Scheduled for two seven inning games, the Flathead Bravettes played 14 innings of softball against Western AA opponents Missoula Sentinel and Missoula Big Sky at Conrad Complex on Thursday but in an unconventional fashion.

The Bravettes were edged 13-12 in nine innings against Sentinel in the opener before dropping the night cap to Big Sky 14-2 in five innings.

Flathead (1-12 overall, 1-7 Western AA) started the day strong, jumping out to a 7-0 lead after the third. Flathead scored four runs in the third while batting around the order. Center fielder Kaitlin Torgerson slapped an RBI double for the lone extra base hit in the rally.

The Spartans (3-10, 3-5) made their way back with an eight-run sixth inning. Five singles, two walks and two errors gave Sentinel a  9-7 advantage.

Heading into the bottom of the seventh, the drama began.

Makaila Jorgenson and Dana VanLuven knocked back-to-back singles and advanced a base on a Spartan overthrow. Kylee Beccari evened things up with a single of her own, driving the ball to left-center field for two RBIs.

Sentinel posted three runs in the eighth and looked to close things out in the bottom half of the inning, but Flathead kept fighting.

Kylee Meredith reach base with a single to left field and advanced to second on a throwing error. Becca Knutson drove Meredith in with a stand-up double, her second of the game, which caromed off the wall on the fly.

Knutson scored on Torgerson’s base hit before Jorgenson earned the fourth consecutive hit for the Bravettes to tie the game and send it to the ninth inning.

Alas, the Spartans scrapped one run in the ninth and held Flathead scoreless for the final mark.

“The energy the girls had during the game was unbelievable. They wanted it,” Flathead coach Tasia Gates said. “They knew the things that helped them out and they were doing them consistently. I think that helped us battle. It was back and forth the last three innings.”

The Bravettes tallied 19 hits in the loss, highlighted by catcher Abbie O’Brien’s 5 for 6 performance.

“They want it so badly. They’re trying so hard that these last couple games  they’ve been swinging out of their shoes,” Gates said. “We’ve been focusing on ‘relax, see it, hit it.’ I think that was the approach (Abbie) took today and it showed in her at-bats.”

Game 2 was a different story yielding the same result.

Big Sky, having just defeated the Glacier Wolfpack in 10 innings earlier in the day, came into Conrad Complex with momentum.

The Eagles (12-2, 6-2) led 8-1 after three innings and scored six runs in the fifth, where Quincy Preston launched a grand slam to extend the lead 14-1.

Flathead got one back in the bottom half but couldn’t muster a comeback.

O’Brien continued her hot streak with a home run in the third, and Grace Cady finished 2 for 3.

“It’s hard to recover after a loss, especially a tough one like that, going to extra innings. It can exhaust you mentally,” Gates said. “That’s kind of been one of our biggest challenges this year, the mental side of the game. We stayed so mentally strong in the first game, I’m not sure if the loss affected their mindset for the second one.”

The Bravettes hit the road on Saturday for a doubleheader with the Helena schools. They’ll take on Helena Capital at noon and Helena High at 2 p.m.

Sentinel    000    108    031    —    13    18    3

Flathead    214    000    230    —    12    19    6

Brooke Denny, Amber Hickethier (3) and Taylor Holmes. Kylie Beccari and Abby O’Brien. W — Hickethier. L — Beccari.

SENTINEL — Kayla Daily 2-7, Emily Earl 0-3, Kealey Gillis 2-4, Holmes 4-4, Brooklyn Weisgram 2-4, Emily Malone 2-6, Halle Nurse 0-5, Denny 1-1, Hickethier 2-4, Abby Gillespie 1-2, Taylor Brinkman 1-3, Serina Breum 1-4.

FLATHEAD — O’Brien 5-6, Grace Cady 0-5, Kaycee Smith 1-6, Kylie Meredith 1-6, Becca Knutson 2-5, Kaitlin Torgerson 3-5, Makaila Jorgenson 3-5, Dana VanLuven 1-5, Beccari 3-5.

2B — Malone, Knutson 2, Jorgerson. RBIs — Daily 3, Gillis, Weisgram, Malone, Breum, O’Brien 2, Knudson 2, Torgerson 2, Jorgerson 2, Beccari 3.

Big Sky         242     06     —     14     19     0

Flathead         001     01     —     2     6     4

Macey Newberry, Kendall Rauk (3) and Morgan Johnson. Becca Knutson, Kylee Beccari (2) and Abbie O’Brien. W — Newberry. L — Knutson.

BIG SKY — Newberry 2-2, Natalie Schwab 3-3, F. Schwenk 2-4, Johnson 2-3, Jaime Schafer 2-3, Kendall Mooney 1-3, Rauk 1-4, Quincy Preston 3-4, Kylie Snow 1-4, Natalie Schwab 2-4.

FLATHEAD — Abbie O’Brien 1-3, Grace Cady 2-3, Kaycee SMith 1-3, Kylee Meredith 1-3, Becca Knutson 0-2, Kaitlin Torgerson 0-1, Makaila Jorgenson 0-2, Dana VanLuven 0-2, Kylee Beccari 0-1.

2B — Mooney. HR — Johnson, Preston; O’Brien. RBIs — Preston 4, Schwenk, Johnson 3, Schafer, Mooney, Rauk, Schwab; O’Brien, Smith.