Plains rallies to top rival T-Falls, again

You could almost feel it coming.

The softball vibes were ripe for another comeback win in this hard-fought series between Plains and Thompson Falls.

It had already happened once, earlier this year when Plains overcame a late Thompson Falls lead en route to a thrilling 9-8 win at the start of the year.

Since then, both teams have had good moments and not so good moments, but one thing is for certain — the game(s) between the two teams are almost always a sure bet for good fast pitch softball.

That was certainly the case last Tuesday when the Trotters traveled to Thompson Falls for the latest clash in this Sanders County rivalry.

And this time, the results were the same. A late comeback by Plains overcame an early lead and left the Trotters with a 9-6 victory.

Plains opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when promising freshman Maddy Blood doubled and later scored on a passed ball. That put the Trotters up 1-0 with the game just getting started.

T falls came back in the home half of the first, when Cheyla Irvine legged out an infield hit, stole a base and scored on a throwing error, tying the score at one apiece.

Sit back softball fans and tighten up that Velcro.

For the next two innings, Plains pitcher Piper Bergstrom and Lady Hawks hurler Liv McCormick engaged in softball’s version of a pitching duel. Bergstrom struck out one and McCormick fanned two in the second inning. The third saw the two pitchers get another strikeout each while putting up another zero on top and bottom of the inning score.

That scoreless streak came to a dramatic end in the top of the fourth inning when Plains senior Madison Elliot blasted one over the fence in right-center field, giving Plains a brief one run lead.

It was brief because in the bottom half of the fourth, Thompson Falls bats came to life in the form of a double by Abbie Lowe that drove in one run, then by some timely sacrifice taps that brought in two more. Before the bottom of the inning was over, the Hawks had posted five runs and taken a 6-2 lead.

They appeared on their way to avenging the early season loss and the fifth inning seemed to confirm that when neither team could push a run across the plate.

All that changed in the top of the sixth when a walk, stolen base and an infield hit set the table for a two-run single by Blood, who would later come around and score on a passed ball.

Another T Falls error, a stolen base and a double by Bergstrom drove in another Plains run, this one knotting the score at six in seemingly the blink of a softball eye. By the end of the inning the score stood at 6-6 as T Falls was unable to score in the bottom of the sixth.

That in turn set the stage for the icing on the comeback cake for the Trotters, who loaded the bases with no outs on a pair of walks, a wild pitch and another base on balls. Up came Blood, who reached first on an error that also allowed the runner to score from third. A wild pitch a short time later let in another score and a fielder’s choice brought home one more run before Thompson Falls could record the third out. Heading into the bottom of the seventh, Plains was suddenly ahead 9-6.

The Hawks went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh on a pop out and a pair of ground outs, the last one to the Plains pitcher who flipped it to first and sealed the Trotters comeback win.

Heading into this weekend’s action, both teams stand at 5-6 on the year. T Falls plays a pair of home games this week, when they host Eureka this Tuesday and Mission on Thursday, with both games beginning at 4 p.m.

Plains is scheduled to journey to Anaconda this weekend where it will play games against Manhattan and Ennis.