Lady Bulldogs bust Blue Ponies twice

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

The Lady Bulldogs picked up their first wins of the year by taking both games of a doubleheader against Havre. Whitefish won by scores of 9-5 and 11-9 in the non-conference match-up.

Torey Ost hit her stride against the Blue Ponies, striking out six in the opener and seven batters in the second game. Her younger sister Devyn Ost belted a two-run homer in the third inning for her first career varsity home run.

"She was excited about the home run," head coach David Dachs said. "Everybody was excited about it."

Dachs said he was pleased with his team's strong performance on the road.

"It was really good, everybody contributed. It was a total team effort," he said.

Whitefish never fell behind in the first game, but the second game was a little more exciting. The Blue Ponies scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. The Lady Bulldogs then pulled away with two runs in the top of the ninth inning.

Devyn Ost scored on a wild pitch after reaching first on a single, stealing second and advancing to third on a single from Shelbi Long. Long scored on a fly ball from Taylor Ybarra-Brunty.

The win was a much needed confidence boost for the team after their 10-0 loss to Flathead and their 12-0 non-conference loss to Columbia Falls earlier in the week.

"The biggest thing was our batting," Dachs said of his squad's improvements. "We had 13 hits in that first game. We just haven't been outside that much before we played those first games."

Dachs praised Torey Ost's pitching and said she was in good shape after pitching 14 1/2 innings on Saturday.

"She did great. We're just trying to get her endurance up. She's a really effective pitcher," Dachs said. "Her pitch count is up in the 80s for every game right now, and she said she felt good on the bus ride home."

Dachs said he feels like his team is back on track after a rough start to the season.

"I couldn't be much happier right now about the way we played," he said.

First Game vs. Havre

Whitefish 2 0 4 0 0 3 0 — 9 13 0

Havre 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 — 5 13 0

Torey Ost, Carolyn Sharpe (6), Ost (7) and Desiree Clarke; Stephanie Stremcha and Jess Obrecht. W — Ost (1-1). L — Stremcha.

Whitefish — Adele FauntLeRoy 3-5, T. Ost 1-4, Clarke 2-2, Shannon Holmes 0-3, Hailey Mortensen 3-4, Devyn Ost 3-4, Kristi Whisler 1-3, Taylor Ybarra-Brunty 0-4, Camille Williams 1-4.

2B—Clarke, Mortensen; Mack (2), Myers; HR—D. Ost; RBIs—NA.

Second Game vs. Havre

Whitefish 4 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 — 11 13 1

Havre 0 3 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 — 9 17 5

Ost and Clarke; Abi Ita and Jess Obrecht. W — Ost (2-1). L — Ita.

Whitefish (2-2, 2-0) — FauntLeRoy 2-2, , Whisler 0-2, T. Ost 2-3, Clarke 2-2, Holmes 3-5, Mortensen 1-5, D. Ost 2-4, Shelbi Long 1-5, Ybarra-Brunty 0-4, Williams 1-3.

2B—T. Ost (2), Clarke (2), Holmes; Cartwright, Beck; 3B—Cartwright; RBI -0.