Lady Indian fastpitchers take one at Butte Invitational

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 10:00 AM MDT

The Browning Lady Indians softball team traveled to Butte for the annual Butte Central Invitational Tournament for four games. Browning played poorly in the first contest against Anaconda and lost, 23-1. The defense committed 12 errors, which led to 12 unearned runs for Anaconda. The Browning pitching also struggled, giving up six walks and throwing 10 wild pitches, which allowed the Anaconda runners to move up bases. Browning did hit the ball hard during the game but only managed two hits in the contest. Ashlynn Fish hit a double and Sheylin McKay hit a single in for the Lady Indians.

Mackenzie Wellman rounds first base against Havre last week. Gervais had Browning's longest hit in the game, collecting a triple. Photo by John McGill

Browning played poorly again in the afternoon contest against Hardin. Hardin won the game, 8-2. Seven Lady Indian errors, six walks and eight wild pitches led to six of the Harding runs. Browning continued to hit the ball hard when making contact but had way too many strikeouts in the game. Katie Lahr led the hitting with a double and a single. Marissa Bremner and Ashlynn Fish both singled in the contest. The contest was called after five innings because of the time limit in the tournament.

Browning began the second day of the tournament against Eastern A, top-seed Belgrade, which came into the game with a 12-1 record. Browning played well in four of the five innings against the Panthers but lost, 16-2. Alyssa Hodson pitched well in the contest, but Belgrade hit the ball very well. The defense played one of its better games of the year but still had five errors. Four of the five errors came in the second inning. The Lady Indians again hit the ball hard but only managed to get three hits through the Belgrade defense. Tiffany Sinclair led the hitting as she slammed a home run over the center field fence. Marissa Bremner singled twice in the contest to get Browning's other two hits. Even though the margin of loss was fairly wide, Browning played much better than they had the previous day against a much better opponent than either of the ones the day before.

Browning's final contest of the tournament was against Deer Lodge. Browning won the contest, 11-8. Alyssa Hodson pitched well, striking out five hitters. The defense did have four errors, but none were costly. Browning was patient at the plate, drawing nine walks. The girls also played smart on the base baths, being aggressive and moving up when the situation permitted. The Lady Indians hit the ball hard, collecting five hits and causing the Deer Lodge defense to commit five errors on hard-hit balls. Katie Lahr led the hitting with a double and two singles. Corrina Gervais and Sheylin McKay both singled in the game.

The team played poorly on Friday but came back on Saturday and played much better. The team continues to improve and learn more about how to play the game every week.

This week is the final week of the season. Browning will play at Conrad in a varsity-JV contest at 4 and 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, and then finish the season Friday, May 16, against Columbia Falls in Browning with a varsity-JV doubleheader at 3 and 5 p.m.