Welcome everybody to the Keeping Score podcast presented by Corwin Motors, I am your host, Josh Amick. This week we have a dominant performance from pitchers in Columbia Falls and Glacier, some rivalries on the track and the softball diamond and plenty of tennis to highlight so let’s get into this week’s highlights you might have missed.  

We are going to kick things off with a baseball game between Columbia Falls and Polson. 

Jett Pitts pitched a complete game two-hit shutout on his way to striking out 15 batters for a 5-0 Columbia Falls win.  

Pitts had outstanding control over seven innings, walking just one batter and striking out every Pirate in the lineup at least once.    

Cooper Ross doubled and had two hits for Columbia Falls, with an RBI and run scored. Wyatt Dodson went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, Reggie Sapa and Treysen Murphy both doubled.   

The other dominant performance came from last week’s poster player of the week, Olivia Warriner who combined to pitch 7 2-3 scoreless innings Tuesday, but she wasn’t done there. Warriner also broke a 4-4 tie with a two-run single in the first game and helped Glacier sweep a home softball doubleheader from Butte, 6-4 and 5-0. 

Warriner relieved Olivia Gibbons in the opener with one out and two on in the fourth inning, and Butte leading 4-1 on Reese Johnson’s two-run double. She got the next two Bulldogs to strike out and line out to end that threat. 

In the second game Warriner scattered six hits in four innings, with two strikeouts; Ava Grady threw the final three innings, fanning three.  

Cazz Rankosky’s RBI grounder broke a 0-0 tie in the third inning, sparking a four-run outburst: Warriner’s RBI single made it 2-0, and the Pack went on to win 5-0 in game two. 

Glacier added another win on Thursday, beating Big Sky 6-4. Rankosky’s two-run home run in the first inning set the tone for the Wolfpack, now 11-2 overall and 7-2 in Western AA games.   

Olivia Gibbons and Karley Allen drove in runs with a single and double in the third inning, putting Glacier up 4-1; Olivia Warriner doubled and scored on Allen’s sacrifice fly in the fifth and Gibbons added an RBI single in the sixth.  

In other softball action, my game of the week was a matchup between Flathead and Columbia Falls. What was a defensive game came down to a tense, error-filled seventh inning, where Columbia Falls held off non-conference softball foe Flathead 8-7 at Kidsport Thursday. 

Onnikka Lawrence homered for the Wildkats , and leadoff hitter Addy Bowler had three hits and scored twice for the two-time defending State A champions.  

Flathead had solo home runs from Reese Conley, Mackenzie Brandt and Danica Hennell — before both teams scored four times in the seventh inning.   

The Wildkats scored two of their runs off errors before Kylie Gjesdal-Davis hit a two-run single to put her team up 7-3; a sac fly from Kate Lewellen brought in Sydnee Burke with Columbia Falls’ final run.   

Flathead responded with a run on an error, Macey McIlhargey’s RBI single and Olivia Nyman’s sac fly closed the deficit to 8-6.   

Hennell brought in McIlhargey with a two-out single, but the next hitter struck out to end it. 

The Wildkats split a pair of games at the Frenchtown Invitational, beating Dillon 9-2 before losing to Billings Central 15-9. Annika Reid went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including a triple as the Wildkats scored six runs in the sixth inning to beat the Beavers. 

Addy Bowler and Tayler Lingle added two hits apiece for the Kats, scoring two runs each, and Alexa Friske knocked in two runs. Kylie Gjesdal-Davis added a double and scored two runs as Columbia Falls picked up 14 hits.   

In game two, the Rams jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning before the Wildkats answered back with four runs in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by Bella Mann’s 2-run double. Mann added another double in the fourth and came around to score on a passed ball. Onnika Lawrence went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. 

Flathead dropped their doubleheader with Butte on Saturday. Butte pitcher Ashlinn Mullaney held Flathead to just three hits in game one where Butte won 13-1. Mackenzie Brandt recorded the only RBI. 

In game 2, The Bulldogs got all the runs they needed in a seven-run first inning en route to their 15-4 win. Hennell had a 2-run single in the game to lead the Bravettes. 

Other baseball news to highlight, Reed Boyer, Max Barone and Ryan Conklin combined on a one-hitter, and Drew Queen drove in four runs to lead Whitefish over Troy 11-1 in five innings in North A baseball action Thursday. 

The Bulldogs’ big inning was the third; Avery Caton had an RBI base hit, Queen added a two-run single and Conklin capped the uprising with an RBI double for a 7-1 lead.   

Whitefish added another win Monday. Avery Caton had a monster game, hitting an inside the park home run, drove in six and started on the mound as the Bulldogs beat the Browning Indians 21-1. 

Caton later added a double, as Whitefish (9-2) collected 18 hits on the day, nine of them coming in their 13-run first inning. 

Moving on to track, Whitefish boys held serve on their home track, winning the team title at the A.R.M. Invitational Saturday. The Bulldogs’ rival, Columbia Falls, won the girls crown. 

With Soli Bullemer winning the triple jump and pole vault — the Wildkats’ only two victories Saturday — Columbia Falls scored 98 points. The Whitefish boys scored 101 points, with Columbia Falls second at 88.  

Whitefish’s Rachael Wilmot won the 100 meters in a quick 12.66 seconds and the 400 in 58.38 — a season best and the best mark in Class A. The Bulldogs also saw Sierra Gibb win the 3,200.  

The Bulldog boys got a big day from senior Simon Douglas — he PR’d in both the 1,600 and 3,200, winning both — as well as Carson Gulick and Colby Minton.  Bigfork also had wins and PRs from Alex Ochs in the high jump and Austin Savik in the 400. 

Cole Opre hitting his personal record in the pole vault was among the highlights of Glacier’s home track and field dual with Missoula Sentinel Friday. Opre cleared 14 feet, 7 inches and sits second in all of Montana in that event. He was part of a Glacier sweep of Friday’s dual: The Wolfpack boys won 84-66 and the girls, 88-51. 

Glacier got wins from Ben Winters in the shotput and Gabe Ackerly in the 3,200. On the girls’ side Glacier’s Breanna Barnes also hit a PR in the pole vault, clearing 11-0 to win the event. 

Rylee Bigelow helped the Wolfpack girls with wins in the discus and shot put; Zeila Wagner won the 100 meters for Glacier and Dacia Benkelman was victorious in the 400.   

In tennis, The Whitefish girls swept a pair of duals against Hamilton and Corvallis Friday. 

Allie Shors won a pair of singles matches for the Bulldogs, who beat Hamilton 5-2 and Corvallis 6-1.  In doubles, Camry Kelch and Maggie Mercer teamed up to win two matches, as did Emy Hansen and Aubrey Talbot.  

Lizzy Holden was part of two winning doubles duos, teaming with Sophie McCreedy against Hamilton and with Dessi Young against Corvallis. 

That is going to wrap up this week’s episode of the Keeping Score podcast. I want to thank our sponsor Corwin Motors and to everyone else who tuned it. Join us next week when there will be plenty more spring sports to highlight, until then, take care.  

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