Lady Hawks notch big wins to open softball season

With the necessary spring practices out of the way, the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks softball team got down to the business of the 2024 Class B high school season.

And it was a great way to get things rolling for a team that advanced to the state championship tournament last year.

Buoyed by the return of several key players and some promising newcomers to this year’s team, the Lady Hawks racked up a pair of impressive early season wins, opening their 2024 campaign with a 12-2 home win over Western 7B conference foe Troy this past Tuesday in T Falls.

They followed the victory with an eye-opening road win over Sanders County rival Plains two days later, upending the Trotters 29-1.

After plating three runs in the top of the first inning in Plains, T Falls gave up a single score in the bottom of the first, giving the Lady Hawks a 29-1 lead after the first inning of the season for Plains.

The Lady Hawks added one run to their lead in the top of the second inning while once again holding Plains scoreless in the home half of the second.

Then the wheels came off for the home-standing Trotters as T Falls erupted for nine runs in the third, stretching their lead to 13-1 after three innings during a mixed bag of spring weather in Plains.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Lady Hawks sent 19 batters to the plate while racking up 16 runs to build a 29-1 lead. T Falls pitching then struck out two batters in the bottom of the third in another scoreless at bat for the Trotters.

A pair of T Falls pitchers, junior Sarah Koskela and Annalise Fairbank combined to strike out 12 Trotters while holding them to five hits as they improved to 2-0 on the young season.

Koskela and teammate A Traver scored four runs each for the Lady Hawks in the win.

Plains senior Marissa Young scored the Trotters first run of the season in the opening inning when she walked and scored on a double by Teagan Saner.

The game was shortened by the softball Mercy Rule which concludes games where one team is behind by more than 15 runs and has had one last at bat.

In their season opener last Tuesday against Troy in T Falls, the Lady Hawks jumped on the Lady Trojans from the outset, scoring seven runs in the bottom half of the first inning.

Troy rallied for a pair of runs in the top of the second as pitcher H. Wallace drove in both runs for the Lady Trojans.

After being held scoreless in the bottom of the second, then putting up a zero on the Troy side of the scoreboard in the top of the third, T Falls plated three more runs in the bottom of the third to take a commanding 10-2 lead.

The Lady Hawks added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, giving them a 10-run lead that held up the rest of the way.

Thompson Falls banged out 12 hits during the game and took advantage of 11 walks by Troy. Hawks pitcher Olivia Fitchett was two for three at the plate and drove in three runs for the home team.

B. Cork was two for two for the Lady Hawks and drove in two runs in the win.

Fitchett had a good day on the mound, striking out eight Troy batters while walking only two. She allowed one earned run during her stint on the pitcher’s mound.

Next up for Thompson Falls is a road trip to Eureka this Tuesday (April 2) where they will take on the 7B conference member Lady Lions, who are 1-1 on the year.

They conclude their two-game week with a trip to Sandpoint, Idaho Friday afternoon.

T Falls finished in the top six at last year’s state tournament in Anaconda on their way to a 16-12 season.

    Plains pitcher Tia Bellinger dives for a ball under the watchful eye of teammate Randie Kilgore during their game this past week versus Thompson Falls in Plains. (Photo by Tracy Scott)