COLUMBIA FALLS — The Frenchtown Broncs set the tone in game one against Polson on Saturday and followed that up with another victory over the Lady Pirates in the championship game to win the State A softball tournament.  

Frenchtown’s Ryan Lucier was too much to handle. She held the Lady Pirates to just one hit with 12 strikeouts en route to their 10-0 win in the day’s first game. and followed that up with two home runs and seven RBIs in the Broncs’ 14-3 championship game victory.  

It was Frenchtown’s 13th state championship, breaking a tie with Class B-C Florence-Carlton for the most titles by any team regardless of classification. 

Polson made the championship game after losing to Frenchtown by beating Billings Central 13-7, setting up the rematch. 

In another Saturday game, Billings Central beat Lewistown 14-1, avenging an earlier loss to the Golden Eagles. The Rams’ loss to Polson left them with the third-place trophy. 

Frenchtown 14, Polson 3 

For the 24th time in State A history, it was a matchup of two softball powerhouses with the Broncs collecting 19 hits on their way to the Class A title, first since 2022. 

The Broncs (21-3) jumped out to a 4-0 lead, drawing four walks in the second inning with Taylor Mittlestadt and Aspen Courtney delivering RBI singles.  

Polson (19-7-1) responded in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases before Jaja Nichols’ RBI ground out and Samantha Rensvold’s 2-run single.  

It was the only inning the Lady Pirates were able to plate runs, as Lucier kept forcing infield pop outs on her way to striking out eight to reach 20 total Ks in two games against Polson.  

“We were just attacking what works, using different pitches against different batters,” Lucier said. “They have a chart on what to use against different batters, so we knew what works against them,”  

With the Broncs leading 4-3 in the fourth Lucier hit her first home run, a majestic 3-run shot that cleared both fences in right field and landed on the street.  

“In my opinion, Ryan Lucier is the best softball player in the state of Montana,” Frenchtown coach Eli Field said. “She is also a fantastic teammate and the steps she made from her freshman to sophomore year have been evident in this tournament.” 

Field is no stranger to seeing a talented roster, having won eight state titles in 21 years as head coach. 

“I have been here for eight of them so I think I am 8-for-21, and I will take that batting average any day of the week,” Field said.  

Frenchtown put the game away in the top of the sixth inning with four straight hits before Lucier connected on her second 3-run homer of the day in almost the same spot.  

Polson put two runners on in its half of the inning, before the final two batters were retired and the game ended due to the run rule in six innings. 

“The goal all season long is to put yourself in the chipper and the girls did their job,” Polson’s coach Jami Hansen said. “Hats off to Frenchtown, they did their job, we fell a little short, but we battled all tournament to get here.” 

Samantha Rensvold was the workhorse in the circle all tournament for Polson, pitching 5 2-3 innings before Madison Turner recorded the final out. Hansen took the ball out of the senior’s hands just so she could be recognized by the crowd.  

“When you look back on Sam, she was not going to give me that ball and that’s what will her take her to next level, she will be at Spokane Falls Community College next year because of that,” Hansen said. 

Rensvold finished with two RBIs out of the leadoff spot. Ahri Rushing and Opal Nash provided the other hits, Nash connecting on the only extra-base hit for the Lady Pirates.  

Aspen Courtney set the tone at the top of the lineup for the Broncs, connecting on four hits with two RBIs and two runs scored. Jezzy Palmer was a hard out from the ninth spot in the order, going 3-for-3 with four runs scored and an RBI.  

Polson 13, Billings Central 7

Down to their final three outs, the Lady Pirates rallied for seven runs with Olivia Jore’s 3-run home run breaking a 7-7 tie in a back-and-forth third place game. 

Liz Cunningham went back-to-back with Jore before Emma Smith capped off the seventh inning with a 2-run homer that bounced off the left fielder’s glove and went over the wall. Rensvold closed the door in the seventh inning, pitching a complete game for the fourth time in the tournament.  

But the hero of this game was still Jore, who connected on a solo shot for her first run of the game to tie the game at three in the fifth inning. The Rams plated three runs in their half of the inning, with RBIs coming from Allene Johnson, Gianna Haney and Madge Prill. 

Polson responded in the sixth, with Rensvold scoring on Liz Cunningham’s double before Opal Nash laced a 2-run opposite field home run to tie the game again, 6-6. 

Billings Central (20-7-1) recorded three singles in the bottom half of the inning with Johnson’s RBI single giving the Rams a 7-6 lead. 

Jore led the Lady Pirates with four RBIs, while Cunninham, Nash and Smith drove in two runs each. Cunningham showed pop at the plate collected three extra-base hits; two doubles and the seventh inning solo shot. 

Johnson led the Rams with three hits, two runs scored and Prill drove in two. The team collected 12 hits, all of them singles, while the Lady Pirates collected nine extra-base hits, five of them homers. 

Frenchtown 10, Polson 0

Lucier held the Lady Pirates to one and two walks, striking out 12 in the early semifinal. 

Polson committed seven errors in the game, three in both the first and third innings, leading to five unearned runs. Rensvold took the circle and allowed eight hits and 10 runs but only three of them were earned. 

May Skinner and Brooklyn Smith drove in a pair for the Broncs. Lucier and Bailey Hansen collected two hits a piece with Hansen scoring two runs.  

Rensvold recorded the only hit for the Lady Pirates, Jaliyah Pierre walked twice. 

Billings Central 14, Lewistown 1

Ally Kowalczyk hit two home runs and drove in five as Billings Central avenged an earlier loss in the tournament to Lewistown (22-4) to knock the Golden Eagles off the podium. 

Avery Nelson took the circle for the Rams, allowing four hits, walking one and striking out eight. She allowed one unearned run after striking out the first three batters she faced but two of them reached on passed balls before Kloe Southworth’s RBI single. 

Lydia Todd went 4-for-4 out of the leadoff spot, including a double and scoring four runs. Gianna Haney added three hits, two runs scored and two RBIs. Emma Hernandez went 3-for-3 with three RBIs as the Rams collected 16 hits.