POLSON - Sometimes things are just bigger than the game.

POLSON - Sometimes things are just bigger than the game.

Ronan softball players proved just that last Thursday when they took the field against their Mission Valley rival Polson wearing royal blue jerseys and socks.

For their coach. Ronan softball head coach Tom Peterson was recently diagnosed with cancer and is currently in Oklahoma receiving treatment.

"It's been really emotional for them," Ronan coach Steve Woll said. "They took it upon themselves to dedicate Thursday night to him. That was all the girls' doing."

The Maidens also had a sign "Fight for your life as we fight for a win. We love u Coach P" hung up near their dugout.

Peterson, who's also an assistant football coach and a valued member of the Mission Valley community, gives a lot of time and effort to the softball program coaching both in the spring and summer.

"We all kind of took it hard," Ronan senior Marissa McCrea said.

Ronan loaded the bases three times against the defending state champions and while they didn't get the win, a timely hit here or there could have turned things towards the Maidens' favor.

"If we get a single in the first, third and fourth inning, it's a different ballgame," Woll said. "Momentum is a funny thing."

After the game in Polson, the girls gathered out on the field and presented a t-shirt to some of Peterson's family that read "tough times don't last, tough people do."

On Friday, the Maidens wore their royal blue jerseys in warm-up and certainly played inspired as they downed Whitefish 10-2.

Ronan jumped out to a big lead early and got two RBIs

from McCrea and a 3-for-4 outing by Payge Delaurenti with an RBI.

"It was great, the girls played real loose and made some great plays," Woll said.

The Maidens held a 4-0 lead before Whitefish scored in the bottom of the fourth, but answered back in convincing fashion with four runs in the top of the fifth.

"It started out good," McCrea said. "Overall we hit the ball and we had fun."

However, even more impressive than the score was the way the Maidens won the game and ended the season with a strikeout, throw-out in the bottom of the seventh.

"They called coach Peterson right after the game," Woll said.

The Ronan softball team then put the phone on speakerphone and yelled to their coach "We won! We won! We won the game!"

"He was happy," McCrea said.

RONAN 10, W-FISH 2

R - 310 - 040 - 2 - 10

W - 000 - 101 - 0 - 2

Ronan - 9 hits, 2 errors. Whitefish - 7 hits, 9 errors

Maidens batting - Marissa McCrea 2-4, Ashleigh Lynch 1-5, Andrews 1-4, Payge DeLaurenti 3-4, Lindsay Clairmont 0-4, Alex Dulmes 0-4, Turquoise Haggard 0-3, Jasmine Bocksnick 1-1, Amber Quequesah 0-2, Whisper Ivins 0-1, Alaina Madsen 1-4

Doubles - Andrews, Delaurenti, Madsen, RBIs - McCrea 2, Delaurenti M Pitching - Madsen gets the win.