Plains-Hot Springs misses state by one run

The Plains-Hot Springs softball team’s quest to clinch a Class B-C state title bid fell one run short when they lost to Loyola Sacred Heart 12-11 at the Class B-C Western softball Divisional tournament Friday and Saturday at Libby High School.

Assistant coach David Thompson said the game was close and competitive but the Lady Rams came out hitting first and his team spent the majority of the game trying to rally to make up the difference.

“We hit the softball better than we did all year,” Thompson said. “They really got up on us, we came back and scored some runs. We put the bat on the ball and we made the defense have to do something with it throughout the entire tournament.”

Plains-Hot Springs softball lost two of its three games in the tournament falling 9-3 to Florence and defeating Anaconda 10-7 in the first round before finishing the season with a one-run loss to the Lady Rams.

Thompson said he is “optimistic” about the team’s future. Plains-Hot Springs will lose Rachel Worrell, who Thompson acknowledged was a “key contributor” to the team, and anticipate returning everyone else for the 2018 campaign.

“This year was pretty good and we had a bunch of freshman that really stepped up for us,” Thompson said. “We came together pretty good and we were battling pretty good in all of those games. If we have a little bit more here and there and if we can improve in the next year, I think we will be pretty good. We should have virtually everyone on the team coming back next year.”

Thompson said because of his team’s “solid performance” at the Divisionals, the expectations for the 2018 season will be “higher.”

“With this season under our belts and you know the kids will mature a little bit over the summer, our expectations will be really good and high for this team next year,” Thompson said. “Hopefully, everything will work out. I am not sure who we will have coming in. Thinking about it, we should have some girls coming up from junior high that should fit right in. We should be able to put it together, improve in a couple of different areas and be really solid next year.”

Though Plains-Hot Springs softball looks to shape up well for next season, Thompson doesn’t anticipate the competition in Class B-C will be any less fierce than it was this season. The three teams Plains-Hot Springs played at Divisionals all qualified for the Class B-C state tournament May 25-27 at Frenchtown High School.

“We are sitting pretty good but with that being said, in our division we are looked at by other teams and there are a lot of teams (in Class B-C) that are still pretty young,” Thompson said. “None of these teams are really going to be hurt bad by graduation. Our expectations are up but I am sure everyone else’s are too.”

Thompson also said Ronan and Libby, who will move up to Class-A for the 2017-2018 season, will create some more opportunities for the teams that remain in Class B-C.

The Plains-Hot Springs team finished their 2017 campaign with a record of 11-9, a record that allowed them to secure a No. 2 seed headed in the Class B-C Western Divisionals.

“It was a really good season, the girls worked really hard and I believe most everyone enjoyed this season,” Thompson said. “We had a bunch of girls that were on the bench that would have probably liked to play more. Everyone on the team contributed and we are really looking forward to next season and how things will turn out. People will improve and we will see how we can come together for next season.”

Thompson acknowledged the competition at this year’s Class B-C softball Western Divisionals was “intense.”

“Any one of those teams that missed qualifying for state could have easily went to state,” Thompson said. “It was pretty interesting and pretty intense.”