The Lady Falcons of Florence were on a roll early in the season, notching wins and steadily gaining confidence in their quest to another state championship. That came crashing down last weekend in Frenchtown when ace pitcher Shannon Byrne went down with a high ankle sprain. The four year starter was the backbone of the Florence defense as well as a strong hitter. Now, they are having to adjust to a younger pitcher, freshman Kylie Kovatch, and a younger defensive line. Seniors Rylee Mangun, Natalie Dulac and Danielle Zahn all have experience and are solid hitters but the younger players have had to step up and it’s been a slow process.
The Lady Falcons were host to MAC – Mission, Arlee, Charlo – on Friday. MAC opened strongly and had six runs on the board before Florence’s bats got going. Kasidy Yeoman hit a single to get on base and then freshman Kolbi Wood hit a single to score Yeoman.
MAC continued to score and had built up an 11-6 lead in the bottom the third. Florence finally got the bat on the ball in the fourth inning. Yeoman had a home run and an RBI while Kovatch had a doubt and Wood a triple. Only one run separated the two teams going into the fifth. But again, MAC was able to hit the ball and pulled out to a four run lead. In the sixth inning, Florence scored on runs by Zahn, Kovatch, Mangun, and Jaiden Larsen to tie the game. MAC scored twice in the final inning but Florence’s Wood was the only one to cross home plate in the final frame. Final score was MAC 16, Florence 15.
Hamilton picked up two wins over the weekend. The Lady Broncs topped Corvallis, 6-5, with Jorden Taggart picking up the win. She also had two hits and three RBIs. Mikalyn Brickley, Chantele Sission and Haley Frey all had doubles with Sisson and Frey each having an RBI. For the Blue Devils, Kate Bayner had a home run and a double with two RBIs. Megan Bradshaw, Macee Greenwood, each had two hits. Bayner had two RBIs and Greenwood one.
Hamilton defeated Butte Central, 13-6, on Saturday. Brickley had four RBIs in the game and Abby Johnson had two RBIs. Taggart, who was the winning pitcher, also had three hits.
Stevensville also beat Butte Central, 7-4. Ashlin Miller was the winning pitcher. Syd Paul had three hits including a home run and three RBIs. Haley Kampka had two hits and an RBI. Hiller and Dani Trangmoe also had RBIs in the game which was played at the UM Softball complex.