After a strange ending to a tournament the week before where the Plains Trotters softball team wound up losing two games, including one that endured a long delay, the Trotters got back on the winning track in a big way this past Saturday.

The Trotters traveled to Anaconda where they took on the Deer Lodge Lady Wardens in the first of two games that day.

Fresh of the 5-4 loss to Manhattan the week before in a game that was tied 4-4 and delayed several hours, and a second game that day against the Ennis Lady Mustangs, which Plains lost 14-4, the Trotters were ready to put up some marks in the “W” column, as in wins.

They wasted little time getting to the task at hand, jumping on Deer Lodge pitching for three runs in the top of the first inning, then, after giving up a run in the bottom of the inning, they tacked up five more runs in the top of the second. At the end of two innings Plains held a commanding 8-1 lead. The Trotters took a 1-0 lead when senior infield/pitcher Carlie Wagoner singled, stole second and third, then scored when she stole home. Sophomore teammate Maddy Blood also scored on a steal of home later in the inning, after senior Piper Bergstrom stole home just prior to Blood’s theft.

That made three steals of home in one inning for the Trotters.

Deer Lodge took a play out of the Trotters book in the bottom of the first when they scored on a steal of home.

Plains began the second inning with a double by Teirainy Bellinger, Bellinger came around and scored on a single by Butcher. A few batters later, Bergstrom ripped a triple through the infield, scoring Aubrey Butcher, Jaelyn Carr and Marissa Young, giving Plains a 7-1 lead.

Plains pushed across another run in the top of the fourth, then added three in the top of the fifth inning to make it 12-2 after Deer Lodge scored once in the bottom of the fifth. The 10-run lead invoked the Mercy rule and the game was over with Plains getting the win.

Bergstrom was 1-3 at the plate with three RBIs courtesy of her triple. Wagoner went 2-4 with a pair of RBIs, while Trotter teammate Blood was 2-2 with a run batted in..

Wagoner went the distance on the mound, giving up just two hits and one earned run in five innings of work. She also had seven strikeouts.

Later that day, Plains went up against the host Lady Copperheads and quickly put two runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first. They then held Anaconda scoreless in the bottom of the opening frame before erupting for six runs in the top of the second to give them an 8-2 lead.

However, Anaconda struck back in the bottom half of the second, scoring six runs of their own to cut the deficit to 8-6. In their half of the second, the Trotters had two more runs via steals of home. Blood singled and drove home Blood. Shortly thereafter Bergstrom stole home for another Plains run by theft. Aliyah Heathers then singled, scoring Blood for the sixth run of the inning.

With the score 8-6 going into the top of the third, Plains plated seven more runs, jacking the score to 15-6 in their favor. Wagoner stole home after reaching on a base hit, and Young and Bergstrom added to the home theft landslide when they both scored via the home theft route, giving the Trotters a 12-6 lead. Heathers drove home Blood, followed by, yes, another steal of home, this one by Kassidy O’Keefe. And that was followed by another home plate steal by Heathers.

Neither team scored in the fourth. Then in the top of the fifth, Plains added three runs to their total, pushing their lead to 18-6. Anaconda staged a brief rally in the bottom of the fifth, adding a pair of runs to put the score at 18-8 but it did not head off implementation of the Mercy rule and Plains was declared the winner.

Blood and Heathers each had a pair of RBIs for Plains, with Heathers going 4-4 at the plate. She also scored three of her team’s runs. Bergstrom was 3-4 at the dish as the Trotters out hit Anaconda 14-6.

Blood pitched all five inning for Plains, allowing two earned runs on six hits and striking out seven Lady Copperheads.

The pair of wins pushed the Trotters to 5-11 on the year. They played Sanders County rival Thompson Falls, who won their first meeting of the year in T Falls, last night (May 1) at Plains High.

The Trotters journey to Eureka Wednesday evening for a game with the Lady Lions, then return home Thursday afternoon in a conference game against Troy.