Lady Hawks softball goes 0-3 on road trip

Going through the Western B-C fastpitch softball 2025 gauntlet is a daunting task at best.

The conference is loaded again this year, which makes it even tougher for young, less experienced players. 

If anyone can get through the web of good teams among the 10 Western conference members, Thompson Falls and head coach Jared Koskela can. 

The past week was like the proverbial box of chocolates for the Lady Hawks as they traveled to always tough Florence this past Tuesday for a double-header against the Lady Falcons. Then, in a morning game this past Saturday, they landed in St. Ignatius for a game against another traditional conference powerhouse, Mission-Arlee-Charlo (MAC). 

In the first game against Florence, Thompson was held scoreless in their first at bat, then got a taste of the Falcons’ run-scoring prowess when the hosts plated six runs in their half of the first inning. 

The Lady Hawks struck back in the top of the second with a pair of runs, but Florence put seven runs up on the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame to take a 13-2 lead. 

T Falls could not score in the top of the third and endured four more Falcons’ scores in the bottom of the inning, falling behind the conference co-leaders 17-0.  At that point, the Mercy rule kicked in and the game was called after three innings because of the large Florence lead. 

Florence banged out 17 hits and played error-less ball in the game.  Kaylee Crawford and Jayden Fisher had four RBIs each for the Lady Falcons, with Fisher blasting a pair of home runs and Crawford adding another for the home team. 

Thompson Falls managed only four hits against the Falcons pitching during the game. 

In the second game of the two-game series, Florence pushed three runs across in the top of the first inning, then allowed a solo run to the Lady Hawks in the bottom of the opening frame. 

The Lady Falcons tacked on three more runs in the top of the second (in double-headers each team takes a turn as home team) to build a 6-1 lead. But the Lady Hawks rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to cut the Florence lead to 6-3. 

Florence then shut the Lady Hawks out the rest of the way, while adding four runs in the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth inning, giving them a 15-4 lead.  When T Falls could not cut into the lead in their half of the fifth inning, the Mercy rule was invoked, giving Florence the 14-3 win. 

Florence once again slapped out 17 hits, including a home run by Ava Philbrick. They also got three RBIs from first baseman Reilly Reed who went 4-4 at the plate. 

T Falls had five hits for the game, led by two hits each from senior Olivia Fitchett and Marley Robinson. 

A bright spot for the Lady Hawks was senior standout Sarah Koskela’s second home run of the season, a solo shot to centerfield in the bottom of the first inning. 

T Falls closed out their week with a road game in St. Ignatius at 10 a.m. Saturday.   

T Falls took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first in St. Ignatius on a walk to Teagan Saner, who advanced to second on a fielder’s choice out by Annalise Fairbank.  Kylee Borgmann knocked Saner in with a double for the Lady Hawks. 

MAC knotted the score at 1-1 with a run in the bottom of the third, then shut down the T Falls offense the rest of the way while adding three runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning and six scorers in the bottom of the sixth. 

That gave the home team an 11-1 lead, enacting the Mercy rule and halting the game after six innings of play. 

MAC outhit Thompson Falls 12-2 in the game and played error-less ball while T Falls had seven fielding miscues. 

The week’s losses left T Falls with a 2-6 overall record heading into their game yesterday (April 7) versus Plains-Hot Springs in T Falls. 

The Lady Hawks travel to Bonners Ferry, Idaho Saturday, April 12 for a game against the Lady Badgers.