won the state championship for the 12U division. They are the Montana Avalanche Schneiter team.
The Montana Avalanche organization has four teams in the 12U division and so the Avalanche Schneiter team actually ended up playing another Avalanche team from Missoula in the championship game, the Montana Avalanche Ries team. The game, which began late Sunday evening, was the culmination of two years of hard work.
After winning the 10U championship in 2015, the team had to move up an age division. Coach Chad Schneiter said this group of girls have been together for at least four years and work very hard during the season and in the off season.
“They work together nine months out of the year,” said Schneiter. “Most also play volleyball or basketball but still find time to do softball too.”
He went on to say the team has had some time hitting in the indoor hitting facility for the Grizzly softball team. Hitting is extremely important to this team. Schneiter has a strong baseball background and although many things are different, hitting the ball isn’t that different. With his own batting cage in his backyard, the team spends a lot of time hitting the ball and having fun.
“They really enjoy hitting,” he said. “Our defense may be mediocre at times but our hitting keeps us going. We have 10 players and we hit 10 deep.”
The team began their quest for a state championship last fall when they played in a couple of tournaments in the Tri-Cities area of Washington and in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. After taking the holiday season off from Thanksgiving to New Years, the team got back in the gym and began getting ready for the spring season. They played across Western Montana with an occasional trip to Coeur d’Alene. The Avalanche amassed a record of 33-1 and won all but one tournament, taking second in that one.
The Montana State ASA Softball Tournament had 90 teams in five different divisions with 27 teams alone in the 12 U bracket. This was the largest Junior Olympic State Tournament in Montana in 32 years.
The Avalanche Schneiter team opened up against Billing Force-Playmakers and blanked them, 8-0. After that, the Avalanche Schneiter team played the Billings Force Chartier and won, 9-5. Next up for the team was one of their sister teams, the Avalanche Hanninen team. Team Schneiter topped them, 15-0 and it was on to the semifinals. The Great Falls Selects are the same team they had played against for the championship in 2015. This time, the Avalanche Schneiter came away with an 8-7 win and moved on to the championship against the Avalanche Res team.
The Avalanche Ries team was the only team to defeat the Avalanche Schneider team this season. Kooper Page pitched four innings of the championship game with Kylie Kovatch coming in to relieve her and pitch the remaining three innings. It was a one hit by one hit battle with each team picking up a run here and there. The Avalanche Schneider was up, 4-2, in the top of the seventh inning when Avalanche Reis scored twice to tie the game. Cassie Schweitzer hit an RBI single up the middle to score Claire Schneider and win the game, 5-4.
The win qualifies the Avalanche Schneider team for the Junior Olympic “A” national tournament which is in Texas in two weeks. They are still deciding whether they will attend or not as it is an expensive trip to make.
“I don’t think it’s so much that we have the best softball players, it’s that they enjoy the game so much,” concluded Schneiter. “99 percent of the time, our girls play with smiles on their faces. I’ve never been involved in anything like this.”