The Lady Loggers’ hopes for a state softball tournament bid were spoiled by the Columbia Falls Wildkats who eked out a 3-2 victory in front of a host of fans on Senior Night at Libby’s field.

Lady Logger seniors Becca Kyriss and Harley Nelson were honored before the game that featured all five runs scored in the third inning. The Wildkats took a 3-0 lead with a one-out double by Tiffany Hummer, a walk and three straight Logger errors.  

The Loggers struck back in the bottom of the inning. Hannah England led off with an infield single and Rachel Rebo coaxed one of her three walks off pitcher Ashley Trueblood. Then with two outs, Kyriss hit a scorcher into the right-field gap scoring two runs.

The Loggers shut down Columbia Falls in order during the next four innings but were unable to push across the tying run despite a few opportunities.  

Rebo was thrown out at the plate by centerfielder Carlee Brown on a two-out single by Kyriss in the fifth. Devon Gallagher was stranded on third base in the sixth inning after her one-out triple, and after singles by Mahalah Wedel and Rebo in the seventh, Trueblood retired the last two batters to end the game.

Coach Dean Thompson was disappointed but upbeat after the game, “We just have to learn how to win games like that, and we will.”

The Loggers picked up six hits while England held the Wildkats to just two. Both pitchers struck out nine. The Lady Loggers are 10-11 overall and 2-5 in conference heading into the final game in Polson.