Trotters fastpitch suffers four losses to open season
Sometimes in competitive sports, the road to a win can be long and winding.
For the Plains-Hot Springs co-op Trotters fastpitch softball team, their first weekend of play for the 2025 season may seem like an endless black ribbon that many roads are.
The Trotters opened on the road with a pair of double-headers this past weekend, dropping both ends of a double dip to Three Forks, 14-2 and 21-10 Friday.
Saturday, they took on Ennis and battled the Lady Mustangs run for run in the opener, before falling 16-13. In the second game of the double header, Ennis scored in every inning on their way to a 26-10 win.
The four losses left the Trotters with an early-season 0-4 record.
In their games with Three Forks, the Trotters ran into a human buzz saw in the form of standout player Nova Evans, who battered Plains pitching with eight hits in 10 at bats for a total of 14 runs batted in. Included in Evans’ rampage were three home runs in the two games, which included a home run and three double outburst in the first win.
Three Forks jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first two innings. Neither team scored in the fourth inning, but Three Forks tacked on two more runs in the fifth frame. Both squads plated two runs in the sixth inning, giving the Wolves a 10-2 lead with one inning left. The Wolves erupted for four more runs in the top of the seventh, then held Plains scoreless in its half of the inning to clinch the 14-2 win.
In the second game versus Three Forks, Evans had a pair of home runs and totaled 10 runs batted in as the Lady Wolves flexed their offensive firepower.
The score was tied at 2-2 after the first inning, then Plains added a run in the top of the third to put the Trotters up 3-2.
It was a short-lived lead as Three Forks exploded for 12 runs in the bottom of the third. The home team outscored Plains 7-4 over the last three innnings of the game that was shortened to six innings by the 10-run Mercy rule.
Saturday Plains bats were much livelier, with Ennis holding a one run, 5-4 lead after two innings. The Trotters regained the lead in the top of the third when they put up four runs and took an 8-5 lead. They made it 9-5 after four inning and looked headed for their first win of the year when they tacked on three more runs in the top of the fifth, giving them a 13-5 lead.
But Ennis’ bats warmed up and plated four runs in the bottom of the fourth, cutting the Plains’ lead to 13-9.
Then disaster struck as Ennis posted seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 16-13 lead. They held Plains scoreless in the top of the seventh to escape with the win.
Bri Kulawinski went 2-4 at the plate and drove in three runs to lead Plains, which also got 2-4, 2 RBI days out of Trysten Larsen and Saner.
Then it was on to game two versus Ennis, with both teams showing signs of offensive power.
Ennis took an early 4-3 lead after one inning of play, but Plains scored five runs in the bottom of the second after Ennis added one more score in the top of the inning. The Plains outburst tied the game at 8-8.
The Lady Mustangs then blew the game open with an eight-run third while holding Plains to two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Ennis scored three more in the fifth and seven in the sixth enroute to a 26-10 lead, which ended the game via the 10-run Mercy rule.
Aubree Butcher had a 2-3 day at the plate for the Trotters and while driving in three runs to lead the Trotters, who got three triples during the game, one each from Saner, Bucher and Kulawinski.
Plains has a pair of home games this coming week, beginning with a contest against MAC (Mission-Arlee-Charlo) Friday at 3 pm. They take on Florence-Carlton, also in Plains, Saturday (April 5) at 3 pm.