COLUMBIA FALLS — Flathead coach Tasia Gates bounced out of the dugout and gave two muffled pumps of her right fist when the final out nestled in Kylee Meredith’s glove. The rest of the Bravettes just smiled.

This winning thing is becoming old hat.

Flathead scored six unanswered runs and wriggled out of a bases loaded jam in the final inning to earn a third consecutive win, going on the road and downing Columbia Falls 7-4 on Tuesday night.

For a Bravettes team that won all of two games a season ago — and lost its first eight games of this season — a three-game winning streak is uncharted territory, and the benefits of success are snowballing.

“Softball’s a game of momentum,” Gates said. “You can just see it walking up to the plate. You can definitely see it.

“It’s so many things. Coming together as a team, bouncing back after plays, making the next play. It’s definitely contagious.”

Flathead scored three times in the fourth inning to erase a 4-1 deficit and kept Columbia Falls off the board after a Sydney Hovde solo home run leading off the third inning.

The Bravettes (3-8) took the lead in the sixth on a Wildkats error. With runners on first and second and no one out, Becca Knutson hit a ground ball to second base and was thrown out easily. Columbia Falls tried to throw across the diamond to get Jayden Russell at third base and turn an unorthodox double play, but the throw was low and skipped into foul territory, allowing Russell to score the go-ahead run.

Kylee Beccari gave Flathead some breathing room with a two-out, two-run single in the top of the seventh, but Columbia Falls still had a chance to tie or win the game in the bottom half when the first two Wildkats singled off Beccari and Gates went to the bullpen for Becca Knutson.

Samantha Collins promptly singled off Knutson to load the bases, bringing the dangerous Hovde to the plate representing the winning run. But Knutson bounced back to strike out Hovde, whiffed the next batter, too, and got Lottie Ellis to line out to Meredith at shortstop to end the game.

“I thought (Beccari) did a great job today, I’m really happy with how she pitched,” Gates said.

“Sometimes in the game you just need a speed change so that was kind of our thought process with going to (Knutson). She didn’t throw all game and then we put her in and she throws hard, she throws strikes right away.”

Beccari went six innings and earned the win, allowing seven hits and striking out four. Knutson picked up the save.

Kaileigh Denna went 3 for 3 to lead the Bravettes’ 10-hit attack. Meredith and Beccari each drove in a pair of runs. Russell and Abbie O’Brien both added two hits.

Columbia Falls put at least one runner in scoring position in six of its seven innings, but ended up stranding eight on base. The Wildkats also put the first two runners on in the sixth inning before that threat was neutralized when Hannah Freeman flied out and Knutson — then in center field — doubled off Ellis, who had strayed from second base.

“Too many mistakes, I think, for us,” Columbia Falls coach Dave Kehr said. “The effort is pretty good, just a lot of mental mistakes which we can’t have.”

Peyton Kehr went 3 for 3 and Hovde drove in two runs to lead the Wildkats. KJ Schweikert took the loss in the circle, allowing all seven Bravettes runs.

Flathead returns to the diamond Thursday with a pair of Western AA conference games in Missoula, meeting Sentinel at 3 p.m. and Big Sky at 5 p.m. Columbia Falls will compete in the Frenchtown Invitational tournament on Friday and Saturday.

Flathead 100 301 2 — 7 10 4

C Falls 211 000 0 — 4 8 3

Kylee Beccari, Becca Knutson (7) and Jayden Russell (F). KJ Schweikert and Samantha Collins (CF). W — Beccari. L — Schweikert. SV — Knutson.

FLATHEAD — Russell 2-5, Abbie O’Brien 2-4, Knutson 0-4, Kylee Meredith 1-3, Kaileigh Denna 3-3, Riley Chouinard 0-4, Kaitlin Torgerson 1-3, Bailey Nunn 0-3, Beccari 1-2, Caitlin Morrison 0-0.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Katie Price 1-3, Peyton Kehr 3-3, Collins 1-4, Sydney Hovde 2-4, Morgan Campbell-Queen 1-4, Lottie Ellis 0-4, Kerry Lanners 0-3, Hannah Freeman 0-3, Schweikert 0-3.

2B — O’Brien (F). HR — Hovde (CF). RBIs — Beccari 2, Meredith 2, O’Brien, Denna (F); Hovde 2, Kehr (CF).