T-Falls softball aiming for divisional bid

by Jason Blasco Clark Fork Valley
| April 26, 2018 5:33 PM

The Thompson Falls softball team is still experiencing the effects of being a team comprised mostly of freshman as they prepare to enter the second half of the season.

Lady Bluehawks’ skipper Jared Koskela knows it is all a part of the growth of rebuilding a team that didn’t play competitively in the MHSA Class B-C state softball in 2017.

The Lady Bluehawks experienced some growing pains in their recent loss to Mission-Arlee-Charlo Tuesday afternoon. Thompson Falls fell 15-0 and then regrouped to lose 6-2 in the second portion of the double-header.

“Oh yeah, the frustrations started to come in after we were beat badly,” Koskela said. “It is hard to play as a team when you start hanging your head. I am glad we are getting some of the (tougher teams in the Class B-C) out of the way. I would rather play some of the tough teams first, ease our way into the postseason and be competitive than playing any of the less-caliber teams and start having to play the tougher teams (later in the season).”

Going into the game, Koskela, who is in his first-ever year coaching girls’ softball, said he would use the game against M-A-C, a team that finished third in MHSA Class B-C last year, as a point of reference to how he would be able to build a softball program.

Koskela observed that M-A-C has an excellent feeder program, one of the main components he says to their success. Right now, Koskela’s goal is to try to make it the Divisional tournament and get to the play-in game.

“We will have one play-in game that will determine last place and second-to-last-place,” Koskela said. “Maybe in two or three weeks we can get determined to make the postseason because only one team (from our conference) will get to sit home.”

Koskela said if they can defeat Troy in their double-header April 26, they have a shot to make it to Divisionals.

“That would be huge,” Koskela said. “That is my main goal right now is to get there and continue to build the program. Making it (to the postseason) would mean a lot more for the upcoming season.”