RONAN — The Ronan Maidens set some goals for the team, as well as individually, for the 2012 softball season.

“At the beginning of the year, our team goal was to win divisionals and put ourselves in position to win state,” head coach Tom Peterson said. “That’s our expectation.”

The Maidens nearly made good on their first goal and clearly succeeded in their second as they get ready to do battle this weekend in Anaconda. Led on the mound by freshman Samantha Colman, Ronan took second place in their own backyard last weekend at divisionals.

RONAN — The Ronan Maidens set some goals for the team, as well as individually, for the 2012 softball season.

“At the beginning of the year, our team goal was to win divisionals and put ourselves in position to win state,” head coach Tom Peterson said. “That’s our expectation.”

The Maidens nearly made good on their first goal and clearly succeeded in their second as they get ready to do battle this weekend in Anaconda. Led on the mound by freshman Samantha Colman, Ronan took second place in their own backyard last weekend at divisionals.

The Maidens opened the tournament with a convincing 5-0 shutout of Eureka on Friday, May 18 thanks to a 4-4 performance by leadoff hitter Ashleigh Lynch. Lynch outhit Eureka 4-3 because of Colman’s dominance in the circle, as Ronan scored twice in the first and once in the second en route to the win. Lynch, Lindsey Clairmont, Alaina Madsen and Amber Quequesah knocked in runs for the Maidens, while Payge DeLaurenti and Jasmine Bocksnick each added a pair of base hits. Later in the day, the bats came alive against MAC, as the Maidens scored six times in the second inning and at least once in the following four innings, as Ronan earned its first victory in three chances against their Mission Valley rivals, winning 13-8.

With Clairmont on first and nobody out in the top of the second, Peterson elected to play small ball and bunt her over with Madsen. Turquoise Haggard then knocked Clairmont in with an RBI single, Quequesah followed with a double, and Colman knocked both in with a double of her own.

“When you get runners on, you have to move them around,” Peterson said.“We’ve spent a lot of time bunting. It’s one of the most important parts of the game.”

Ronan put three more on the board in the inning, but MAC answered with five of their own, closing the gap. As the Bulldogs threatened for more, a beautiful relay on an RBI single by Janeal McDonald nabbed Loren Erickson at the plate, preserving the lead and displaying some of the great defense played by the Maidens in the game.

“Our defense has been working really hard on relays,” Peterson said. “The girls have been taking ground balls, fly balls, a lot of reps and working hard. They have gotten significantly better.”

The Maidens were relentless, however, and put three on the board in the third, one in the fourth and two in the fifth to build a 12-5 lead. The Bulldogs chipped away, but couldn’t catch Ronan, as they moved into the title game against Florence.

The Maidens bolted to a 2-0 lead against the Falcons the next day in the championship game, but nerves got the best of Ronan, as Florence took advantage of a tough defensive first inning for the Maidens, scoring eight times en route to a 13-3 win.

“There was a lot of pressure,” Peterson said. “It was the first big game the girls have played in a long time and they were a bit out of character. Florence puts a lot of pressure on you anyway.”

Ronan got a run back in the third, but Florence scored in every inning and built a 10-run lead by the fourth. Nevertheless, Ronan heads to Anaconda this weekend where a meeting with the East’s third seed Conrad awaits. The Maidens could be without ace Bethany Colman, who has missed recent weeks, including the entire divisional tournament, with a forearm injury, but Peterson is confident that her sister Samantha has what it takes to lead the team deep in the tournament.

“Sam pitched well enough against Florence to win,” Peterson said. “She’s only lost the one varsity game since taking over. She didn’t freak out at divisionals and did a great job putting the ball where she needed to get ground balls and pop outs. I think she’ll do fine. She played a lot of 14U and 12U, been in the position at state with those teams and has a lot of experience.”

Samantha Colman and the rest of the Maidens open up against Conrad at 4 p.m.

RONAN 5, EUREKA 0

E - 000 - 000 - 0 - 0

R - 210 - 110 - x - 5

Eureka - 3 hits, 1 error. Ronan - 12 hits, 2 errors

Maidens batting - Ashleigh Lynch 4-4, Kenzie Dulmes 0-4, Payge DeLaurenti 2-4, Lindsey Clairmont 0-3, Alaina Madsen 1-3, Amber Quequesah 1-3, Jasmine Bocksnick 2-3, Samantha Colman 1-3, Courtney Taylor 0-2, Turquoise Haggard 1-1. RBIs – Lynch, Clairmont, Madsen, Quequesah. MP – S. Colman.

RONAN 13, MAC 8

R - 063 - 121 - 0 - 13

M - 050 - 021 - 0 - 8

Ronan - 14 hits, 1 error. MAC - 9 hits, 2 errors

Maidens batting - Ashleigh Lynch 0-5, Kenzie Dulmes 2-5, Payge Delaurenti 2-4, Lindsey Clairmont 1-4, Alaina Madsen 2-3, Turquoise Haggard 2-3, Amber Quequesah 2-4, Samantha Colman 1-4, Kendra Starkel 2-3. 2B – Delaurenti, Clairmont, Haggard, Quequesah, Colman, Starkel. 3B – Madsen. RBIs – Dulmes, DeLaurenti 4, Haggard, Quequesah, Colman 2, Starkel 2. MP - S. Colman.

FLOR. 13, RONAN 3

R - 201 - 00 - 3

F - 831 - 1x - 13

Ronan - 5 hits, 3 errors. Florence - 13 hits, 2 errors

Maidens batting - Ashleigh Lynch 2-2, Kenzie Dulmes 0-3, Payge Delaurenti 0-1, Lindsey Clairmont 0-1, Alaina Madsen 0-3, Amber Quequesah 0-2, Turquoise Haggard 0-1, Jasmine Bocksnick 0-3, Samantha Colman 1-2, Kendra Starkel 2-2. RBIs – Colman. MP - S. Colman