Lady Hawks top rivals in Plains in softball
T Falls-Noxon senior Olivia Fitchett goes through her windup as part of her strong outing versus Sanders County rival Plains this past week in Plains. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
The Thompson Falls-Noxon Lady Hawks are on a roll.
They put an exclamation mark on that statement this past week with a resounding 19-3 win over Sanders County rival Plains-Hot Springs (PHS) this past Thursday in Plains.
TFN senior Olivia Fitchett drove in a pair of runs, went 2-3 at the plate and struck out nine Plains batters over five innings to secure the win, along with some big help from her teammates.
Annalise Fairbank had a great day at bat, as the senior third basewoman drove in five runs on a pair of hits, including a bases loaded double. Callie McGillis drove in three for the visitors on a 2-4 day at the plate, while Kassidy Dana drove in a pair of runs while going 1-2 at the plate.
T Falls-Noxon took a 1-0 lead after the top half of the first inning, then held the home team Trotters scoreless in their half of the inning. TFN then pushed four runs across the plate in the top of the second, giving them a 5-0 lead.
Plains fought back in the bottom of the second with a pair of runs, while neither team scored in the third.
The Lady Hawks plated three runs in the top of the fourth, increasing their lead to 8-2. Plains answered with a single run in the bottom of the fourth, then watched as TFN erupted for 11 runs in the top of the fifth, boosting their advantage to 19-3. The Hawks had six hits in the run explosion, all of them run-producing singles.
Plains-Hot Springs could not score in the bottom of the fifth and the game was called via the Mercy rule at the end of the inning.
TFN outhit Plains 14-7 for the game. Plains got two hits each from Butcher, French and Montana Taylor, who also had an RBI for the Trotters. Cooper Spurr was 1-2 with an RBI for Plains. Taylor whacked a triple as part of her day at the dish.
Fitchett was solid on the mound, surrendering just two earned runs to go with her nine-strikeout performance. She walked two batters.
The victory was the second of the season for TFN over Plains, whom they defeated 11-1 earlier this season in Thompson Falls.
Next up for both teams (T Falls-Noxon played its final regular season game this past Saturday in Troy) is the Western division playoffs set for May 16-17 in Florence.
Through the game versus Plains, Thompson Falls-Noxon had won nine of its last ten games, including six in a row, to climb into the upper half of the division standings.