Lady Bulldogs struggle in softball tourney
Whitefish's softball squad went 1-3 at the Frenchtown Tournament on April 23-24, topping Corvallis 5-2 after falling to Frenchtown, Stevensville and Florence.
The sub-par performance in the tourney came on the tails of a tough 11-1 conference loss at Polson on April 22, which according to Lady Bulldog coach Alan Compton, took a mental toll on the team heading into Frenchtown.
"I think our team struggled after the loss to Polson," Compton said. "We wanted to win that game so much, and they were down from it. The teams we played in the tourney, we could have beaten them. It took us a few games to get back in the groove and decide we didn't want to lose anymore."
The win over Corvallis came at the end of the weekend and likely will give a boost to the team heading into play this week.
"Corvallis was one of the better teams down there," Compton said. "If we played like that against the other three teams, we would have likely won the tourney.
"The win shows our character. It would have been easy to not care in that last game. It showed we could come back from adversity. I think this weekend will help us down the road. It's easy when you're winning."
Against Corvallis, Hailey Mortensen and Madison Cross had two hits each to lead the winning effort. RBIs came from Cross, Mortensen and Shannon Holmes. Senior Kaitlyn Wehrli scored the win in a strong outing from the pitcher's circle.
"I think that win helped a lot," Compton said. "I told the girls, 'Let go of this weekend and move on.'"
At Polson on Thursday, Compton said the wide disparity on the scoreboard isn't an accurate representation of the game.
"We were with them until that last inning," he said. "We had a couple errors, which is what it boils down to. That's why Polson is what they are. They make you pay, and that's where our team wants to get."
The Lady Pirates tallied 15 hits, had no errors in the game and scored five runs in the sixth to seal the win.
"It's a learning deal," Compton said about the tough loss. "We might have been too excited for that game, but that's part of learning how to win."
Madison Tveidt was 2-for-3 in the game, and Mortensen, Baylee Tveidt and Emma Baldanado each had one hit.
The Lady 'Dogs (4-6, 2-2) sit alone in second place in the conference behind Polson and ahead of Columbia Falls.
Whitefish hosts Thompson Falls today at Smith Fields.
Frenchtown Tournament
Whitefish 0 Florence 7
Whitefish 6 Frenchtown 12
Whitefish 0 Stevensville 8
Whitefish 5 Corvallis 2
Whitefish at Polson, April 22
Whitefish 000 0010 —1 5 3
Polson 210 035 x —11 15 0
Kaitlyn Wehrli and Hailey Mortensen. Shalaina Duford and Kayla Duford. W — Duford 5-0 (9 strikeouts, 5 walks); L — Wherli
WHITEFISH — Wehrli 0-3, Hanah Lewis 0-2, Madison Tveidt 2-3, Mortensen 1-3, Shannon Holmes 0-3, Emily Stiver 0-1, Baylee Tveidt 1-3, Emma Baldanado 1-3, Madisen Cross 0-1.
POLSON — Staci Benson 0-4, Kodi Woods 1-3, K. Duford 2-4, Riley Kenney 3-4, Sallie Sams 4-4, Makaliah Wilson 3-4, Ashley Johnson 2-4, Kylie Knutson 0-2, S. Duford 0-1, Colleen Jacobson 1-1.
2B — Wilson; 3B — Sams 2; RBI — Sams 5, Wilson 2, K. Duford, Johnson, Jacobson, Baldanado.