Wolfpack hold off Sentinel, clinch state berth

Taylor Vivian’s three-run home run put Glacier ahead, and Ava Grady’s relief pitching kept Missoula Sentinel at bay Thursday in the Wolfpack’s 14-11 win in its regular-season softball finale.

The Wolfpack, 16-3 overall and 11-3 in Western AA games, nailed down the No. 2 seed out of the West into the State AA tournament, which is May 22-24 in Great Falls.  Helena High has clinched the top seed. 

To get there, the Wolfpack had to climb back from deficits of 4-0, 6-1 and — after Sydney Goldbar’s solo homer and Hailey Papp’s three-run shot in Sentinel’s fourth inning — 10-7. The Spartans (9-10, 6-7 in league) hit three home runs. 

Glacier countered with two doubles and three runs scored from Nakiah Persinger, and two runs each from Olivia Gibbons, Vivian, Aubree Gerber and Kaydee Walcheck. Everyone in the lineup hit safely except Gibbons; everyone had an RBI except Gerber. 

Up 11-10, Glacier got three more runs in the sixth with Persinger’s RBI double the big blow; she came in on Olivia Warriner’s sacrifice fly. 

Grady did the rest, taking over the circle after Papp’s home run. The freshman fanned the next three hitters and 11 of the 13 Spartans she faced. She gave up one hit — Emma Wingo’s solo home run in the seventh. 

Sentinel    420    400    1    -    11    12    2 

Glacier    115    133    x    -    14    12    3 

Alyssa Hanninen, Makenna Straub (3) and Nina Sammoury. Olivia Gibbons, Olivia Warriner (1), Ava Grady (4) and Cazz Rankosky. 

MISSOULA SENTINEL — Brooklyn Wright 1-4, Rachel Taylor 0-1, Hanninen 2-3, Straub 0-2, Sammoury 1-4, Sydney Goldbar 1-4, Haley Sellers 1-3, Makenna Thorson 2-3, Hailey Papp 2-4, Kai Gillis 0-3, Layla Brushia 1-3, Emma Wingo 1-1. 

GLACIER — Nakiah Persinger 2-3, Rankosky 2-4, Warriner 1-3, Gibbons 0-4, Taylor Vivian 2-3, Karley Allen 2-4, Aubree Gerber 1-3, Kaydee Walcheck 1-2, Khirsten Terrell 1-3. 

2B — Papp, Thorson, Persinger 2, Warriner. HR — Papp, Goldbar, Wingo, Vivian. RBIs — Papp 5, Goldbar, Sellers, Wingo, Vivian 4, Persinger 3, Rankosky 2, Warriner, Gibbons, Allen, Walcheck, Terrell. 

Western AA standings

Conf. Overall

Helena    12-1    16-2 

Glacier    11-3    16-3 

Big Sky    9-4    13-5 

Butte    7-6    7-12 

Sentinel    6-7    9-10 

Capital    5-8    7-12 

Flathead    3-11    4-16 

Hellgate    0-13    3-16 

This week’s games 

Tuesday 

Flathead 7, Missoula Sentinel 5 

Glacier 11, Missoula Hellgate 1 

Helena 4, Butte 0 

Missoula Big Sky 16, Helena Capital 4 

Thursday 

Flathead 5, Missoula Hellgate 4 

Glacier 14, Missoula Sentinel 11 

Butte 10, Helena Capital 1 

Helena 4, Missoula Big Sky 3 

Friday 

Missoula Sentinel at Missoula Hellgate 

Butte at Missoula Big Sky 

Saturday 

Helena Capital at Helena