It’s a nice cross section of Northwest Montana that is headed to the state softball tournaments, from Columbia Falls to Polson and up to the corner for the Troy Lady Trojans.

In the middle, sort of, are the Glacier Wolfpack, which has squared up enough pitches to go 16-3, earning them another trip to the State AA tournament that starts today in Great Falls.  

Columbia Falls is hosting 11 teams, including Polson, for the State A tournament; Troy began its trip across the Hi-Line toward the State B in Glasgow on Tuesday. 

State AA

Coming off a runner-up finish at state — after winning it all in 2023 — Glacier earned one of two automatic berths into this year’s tournament by finishing second in the Western AA. The Wolfpack faces Billings West (13-6) at 2 p.m. today. 

Glacier beat the Lady Bears 4-3 at a crossover tournament in Great Falls on April 19. Ryane Viker and Kylee King have five home runs each for West, and (No. 1 pitcher) Tatum Bush and Alise Steinmetz have four each.  

“Their top four hitters really start off their lineup strong,” Glacier coach Abby Snipes said. “They’re scored a lot of runs on people.” 

The Pack, adjusting to the graduation of pitcher Ella Farrell, have seen Olivia Warriner and Olivia Gibbons split most of the time in the circle while combining for nine home runs on offense, with Warriner hitting six.  

Glacier’s lineup includes Cazz Rankosky and Nakiah Persinger; there’s also freshman Ava Grady, who has had big moments at the plate and in the circle.  

“I think our keys are just to play our game, right? To start off putting pressure on their defense by getting hits, getting runners on base, and minimizing free gifts on defense,” Snipes said. “Maintaining that strong, competitive, championship mindset.” 

If the tournament has a favorite, it is probably Helena High. The Bengals haven’t won it before but they do have pitcher Faith Howard. She is 15-1 with a 1.04 earned-run average, with 207 strikeouts in 109 2-3 innings. According to Daniel Shepard of 406mtsports.com, Howard has seven starts allowing one hit or less. 

Formidable. But so are the Wolfpack, and that’s why you play the games. 

“I’m just really impressed with our team’s preparation and consistency,” Snipes said. “I think there’s a mental advantage because we’ve been there before.” 

State A

Polson got through the Northwest A conference slate with a 9-1 record, earning a first-round bye at the State A in Columbia Falls. 

The Lady Pirates await the winner of East Helena and Dillon. They haven’t played East Helena and lost 8-4 to the Beavers on April 26.  

Polson is 4-2-1 against other teams in the 12-team bracket, including a split with Columbia Falls. 

“I do know Dillon got us, and we didn’t play very well,” Polson coach Jami Hanson said. “We booted the ball around a little bit and their pitcher (Adyson Creighton) throws very well.” 

Polson has a lot of big hitters, including No. 1 pitcher Samantha Rensvold, Emma Smith and Liz Cunningham. Each are hitting over .396; each have two home runs. Then there’s “OJ” - Olivia Jore, who has 11 home runs and 48 RBIs to go with a .530 batting average. 

“I like our chances as long as we’re not kicking our own butts,” Hanson said. “Defensively we have to be sound. 

“I feel confident that we’re going to put the ball in play. But then you know that gravel monster can come up on you. Can’t keep having the leaky faucet. Gotta shut that faucet off.” 

State B/C

An escort awaited the Lady Trojans when they got back to Troy Saturday night, after securing their first state tournament berth: Five fire engines. 

“The reaction from the girls was priceless,” Troy coach Keith Haggerty said. 

Their reward is a first-round game against Manhattan, the defending state champions. They last met at last year’s divisionals, a 17-0 victory for the Tigers. 

But that was then. 

“We’re optimistic,” Haggerty said. 

The 18-7 Lady Trojans recovered nicely from a first-round loss at divisionals to earn what is unofficially the school’s first state berth in team sport since the 2002 State B volleyball tournament.  

Manhattan is 17-7; the tournament favorite is Shepherd, which is 19-0 this season after losing in last year’s championship. The Fillies boast no seniors and a couple stars in Karli Goodell and pitcher Krista Dunn, who threw a perfect game in April.