Libby split its opening games at the Libby Invite on Saturday afternoon, besting Priest River, Idaho, by a score of 8-3, before falling under the mighty bats of Frenchtown, 18-0.

The Lady Loggers’ crew of sophomore stars were the talk of the first game, as Mahalah Wedel went 4-for-4, including a double. Hannah England, another sophomore, allowed just three runs in seven innings.

“Most of these girls have been varsity in other sports,” Head Coach Dean Thompson said. “From top to bottom, we have pretty good leadership.”

Even in the first win, Thompson said there were some defensive struggles. Libby made three errors and allowed the Spartans from Idaho to creep closer. A five-run fourth inning locked up the win.

When Libby faced Frenchtown, things fell apart.

“Their starting pitcher, Morgan Ray, throws probably faster than anybody else in the state,” Thompson said. “We started putting the bat on the ball in the third inning, but they had taken her out by then.”

Frenchtown scored eight runs in the third inning of a mercy-rule shortened game. Only Devon Gallagher and Kelsey Klin got hits, finishing with one apiece. 

Macey Newberry, Frenchtown’s catcher, hit a three-run homer in the third inning to bury the Lady Loggers. 

By that point, Thompson was switching players around and trying new things. Although Frenchtown is a conference team, the game Saturday was a non-conference matchup, leaving Libby free to experiment.

The Lady Loggers didn’t help themselves by allowing 16 hits and making six errors, but with only two seniors and two juniors on the team, youthful mistakes are bound to happen.

“The hardest thing might be being as young as we are,” Thompson said. “We compete in the toughest conference in state so that doesn’t make it easy.”

The Lady Loggers will host defending state-champion Polson on Thursday at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.

Libby 8, Priest River 3

Priest River1001100—350

Libby          201500x—883

LIBBY — Rachel Rebo 0-2, Mahalah Wedel 4-4, Devon Gallagher 0-3, Dayln Germany 2-3, Kelsey Klin 1-3, Rebecca Kyriss 0-3, Hannah England 1-2, Auria Benefield 0-3, Brooke Rosling 0-1, Staci Regh 0-0, Harley Nelson 0-0. 

Frenchtown 18, Libby 0

F-town 13843x—18 16 0

Libby    0000xx— 0   2  6

LIBBY — Rachel Rebo 0-3, Mahalah Wedel 0-2, Devon Gallagher 1-2, Hailley Moe 0-2, Kelsey Klin 1-1, Staci Regh 0-2, Hannah England 0-1, Brook Rosling 0-2, Auria Benefield 0-1, Jordan Turner 0-1.