Lady Loggers win four after tough road loss

The Lady Loggers softball team dominated its four games at the Butte Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday, the Lady Loggers (3-3, 16-4) beat Livingston, 3-1, and Anaconda, 5-0.

Centerfielder Kelsey Klin hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to break a 1-1 tie in the Livingston game. Junior pitcher Hannah England spun a two-hitter while striking out nine against Anaconda.

On Friday, Libby beat Dillon, 9-2, and defeated Havre, 6-2.

The Lady Loggers exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to break a 2-2 tie against Dillon. England struck out 13 batters in the win against Havre.

The four-game winning streak came after a 4-0 conference defeat in Frenchtown (6-0, 17-1). The Lady Loggers struggled against the state’s top pitcher, Morgan Ray, who recorded 14 strikeouts while allowing two hits and zero walks.

“We played good defense and Hannah pitched well,” Libby Coach Dean Thompson said of the Frenchtown game.

The Lady Loggers travel Thursday to Columbia Falls  (2-4, 8-10-1) for what Thompson called his team’s biggest game of the season. A win against the Wildkats, who Libby beat earlier this year by a score of 10-6, would clinch a spot in the state tournament for the junior-laden squad. A home win against Polson (4-2, 14-3) on May 29 would give Libby a chance to claim second in the Northwest A conference.

“The girls are excited,” Thompson said. “Some more of the bats came alive at the Butte Tournament and Hannah and Staci Regh pitched well for us. Our whole conference showed itself to be the strongest in the state.”