Thompson Falls ready to write history
It was a blowout and a single to right that sewed up the second seed in the divisional tournament for the Ladyhawks last week.
The single came on Thursday.
It was a blowout and a single to right that sewed up the second seed in the divisional tournament for the Ladyhawks last week.
The single came on Thursday.
After dispatching Whitefish in a nonconference 6-1 victory on Tuesday, the Ladyhawks hosted the Mission Bulldogs on Thursday, a team that sits as the fourth best team in the division and sports a very potent offense, and according to Coach Randy Pirker, they came ready to play.
"They were pumped and ready to go," says Coach Pirker.
Their motivation turned the game into a battle of the Kyla's, Mission pitcher Kyla Olson versus Thompson Falls hurler, Kyla Molzhon.
After five scoreless innings, where the Ladyhawk offense seemed to only hit popups and soft rollers they finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth when Molzhon reached on an error, took second on an overthrow, took third on a passed ball and was hit home by Stephanie Larkin who hit a short single to the right field for the winning score in the 1-0 victory.
"A win is a win. It doesn't matter how we do it. What it really showed was that our pitching and our defense can hold anyone down," says Coach Pirker.
Molzhon pitched brilliantly in the game, 10 K's, which included getting out of trouble in an inning where a Bulldog player made it to second with zero outs. Molzhon then forced a groundball out to the pitcher, a strikeout and then another groundball out to get out of the jam.
"If your defense can hold, you don't have to score a lot of points," says Coach Pirker. "We're happy to get out of there with a win."
The next day on Friday was the blowout.
The girls finished up the regular season by shaking off the cobwebs on the bats that had been stifled by Mission and putting up 14 runs on Troy.
It was an offensive showcase as eight different girls got a hit in the game and every player on the team reached first base. Molzhon and Makayla Becker did the most damage for the Ladyhawks as they both finished the contest with three hits.
"The whole team has really come toegether as far as hitting goes," says Coach Pirker.
The team now has the opportunity to rest until this weekend when they host the first-ever Western Divisional Tournament.
It's something Coach Pirker and Athletic Director Jason Reimer have been working on since the Eastern side of the state had their first divisional tournament three years ago.
With the number two seed, the Ladyhawks gained a bye in the tournament and will play the winner of the Florence/Deer Lodge game at 5 p.m. on Friday night. he most important aspect of playing the divisional tournament according to Coach Pirker is that the girls will get the opportunity to play in high-intensity games before the state tournament, and this tournament will be especially intense since it sports the only two teams that have beaten Thompson Falls this year, Loyola and Florence.
This includes a list of bigger-sized schools that Thompson Falls beat this year, a fact that gives a lot of weight to the high quality of teams in the division.
"It says a lot for our division. We're extremely tough. There seems to be four teams that have risen above. But you can't overlook anyone," says Coach Pirker. "We can compete against anyone as far as I'm concerned."