Lady Hawks stay on winning trajectory

There are teams who peak at the right time, while others fly or flop out of the gate.

For the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks, the former is true as they have turned steady weekly improvement into a 7-3 record in their past 10 games, pushing them two games over .500 (9-7) as the playoffs appear on the horizon. 

This past week, coach Jared Koskela’s team went 4-0 with 15-0 and 16-0 wins over Deer Lodge in T Falls, then following that with a pair of road wins over Anaconda this past Wednesday. 

In their second win over Anaconda, the Hawks got three-RBI games from Annalise Fairbank, Teagan Saner and Callie McGill in their win over the Lady Copperheads. 

T Falls scored two runs in the bottom of the first and second innings, while holding Anacona off the scoreboard.  The Lady Copperheads scored three times to pull within one run, 4-3. 

But the Lady Hawks added two more runs in the bottom of the third to push their lead to 6-3.  T Falls outscored Copperheads 9-1 the rest of the way as they picked up a crucial Western conference win. 

T Falls outhit Anaconda 14-5, whacking six doubles, including three by Saner and a triple by senior Sarah Koskela in their win. 

Koskela went the distance on the mound for T Falls, limiting them to two earned runs while fanning seven Lady Copperheads. 

Earlier in the day, Thompson Falls took a 2-0 lead after one inning.  Anaconda scored two in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 2-2. 

The Lady Hawks scored two more in the third and one in the fourth to take a 5-2 lead after four innings.  T Falls tacked on two more in the top of the fifth, increasing their advantage to 7-2.   

Anaconda rallied in the bottom of the sixth, pushing three runs across to cut the visitors’ lead to 7-5.  Thompson Falls added a solo run in the top of the seventh, then held Anaconda scoreless as they held on for the 8-5 win. 

Fairbank continued her hot hitting with a 2-4 day at the plate, Nevaeh Christensen was 3-4 with four RBIs for the winners. 

Fitchett pitched six innings, allowing four earned runs, while striking out 12 Anaconda batters. 

Earlier in the week, T Falls entertained Deer Lodge at Pirk’s Place ballpark and dominated the Lady Wardens in both ends of the double-header. 

The home-standing Hawks took a 4-0 lead over Deer Lodge in the first inning, then increased their lead to 9-0 after two innings.  T Falls added six more runs in the bottom of the third, giving them a 15-0 lead and ending the game via the Mercy rule. 

Koskela had a monster day at the dish, going 2-2 while driving in five runs for the Hawks.  Teammates Marley Robinson and Sander were also 2-2, with three runs batted in between them. 

Koskela’s total included her fifth home run of the year and a triple.  Fitchett pitched all three innings for T Falls, striking out eight while giving up one hit. 

Things did not get any easier for Deer Lodge in the second game of the day, as T Falls pushed across three runs in the first and second innings, then scoring four more in the top of the third while holding the visitors to just one hit. 

A solo run in the top of the fourth and five more runs in the top of the fifth completed the 16-0 rout. 

Fairbank was 2-4 and scored four times for T Falls, which was paced by Robinson’s five RBIs and 2-3 day at bat.  Saner threw a complete game (5 innings) for T Falls, striking out six Deer Lodge hitters. 

Thompson Falls closes out its regular season schedule this week, beginning with a home game today (April 29), followed by a game this coming Thursday against Plains in Plains.  They conclude their schedule this Saturday with a road game against surprising Troy Saturday at 1 pm. 

    Lady Hawks' pitcher Olivia Fitchett struck out eight batters in Thompson Falls' win over Deer Lodge this past week in Falls. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
  

    Thompson Falls senior Sarah Koskela slides safely into home during the Lady Hawks win over Deer Lodge, this past week in Thompson Falls. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)