by Scott Sacry
Softball season is underway in the Bitterroot Valley as Corvallis, Florence, Hamilton, and Stevensville all have girls high school softball teams. Florence is in Class B, while the other three schools are Class A.
Stevensville’s Kenzi Frost comes to home plate after hitting a home run in Stevensville’s 5-4 victory on Thursday, March 20. Photo by Scott Sacry.
The Florence softball team is a perennial powerhouse with state championship aspirations again this year. They took 3rd at state last year and were the state champions most recently in 2022 and 2021. Corvallis, Hamilton and Stevensville all field strong teams and hope to make a trip to state this season.
Hamilton 3, Ronan 1
The Hamilton girls softball team opened their season against Ronan in Hamilton on Friday, March 21 with a 3-1 victory. Hamilton pitcher Mariah Johnson got the win, striking out 10 and allowing only one hit. Johnson also went 1 for 3 and had an RBI. Also at the plate for Hamilton, Addison Flynn went 2 for 3 and scored 2 runs, and Mel Race went 1 for 3 with an RBI.
Hamilton 7, Polson 8; Hamilton 0, Columbia Falls 6
Hamilton traveled to Polson on Saturday, March 22 and played Polson and Columbia Falls. In the Polson game, Hamilton lost 7-8 in a close game over 4 innings. At the plate for Hamilton, Hadley Lockhart went 1 for 2 with 2 RBIs, Thea Jackson went 1 for 2 with an RBI double. Mel Race and Addison Flynn also had RBIs.
Then in the Columbia Falls game, Hamilton was defeated 0-6. Hamilton got hits from Casey Kennedy and Kennidi Cooper.
Corvallis 3, Billing Skyview 14
The Corvallis girls opened the season against Billings Skyview in Missoula on Friday, March 21. Corvallis fell behind early and couldn’t recover, losing 3-14. At the plate for Corvallis, Sophie Cooper had an RBI double, Caitlin Nelson had a triple, and Brenna Bear and Taylor Anderson each had RBIs.
Stevensville 5, Missoula Sentinel JV 4
The Stevensville girls opened their season with a 5-4 victory over the Missoula Sentinel JV team in Stevensville on Thursday, March 20. The game was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 7th when Stevensville’s Lilly Newsom singled in Jaidan Oyler for the go ahead run. Stevensville pitcher Maddix Yeager came in for relief of Morgan Yeager and got the win. At the plate for Stevi, Kenzi Frost went 2 for 2 with a home run, a RBI and she scored 3 runs. Lilly Newsom went 1 for 4 with the game winning RBI, and Emilee Ross went 1 for 2 with an RBI.