Lady Hawks lose opener to Loyola

The problem with being on top is that there’s nowhere to go but down.

The Thompson Falls-Noxon Lady Hawks learned this lesson all too well on Saturday as Loyola Sacred Heart racked up a 12-0 lead after the fifth inning. The season opening route would be stopped because of the 10-run rule.

The matchup was the first between the two teams since the Lady Hawks ended the Breaker’s 2010 season on their way to a 27-3 finish and a state B-C Championship.

Although Thompson Falls-Noxon will begin their season eight seniors light of last year’s championship squad Lady Hawk Head Coach Randy Pirker is refusing to call this a rebuilding year. He’s calling it a “fine tuning” year.

“We’re hoping to see improvement as the season progresses, but our goal is still to make it to state tournament,” Pirker said.

Despite their losses from last year, Pirker still feels his team has the talent to win some games. He insists that winning a the tournament is about playing well at the right time, and he feels his team has a good a chance as any other.

If the Lady Hawks are to attain that goal, they will have to generate more than the one hit they managed against Sarah Goodman, Loyola’s two-time all-state pitcher, on Saturday. Goodman threw a complete game, fanning three and allowing one walk.

Brittany Bray picked up the loss for Thompson Falls-Noxon. Bray, a senior, saw limited time at the mound last year playing behind Blue Hawk star pitcher Kyla Molzon.

“She pitched a pretty good game, they got quite a few hit son her, but it’s early in the season, and we’ve got to work on some things,” Pirker said.

Loyola’s offense was as impressive as their defense. The Breakers’ 13 hits helped them end the contest early. Goodman finished 3 for 3 with a triple and two RBIs. Stevie Kahle, also 3 for 3, doubled, and drove in a two runs. Kari Tirrell also had multiple hits, adding a single, double and two RBIs.

Catcher Kayla Stark got the lone hit for the Blue Hawks.

All in all, Pirker was optimistic about his young team’s rough start. Against such an expert hurler in Goodman, Pirker was happy with the way his batters contacted the ball, noting that four of his freshman girls had never played an inning at the high school level.

Pirker is also looking forward to seeing his team at full stength as four of his players have yet to become game eligible after missing one of the team’s 10, mandatory practices.

After a short turnaround, and one day of practice, the 0-1 Blue Hawks will host the 1-0 Mission Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday.

By Pirker’s estimation Mission was one of the top four teams in the division last year. He expects them to come to town ready to play.Loyola tops T-Falls girls