by Scott Sacry
The Florence girls softball team hosted MAC (Mission/Arlee/Charlo) on Saturday, April 4, in their season opening game. The contest took on added significance as the Florence softball community came together to dedicate Florence’s softball field to Mike “Otto” Thill during a pregame ceremony. Over his lifetime, Thill was an integral part of the Florence athletic and softball community. Thill died on October 17 when a vehicle he was driving was struck on Highway 93 outside Florence.
The pregame ceremony included the dedication of the field to Thill, first pitches thrown out by former Florence softball players, and the unveiling of a plaque under the outfield scoreboard reading “Welcome to Otto Thill Field. Home of the Lady Falcons.” As an added bonus, USA Softball of Montana posthumously inducted Thill into its Montana Hall of Fame, and they presented a trophy to Thill’s daughter during the ceremony.
Florence 11, MAC 0
After the pregame ceremonies, the game commenced. Both teams have historically strong softball programs and both teams qualified for the State B/C tournament last year, where Florence was the 2025 state runner-up.
Florence wasted little time asserting their dominance. The Falcons scored four runs in the first inning and seven runs in the second to jump out to an early lead. They then cruised to an 11-0 victory.
Florence pitcher Jaden Fisher was masterful, allowing only two hits and striking out nine batters over five scoreless innings.
At the plate for Florence, leadoff hitter Maggie Schneiter went 2 for 2, scored two runs and had two RBIs. Florence also got RBIs from Jemma Bouma, Taylor Pyette, Jaden Fisher, Elizabeth Camp, Anya Stokes, and Hayley Arlington.
Leave a Reply