Lady Hawks on a roll as season heats up
Lady Hawks infielder MacKenzie Robinson (2) flips to shortstop Olivia Fitchett to get the lead runner at second base during their game with Troy last week in T Falls. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
Thompson Falls senior Cheyla Irvine dances out of the way of a low, incoming pitch during the Lady Hawks in over Troy last week at Pirk's Place field in T Falls. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
Thompson Falls sophomore Olivia Fitchett slides safely into home during the Lady Hawks game against Troy last week in Thompson Falls. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
It was a busy and successful week for the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks softball team.
Tuesday they cruised past Troy 11-1, then hit the road to Anaconda where they took successive wins from the host Lady Copperheads, 10-1 and Deer Lodge (Powell County) 15-5.
Not a bad week for a team that is now 11-3 on the year heading into this Monday afternoon’s game (May 1) against Sanders County rival Plains.
The Lady Hawks began their current four-game win streak with the home victory over Troy. After a scoreless first inning for both teams, Thompson Falls pushed a pair of runs across home plate in their half of the second inning.
With Liv McCormick controlling the Lady Trojans bats on her way to one hit, seven strikeout performance over four innings of work, Thompson struck for five runs in the bottom of the third, upping their lead at the end of three to 7-0.
The Hawks opened the bottom of the third with a walk by Cheyla Irvine and a single by shortstop Olivia Fitchett. Both runners advanced before Olivia Harnett slapped a single to centerfield that drove in both Irvine and Fitchett. Harnett scored when the next batter, Gabrielle Hannum ripped a double to right. Hannum came home on a home run over the left field fence by Teagan Saner.
Troy could not answer the five-run outburst and put up another zero on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. Thompson answered with four more runs in the bottom of the fourth when they recorded three straight singles from Irvine, Fitchett and Harnett.
Hannum then singled bringing home Fitchett. Irvine scored on a passed ball, making it 9-0.
The Hawks added two more insurance runs in the inning to create an 11-0 lead.
Troy managed to score a solo run in the top of the fifth, but the game was called after that due to the Mercy rule.
Tanner, who is tied with McCormick for most home runs by the Lady Hawks so far this season with three each, had three hits in four trips to the plate and drove in two runs. Harnett and Hannum also drove in a pair of runs each to lead the T Falls attack. McCormick was the winning pitcher while Fitchett closed out the win by pitching the top of the fifth.
Saturday the Hawks took on the Anaconda Lady Copperheads and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, thanks in large part to a two RBI triple off the bat of Hannum.
Anaconda answered with a run in the bottom of the second to make it 3-1 T Falls, but the Lady Hawks tacked on three more runs in the top of the third to boost their advantage to 6-1. They added another trio of runs in the top of the fifth, then a solo run in the top of the sixth to increase their lead to 10-1. McCormick picked up her third round-tripper of the season as part of her three for four day at the plate. Hannum was 2-4 (two triples) with three RBIs, while Fitchett also drove in three runs for T Falls.
McCormick went the distance on the mound, allowing six Anaconda hits while striking out 11.
Thompson Falls outhit Anaconda 10-1.
The Lady Hawks wrapped up their week with a 15-5 win over Deer Lodge, jumping on the Lady Wardens for seven first inning runs, taking advantage of wobbly Deer Lodge pitching and untimely fielding miscues.
After a scoreless second inning by both teams, T Falls struck again in the bottom of the third, this time for six runs, smacking five singles and taking advantage of continuing control problems by Lady Wardens’ pitching.
By the end of the fourth inning the score was 13-0 in favor of T Falls.
Just when it looked like the Mercy rule would be put into effect, ending the game by the bottom of the fifth, Deer Lodge exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth to slice the Lady Hawks lead to 13-5.
But the Hawks put up a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth on a single by Sarah Koskela and a run on a wild pitch that scored MacKenzie Robinson from third.
With the 10-run, 15-5 lead the game was called via the Mercy Rule.
Fitchett was the winning pitcher, throwing three innings and yielding one hit while striking out three and walking just one Lady Warden.
The Lady Hawks, who out hit Deer Lodge 11-3 for the game, racked up five doubles for the game. Koskela had a pair of RBIs for T Falls, which saw its season record rise to 11-3 with the win.
T Falls played Plains last night (May 1), then travels to Eureka Thursday for a 4 p.m. game versus the Lady Lions.
