Courtney Byrne led the Lady Falcons to a first-round victory over Shepherd in Great Falls on Thursday on the opening day of the Class B/C softball tournament. The tournament, originally scheduled to be in Glasgow, was moved to Great Falls after Glasgow’s fields flooded. Instead of water, however, the winds came and made it tough for all of the softball players. Byrne walked four batters but did strike out 13.
Shepherd scored their only run in the top of the third inning but that didn’t phase Byrne’s concentration. Byrne walked four batters in the wind but struck out 13. Catcher Paige Bodner went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Grace Zeiler, one of only two seniors on the team, had two RBIs and was 1-for-3 at bat. Hayley Cole had the other RBI.
The Falcons continued their run in their second game. They defeated Glasgow, 14-3, in five innings. Brittany Heinz went 2-for-3 with a double. Cassandra Skeers homered and drove in three. Cody Miller also had three RBIs.
With the win, the Falcons advanced to the semi finals where they met up with Stillwater. A late rally by Florence fell just short and knocked the Falcons into the losers’ bracket in the semi finals against Stillwater. Florence lost, 11-10. Hayley Cole had a triple and two RBIs to lead Florence. Byrne had a double and two RBIs.
Florence then had to play Loyola for a chance to play in the championship. Loyola jumped out to an early lead and went on to win, 8-5. Byrne, who finished the season with a 20-4 record, had two doubles and two RBIs. Heinz, a senior, had a double and an RBI. Zeiler, the only other senior on the Florence team, also had an RBI. Florence finished third with a record of 20-5
First round
Shepherd 001 000 0 – 1 0 2
Florence 000 031 x – 4 5 2
Elise Murray and Mariah Cumber. Courtney Byrne and Paige Bodner. W – Byrne (19-2). L -Murray.
Sheperd – Murray 0-2, Iffland 0-3, Stringari 0-2, Cumber 0-3, Nieskens 0-3, Koterba 0-3, Yanchisin 0-2, Johnson 0-1, Spence 0-3, Burgess 0-1.
Florence – Brittany Heinz 0-2, Cassandra Skeers 0-2, Bodner 2-4, Byrne 0-2, Hayley Cole 0-3, Cody Miller 2-2, Grace Zeiler 1-3, Kirstin Lind 0-3, Hailey Huot 0-3.
RBIs – Bodner, Cole, Zeiler 2.
Second round
Glasgow 000 30 – 3 5 7
Florence 312 8x – 14 11 2
Shelby Fossum, Tanya Rasmusan (4) and Rasmusan, Ellen Wallstad (4). Courtney Byrne and Paige Bodner. W – Byrne (20-2). L – Fossum.
Glasgow – Morehouse 1-3, Fossum 1-3, Alsberg 0-3, Rasmusan 0-2, Page 0-3, Carson 2-3, Hagfeldt 1-1, Griebel 0-1, Walstad 0-2, Sukot 0-0.
Florence – Heinz 2-3, Skeers 2-3, Bodner 2-4, Byrne 2-3, Miller 2-3, Zeiler 1-3, O’Brien 0-0, Lind 0-3, Huot 0-1, Drozdz 0-0.
2B – Heinz, Skeers. HR – Skeers. RBIs – Morehouse, Fossum, Wallstad, Bodner, Byrne, Zeiler, Skeers 3, Miller 3.
Semifinal
Florence 000 304 3 – 10 10 4
Stillwater 030 260 x – 11 11 5
Byrne and Bodner. T Morgan and B Morgan. W – T Morgan L – Byrne.
Florence – Heinz 1-4, Skeers 1-2, Bodner 3-4, Byrne 2-4, Cole 1-4, Miller 0-3, Zeiler 1-4, O’Brien 0-0, Lind 0-3, Drozdz 0-1, Huot 1-3.
Stillwater – Glenn 1-2, Church 4-5, Campbell 0-4, B Morgan 2-3, Daniels 1-2, Rachel Blenkern 1-4, Fox 0-1, T Morgan 1-3, Russell 1-4.
2B – Byrne, B Morgan. 3B – Cole. RBIs – Bodner 2, Byrne 2, Cole 2, Miller, Church 3, Daniels, Blenkern 2, Russell.
Loser takes third
Florence 001 121 0 – 5 13 3
Loyola 103 400 x – 8 7 1
Courtney Byrne and Paige Bodner. Sarah Goodman and Sam Manley. W – Goodman. L – Byrne (20-4).
Florence – Heinz 1-3, Skeers 0-3, Bodner 3-4, Byrne 4-4, Cole 1-4, Miller 1-4, Zeiler 3-4, Lind 0-4, Huot 0-3.
Loyola – Goodman 0-1, Kahle 2-4, Manley 1-2, Huguet 2-3, Snook 1-4, Miltko 1-3, Keast 0-2, Dawald 0-3, Gallagher 0-2.
2B – Heinz, Byrne 2, Kahle. RBIs – Heinz, Byrne 2, Miller, Zeiler, Manley 2, Huguet 3, Snook.
Corvallis lost to Columbia Falls, 4-3, in a close opening round game at Miles City. Alex Ewing hit a home run and had three RBIs for the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils lost to Hardin, 9-7, in another close game to end their season. Korie Conder had two RBIs to finish out her high school career.