Trotters looking for first softball win

Navigating the early season waters of the Western B-C Montana high school fastpitch softball conference can be a treacherous endeavor, especially for young teams. 

Baptism under fire they call it in some circles, but the Plains-Hot Springs High Trotters have waded into the gauntlet of powerhouse teams that make up the 10-team league. 

The Trotters opened their week, which featured two top-tier conference team, with a home game this past Friday against the always tough Mission-Arlee-Charlo (MAC) co-op crew and fell behind the Lady Bulldogs 3-0 after the top of the first inning on a sun-splashed day at their home ballpark. 

MAC held the Trotters scoreless in the bottom of the first, then erupted for nine runs in the top of the second to take a commanding 12-0 lead. 

But the Trotters struck back in the bottom of the second with three runs of their own to avoid an early end to the game via the Mercy rule. 

MAC recovered two of those Plains runs in the top of the third, putting them up 14-1 heading into the bottom of the third.  Plains scored a solo run in the bottom of the inning, making it 14-4. 

MAC plated a single run in the top of the fourth, putting them up by 11 runs.  Neither team scored in the fifth inning, but the 11-run lead was enough to produce a game shortened by one inning. 

Oddly, the two teams had four hits each for the game, but five Plains errors and 13 walked batters allowed the Bulldogs to produce most of their 15 runs unearned. 

Emery Josephson, Karissa French and Bri Kulawinski all went 1-3 with an RBI apiece for the Trotters. 

The loss to MAC dropped Plains to 0-5 on the young season, while MAC lifted their rain-altered record to 2-0. 

The next day, also in Plains, the Trotters faced a double-header against perennial power Florence-Carlton, which came into the series with a 3-0 season mark. 

The Lady Falcons put up a pair of runs in the first inning, but Plains scored once in the bottom of the inning to make it a 2-1 Florence lead after the opening frame. 

As was the case the day before, the visitors erupted for a bunch of runs (7) in the top of the second to build a 9-1 lead. Plains did not score in the bottom of the second but held the high-powered Falcons scoreless in the top of the third. 

The Trotters added a lone run in the bottom of the third, making it 9-2 in favor of Florence.  The Falcons added four more runs to their total in the top of the fourth, creating a 13-2 lead. 

Neither team scored in the fifth inning and the game was called after five innings on the Mercy rule, which ends games if one team has more than a 10-run lead after three innings. 

Sophomore pitcher Aubree Butcher led the Trotters with a 2-3 outing at the plate, including one RBI.  Kenzy Pickering paced the Lady Falcons with two hits in three trips to the plate and four RBIs.  She also had a home run for the Falcons. 

Plains scored their two runs on four hits, while committing six errors in the field.  Florence accumulated 10 hits and had four errors during the game. 

In the second game of the double-dip, Plains scored once in the top of the first to take a short-lived 1-0 lead, but Florence erased that lead in the bottom of the initial frame to grab a 2-1 lead. 

The Falcons added two more runs in the bottom of the second after they shut out Plains in the top of the inning.   

Plains was unable to push any more runs across the plate while Florence, which was held scoreless in the bottom of the third, blew the game open with eight runs in the bottom of inning number four. 

Plains could not score in the top of the fifth and the Mercy rule ended the game after four and a half innings. 

Plains had four hits for the game, including a 1-2 performance with an RBI from Butcher.  Kaylee Crawford was 3-3 with two RBIs for the Falcons. 

The three losses left Plains with a 0-7 record in the early going of the Western conference, while Florence improved to 5-0. 

Next on the Plains schedule was a game this past Monday (April 7) against Sanders County rival Thompson-Falls Noxon in T Falls.  The Trotters play MAC in St. Ignatius this Thursday (April 10). 

    Plains batter Aubree Butcher fouls off a pitch during the Trotters game versus MAC Lady Bulldogs this past Friday afternoon in Plains.  (Chuck Bandel VP-MI)