In softball, a dominant pitcher can take a team a long way.

All-state pitching has carried Frenchtown to the last two state championships and Florence to the last three. Being able to limit runs in the playoffs is almost as important as being able to score them.

Glacier softball has those type of goals for this season, with five seniors on one of the most experienced rosters in the state. The Wolfpack has opened its season with four straight wins and sits among the best teams in the state after the first month of the season.

The catalyst for that start has been junior pitcher Ali Williams, who after a pair of strong seasons to start her career has been overpowering in 2015.

“I think as a program the girls have set the bar pretty high,” Glacier coach Andy Fors said.

“They have some lofty goals and things they want to achieve this season. Ali is right at the heart of that.

“Her start to this season has put us in position to be very competitive with some of the top teams in the state.”

Williams is averaging 10.8 strikeouts per game, and has a 1.17 ERA entering today’s game against crosstown rival Flathead. She has allowed the fewest hits and runs of any pitcher in the Western AA conference and is second in four other categories.

“Pitching is such a big part of the game,” Fors said.

“To be able to have a No. 1 pitcher like Ali that we can rely on to get us out of tough situations, to be able to get the strikeouts when we need them, to be able to face very solid hitting teams and limit the amount of times they put the ball in play, it provides opportunities for our team to accomplish some pretty good things.”

Williams has overpowered the state with her riseball this spring, but it’s her array of pitches that has been able to keep opposing batters off balance.

“Ali put in a lot of work in the offseason,” Fors said. “She’s increased her velocity. She has much more command over the ball than we’ve seen in the past. She just has another level of maturity and experience that she’s bringing to the circle.

“She’s been put into some tough spots early on and she’s shown that she’s not backing down. She’s able to get that tough out when we need it. We’ve faced some pretty dang good hitting teams so far. Ali has done a fantastic job against those lineups.”

She’s been strong against the best competition as well. She allowed just two hits and had 17 strikeouts against Missoula Big Sky to hand the Eagles their only loss in nine games this season. Against Helena Capital, the only loss for the Wolfpack this season, she gave up only two earned runs and struck out nine.

“When we talk about teams in our conference that we have to be able to compete with, Big Sky and Capital are right a the top of that list,” Fors said.

“Early in the season, Ali has helped us achieve that goal with Big Sky. I don’t think there’s any question in our girls’ minds right now that we have the tools and the people in place to be competitive.”

Even when Williams has faltered in the circle, she’s impressed her coaches.

“What has been impressive this year has been her ability to shake off those little hits,” Fors said.

“She hasn’t been rattled to this point, which is nice for a coach. To be able to look out there at your pitcher, when we’re in a hole or when we’re in a tough spot, to see that confidence. The rest of the girls on the field can see that, it does volumes for the program.”

A dominant pitcher can take a team a long way. And for a team with dreams of a state title, having a pitcher like Ali Williams has been huge for Glacier.

Her confidence and the team’s confidence has been noticeable as the Wolfpack is off to one of its strongest starts in school history.

“There are some good teams out there that we play and some big challenges we have ahead of us,” Fors said.

“Our confidence level right now, knowing that we have Ali and knowing that we have the experience with our seniors, we enter every contest knowing that if we play well, we should be right in it.”