Libby hits rough patch in Frenchtown

Although starting off with a win against Hamilton, 9-8, in the Frenchtown Invitational, Libby’s undefeated status came to an end when they lost their next three games over the weekend, finishing 1-3 in the tournament.

After their win against Hamilton Friday, Libby fell hard to powerhouse Corvallis, 0-12.

Continuing the play Saturday, Libby lost to Central A Frenchtown 7-9, who finished out their tournament, 4-0, before succombing to Thompson Falls later in the day, 13-7.

Libby’s softball coach, Dean Thompson, was unphased.

“This is always a turning point for our program,” said Thompson. “Going into good competition lets us know what the rest of the state is like.

“We had a couple girls gone this weekend, we’re still trying to figure out some spots for some girls, so from here on out we’re just getting better and better,” he added.

At Frenchtown against Hamilton, Brooke Hageness went 2-for-4, striking out eight and holding Hamilton scoreless in the last two innings for the win, 9-8.

Jordan Refsland hit three of the four runs in the first inning with a three-run double in the first inning.

Nickole Lapka went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs, while Laice Dedrick was 2-4 with an RBI.

Shelby Barton, along with freshmen Emily Monroe and Amber Grubham, all had singles, with Barton and Monroe each nabbing an RBI.

Thompson mentioned the freshmen performance over the weekend, including Kim Klin and Grubham, who played second base.

“The young kids did a good job of stepping into their positions,” he said, also noting sophomore LaRona Luscher, who also played second base.

“This group hadn’t played together all year, so we had a lot of errors that we need to clean up on,” he said.

Against Corvallis later in the day, Libby had four errors in the game to finish the game out scoreless, with just one single by Monroe, 0-12.

Hageness got the loss, with Corvallis scoring three runs in the first inning, two in the third, one in the fourth, three in the fifth and three in the seventh.

The next day, against Frenchtown, Klin went 2-for-3, nabbing a double along with Lapka, while Hageness contributed a triple and an RBI.

Dedrick, Cirian and Alysha Martin also nabbed one RBI a piece.

Frenchtown won 9-7, eventually finishing out their tournament, 4-0.

Later on Saturday, Thompson Falls jumped ahead 5-1 in the first inning with a three-run homerun by Bluehawk Katelyn Jedlicka.

Libby responded with two runs in the third and four in the fourth - with the help of Dedrick and Hageness, who were both 2-for-4 with doubles and one RBI a piece.

But eight strikeouts by Bluehawks pitcher Bria Howard and a three-run homer by Thompson Falls (13-1) in the fourth inning sealed their 13-7 victory.

The Loggers finished tournament play, 1-3 and is 8-3 on the season.

Libby JV plays Flathead on Thursday, May 1, with the varsity team on the road to Columbia Falls, Friday, May 2.

Libby hosts Ronan on Saturday beginning with varsity at 1 p.m.

Libby 9, Hamilton 8

Hamilton 021 320 0 - 8 9 3

Libby 400 401 0 - 9 11 5

Nicki Koning and Sarah Callaghan. Brooke Hageness and Shelby Barton. W - Hageness. L - Koning.

Hageness 2-4, Barton 1-2, Nickole Lapka 3-4, Laice Dedrick 2-4, Jordan Refsland 1-3, Kim Klin 0-3, Emily Monroe 1-2, Crystal Shriner 0-1, Amber Grubham 1-3, Holly Cirian 0-3.

2B - Ferguson 2, Schultz. Refsland. 3B - Lapka. RBIs - Callaghan, Ferguson 2, Schultz, M. Hood 2. Barton, Lapka 3, Dedrick, Refsland 3, Monroe.

Corvallis 12, Libby 0

Frenchtown 9, Libby 7

Libby 000 223 0 - 7 6 5

Frenchtown 002 304 x - 9 9 2

Brooke Hageness and Shelby Barton. Shelby Russ and Kristy Kees. W - Russ. L - Hageness.

Hageness 1-3, Barton 0-4, Nickole Lapka 1-2, Laice Dedrick 1-4, Alysha Martin 0-3, Jordan Refsland 0-3, Emily Monroe 0-3, Kimi Klin 2-3, Holly Cirian 1-3.

2B - Lapka, Klin. Al. Duncan. 3B - Russ. Hageness. RBIs - Dedrick, Martin, Cirian, Hageness. Russ 3, Lebsock, Kees 2, Bennett 2.

Thompson Falls 13, Libby 7

Libby 102 400 0 - 7 9 5

T. Falls 500 440 x - 13 14 2

Laice Dedrick, Taylor Armstrong (5) and Shelby Barton. Bria Howard and Katelyn Jedlicka W - Howard (10-1). L - Deidrich.

Brooke Hageness 2-4, Shelby Barton 1-3, Nicole Lapka 1-4, Laice Dedrick 2-4, Alysha Martin 0-4, Kimmy Quinn 1-3, Amber Grubham 1-3, Taylor Barton 1-3, Holly Cirian 0-3.

2B - Hageness, Barton, Lapka, Dedrick. 3B - Dedrick; Molzhon, Pfister. HR - Molzhon, Jedlicka. RBIs - Hageness, Barton 3, Lapka, Deidrich, Cirian; Petteys, Molzhon 4, Jedlicka 3, Howard 2, Pfister, Caville 3.