Lady Hawks play in Veterans Memorial tourney

The honors keep rolling in for a pair of Thompson Falls High softball players.

This past weekend, Lady Hawks juniors Olivia Fritchett and Sarah Koskela participated in the prestigious Veterans Memorial Softball Classic at the Belgrade softball complex. 

Both are pitchers for the Lady Hawks, who have qualified for the past two state Class B softball championships.  They are part of a talented group of returning players this Spring for head coach Jared Koskela. 

The pair were both named to the U.S. Air Force team for the five-team tournament which is in its 11th year. 

“It’s kind of rare for the two players to be placed on the same team,” coach Koskela said. “I know they were both very excited to play”. 

The tournament selects the 60 top softball players each year to take part in the two-day event.  Teams representing the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and Army are drawn from that pool of players. 

The five teams then play a round-round style tournament to determine a champion.  Coach Koskela was the coach of the Navy team that won the tournament two years earlier. 

This year’s Air Force team went 1-3.  The Navy team won the tournament with a 9-7 victory over the Coast Guard to claim this year’s title. 

“It was quite an honor to be chosen for this game,” Sarah Koskela said. “I’m really proud to be part of this tournament”. 

Koskela had a home run in the four games she played, while Fritchett had a stand-up double for the Air Force.  Both players pitched in during the tournament, which featured two Gatorade Montana Softball Players of the year. 

“Both Sarah and Olivia struggled to get going but were able to catch up after the first game, a 10-5 tournament opener to the Army. 

The Air Force team then dropped a close game to the Coast Guard, 10-7 before getting in the win column Saturday with a 6-5 victory over the Marines team. 

They rounded out the tournament with a 19-15 loss to the Coast Guard, which advanced to the championship game. 

“The girls faced the state’s best pitching,” coach Koskela said. “It was a great experience for both of them”. 

Sarah Koskela, who was an all-state catcher this past season, was the catcher for  Fritchett, who was a mainstay of the Lady Hawks pitching staff.  Both played multiple positions for the T Falls squad this past season and were among the leaders in several offensive categories. 

    Thompson Falls softball teammates Sarah Koskela (left) and Olivia Fritchett in their Air Force team uniforms during the 11th Annual Veterans Memorial Softball Classic this past weekend in Belgrade. (Photo by Jared Koskela)