Wildkats take three in tourney; fall to Ronan

Columbia Falls won three of four softball games in the Frenchtown Tournament last weekend, picking up wins over Hamilton, Corvallis and Anaconda before a loss to Frenchtown.

Ronan rallied from a 7-3 deficit, scoring four runs in the top of the eighth inning and earned an 11-7 Western A Conference win over the Wildkats on a cold, windy Tuesday evening at CFHS. The loss dropped C-Falls to 3-2 in league games.

Morgan Rowe pitched her third consecutive shutout to open the Frenchtown tourney, tossing a 5-hitter as the Wildkats blanked the Lady Broncs, 9-0 Friday.

"She's pitching well," C-Falls coach Dave Kehr said of Rowe. "Overall, we played well. It was a complete game."

Kayla Stinger was 2-for-3 with a double and triple. Amanda Millard was also 2-for-3, and Cassidee Skiles drove in three runs.

Kehr is pleased to see Milliard's hitting improving.

"She's starting to come around. She's feeling more comfortable at the plate," the coach said.

Breaking a 5-5 tie, the Wildkats sent seven runs home in the top of the eighth inning against Corvallis in a 12-5 victory later Friday.

"We broke it wide open. We started looking for good pitches to hit," Kehr said.

Amber James was 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs. Stinger had a key hit and was 2-for-4, as was Shaun Rowe.

Morgan Rowe pitched the win, giving up nine hits.

James blasted a rare two-run walk-off home run in the last of the eighth inning, giving the Wildkats a thrilling 5-3 win over Anaconda on Saturday. Running for Tia Yaeger, Niki Birky scored ahead of James.

Cedar Smith reached base on an error and advanced to third, scoring the tying run on a grounder by Renae Nelson in the bottom of the seventh forcing extra innings.

James also had a double. Milliard was 2-for-3 and Nelson 2-for-4.

The homer by James made a winner of Jessica Owens in her first decision of the season. She scattered seven hits.

Shelby Russ, one of the top players in the state in any class, pitched a 3-hitter in Frenchtown's win over C-Falls. The Central A team scored four unearned runs in the third inning for a 5-2 lead.

"They're very good," Kehr said of Frenchtown.

The coach was pleased with the Wildkats' defense, which committed only one error.

Morgan Rowe took the loss, although she gave up only six hits.

Nelson, Milliard and James had the C-Falls hits.

IN THE LOSS to Ronan, C-Falls led 7-3 in the fifth inning, but the Maidens tied it in the sixth on a two-run homer by Kelsey Clairmont and bloop single by Katie Andrews. Ronan then scored four unearned runs in the top of the eighth, helped by three Wildkat infield errors.

"They (Ronan) put the ball in play when they had to," Kehr said of the Maidens. "I thought we hit the ball pretty well."

C-Falls had nine hits off winning pitcher Kaylee Larson, two each by Yaeger and James. Ronan pounded Rowe for 15 hits.

The Wildkats face Havre on Friday (5 p.m. varsity, 7 p.m. JV) and again Saturday (9 a.m. varsity, 11 a.m. JV) in Havre, then play Cut Bank at the same location that afternoon.

Hamilton 000 000 0 - 0 5 5

Columbia Falls 103 023 x - 9 8 3

Jessica Bourne, Cierra Smith (4) and Nicole Hood; Morgan Rowe and Amber James. WP Rowe. LP Bourne.

HAMILTON Kaylie Strandberg 1-4, Melissa Hood 1-2, Smith 2-3, N. Hood 0-3, Elizabeth Taylor 0-3, Presley Chadwick 1-3, Rebecka Hood 0-3, Brittany Keimig 0-3, Shayne Rupp 0-3.

COLUMBIA FALLS Renae Nelson 0-4, Tia Yaeger 1-4, Amanda Milliard 2-3, James 1-3, Kayla Stinger 2-3, Cassidee Skiles 1-2, Shaun Rowe 0-3, M. Rowe 1-3, Cedar Smith 0-3.

Columbia Falls 011 030 07 - 12 11 3

Corvallis 030 002 00 - 5 9 4

Morgan Rowe and Amber James; Alex Ewing, Ashley Johnson and Conder. WP Rowe. LP Ewing.

COLUMBIA FALLS Renae Nelson 0-4, Tia Yaeger 0-6, Amanda Milliard 1-3, James 3-5, Kayla Stinger 2-4, Cassidee Skiles 1-3, Shaun Rowe 2-4, M. Rowe 1-4, Tessa Cowan 1-5.

CORVALLIS Morris 0-3, Brawley 2-4, Henderson 0-4, Gurley 2-4, Bradshaw 0-4, Auch 1-3, Conder 2-4, Elliott 0-3, Montgomery 2-3.

Anaconda 110 200 00 - 3 7 3

Columbia Falls 000 200 12 - 5 8 3

Rachel Wagner and Lisa Laslovich; Jessica Owens and Amber James. WP Owens. LP Wagner.

ANACONDA Laslovich 1-4, Chelsea Maquist 1-4, Brittany Sturm 1-4, Wagner 2-4, Karey Krumm 0-4, Keddy Loring 1-4, Jaime Brunell 1-3, Ali Forky 0-1, Abby Stanberry 0-3.

COLUMBIA FALLS Renae Nelson 2-4, Tia Yaeger 0-4, Amanda Milliard 2-3, Amber James 2-4, Kayla Stinger 1-3, Cassidee Skiles 0-2, Shaun Rowe 1-3, Niki Birky 0-2, Cedar Smith 0-1, Owens 0-2, Morgan Rowe 0-1.

Columbia Falls 002 000 0 - 2 3 1

Frenchtown 014 000 x - 5 6 2

Morgan Rowe and Amber James; Shelby Russ and Kristy Kees. WP Russ. LP Rowe.

COLUMBIA FALLS Renae Nelson 1-3, Tia Yaeger 0-3, Amanda Milliard 1-3, James 1-3, Kayla Stinger 0-3, Cassidee Skiles 0-3, Shaun Rowe 0-3, Morgan Rowe 0-3, Cedar Smith 0-2.

Ronan 001 204 04 - 11 15 1

Columbia Falls 220 020 00 - 7 9 1

Kaylee Larson and Jordan Strozzi; Morgan Rowe and Amber James. WP Larson. LP Rowe.

RONAN Larson 3-4, Kelsey Clairmont 3-5, Strozzi 4-5, April Soukup 1-5, Lindsey Clairmont 1-4, Katie Andrews 1-4, Amanda Bartel 1-5, Brittany Clairmont 0-2, Alex Dulmes 1-1, Dani Crockett 1-5.

COLUMBIA FALLS Renae Nelson 0-4, Tia Yaeger 2-3, Amanda Milliard 1-3, James 2-4, Kayla Stinger 1-4, Cassidee Skiles 1-4, Shaun Rowe 1-4, M. Rowe 1-4, Cedar Smith 0-4.