Trotters tear up field against Lady Hawks

THOMPSON FALLS - The Trotters surged to a 12-2 victory during a rainy day at Thompson Falls on Tuesday, April 22, rebounding from last week’s losses at Ronan.

Plains got a stellar effort from starter, Tia Thompson who allowed only one hit and one run over her four innings of work. Thompson did not seem to be bothered by the cool weather and intermittent rainfall, ending her day with five strikeouts.

The Trotters’ bats did not seemed to be bothered by the inclement weather either, as Plains used a couple big innings to compile a 10 run lead through five innings.

The middle of the Plains batting order did the majority of the damage against Thompson Falls, with clean-up hitter, infielder Sami Kinzie compiling multiple base hits and 3 RBIs.

Jena Peterson also tallied a triple to lead off the top of the fifth inning, sparking the Trotters to score the runs they needed to complete the shortened game.

Helping out her own cause, starting pitcher, Thompson, had an extra-base hit and multiple RBIs as well.

Thompson Falls was held hitless until the fourth inning, when Samantha Johnson singled with two outs.

Tiga Ward was called upon to finish the game off for Plains, pitching the final inning and ensuring the game would be called due to the 10-run margin rule.

Though the pitching and hitting did not seem to be much affected by the chilly spring weather, the defense clearly was influenced.

The rain started shortly before the game and the infield showed signs of duress after a couple innings into the contest, despite the constant attention paid to making the service playable by coaches and the umpire crew.

Additionally, the outfield grass was significantly inundated, causing the ball to take bad hops on hits that went beyond the infield.

Plains committed three errors throughout the game, enabling Thompson Falls to score 2 runs off of one hit.

For their part Thompson Falls fell victim to five fielding errors, which put the contest out of reach by the middle of the game.

Despite the convincing victory, Plains head coach, Jeff Rude, was modest after the game. Noting the girls had played very well but they still had a lot to work on.

After back-to-back away games, the Trotters will enjoy home field advantage for the next three contests.

Plains will play three double-headers through the course of next week at home against Drummond, Mission and Deer Lodge.

The girls will then go on the road to conclude their regular season with a double-header at Loyola.

The win at Thompson Falls moved Plains over the .500 mark, bringing their record to 5-4 on the year.

Thompson Falls went on to the Frenchtown Invitational, while Plains played Drummond in a double header at home on Tuesday, April 29. Scores were unavailable at the time of press.