WHITEFISH - Consider that loss avenged.

The Polson Lady Pirates left no doubts on Saturday, blasting 18 hits to down Whitefish 9-2 in a Western A softball matchup.

The win avenges the Pirates' only conference loss of the season - and locks up the Western A regular season crown.

"One of our goals was to win the conference first, then move on to state. Hopefully, we'll have as much success there as we're having right now," said Polson coach Larry Smith.

"We've just been playing with a lot of confidence. We've been hitting the ball really well up and down the lineup. Everybody has been contributing," Smith said.

"When the big hitters are down, it seems like somebody else comes up, especially the middle of the order. They've really come through. We're constantly growing and maturing and getting better," he said.

"We're on a nice roll. We're something to watch for," he smiled.

Polson (8-1 and 17-3) wasted little time in getting the offense rolling - it scored five runs off five hits and a Whitefish error in the second inning.

"We started right out of the gate hitting the ball hard, hitting the gaps," Smith said.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs stranded eight base-runners.

"We didn't hit," said Whitefish coach Alan Compton.

"They hit the ball well, which they always do, but we didn't hit. Defensively, we were fine. But they hit spots and we didn't. When we hit the ball, we hit it right to someone - and they hit the gaps," he said.

Every single player in Polson's lineup had at least one hit.

Sarah Newton led the Pirate offense. She was 2-for-5 with a two-run home run. Riley Kenney was 2-for-4 with two doubles, Rochelle Woods was 3-for-4 and SuSan Perez-Tenas was 2-for-3 with two doubles.

"This was a good game. The score really wasn't indicative of how well played it was," Smith said.

"This is a good team," Smith said of Whitefish. "Don't hit it close to them, because they make nice plays.

"I really commend them, especially their third baseman (Heather Bailey). I thought she did a fantastic job. She snagged some balls … I couldn't even see them. They were well-hit. She did a super job," he added.

"She had a great game," Compton agreed.

"It's (Bailey's' first year playing there. She's really just now starting to figure it out and get comfortable. The nice thing is she's

fearless," he smiled.

"I'm happy for her. She played really well."

The Western A conference gets a little more interesting for the Bulldogs (3-5, 7-12) this week.

With two conference games (Libby and Columbia Falls' left on their schedule, things are a bit murky as to the Bulldogs' chances for a state tournament berth.

"We have to beat Libby. If we beat Libby and Libby loses out, we're in. But if we beat Columbia Falls, there's no question we're in," Compton said.

Polson 050 011 2 - 9 18 0

Whitefish 000 002 0 - 2 7 1

Dakota Peterson and Kayla Duford. Carolyn Sharpe and Hailey Mortensen. W - Peterson. L - Sharpe.

Polson - Staci Benson 2-5, Sarah Newton 2-5, Riley Kenney 2-4, Rochelle Woods 3-4, Sallie Sams 3-5, Charlee Jensen 2-3, Kayla Duford 1-4, Dakota Peterson 1-4, SuSan Perez-Tenas 2-3.

HR - Newton, 2B - Kenney 2, Perez-Tenas 2, Duford.

Whitefish - Madison Tveidt 1-4, Carolyn Sharpe 1-3, Kaitlyn Wehrli 2-4, Hailey Mortensen 1-3, Shannon Holmes 1-3, Madison Cross 0-1, Heather Bailey 0-2, Kristi Whisler 1-3, Nicole Schelling 0-2.

2B - Mortensen.