The playoff fate of the Blue Hawks is in the hands of others as Northern conference teams head into the final week of regular season play, but you won’t find coach Jared Koskela and his scrappy young squad fretting about it. They just want to play another day, whichever way they have to do that.

Taking charge of what they can control, the Hawks rebounded from a tough 6-4 league loss to Plains in Thompson Falls last Tuesday, May 5 by rolling to easy non-conference wins over Deer Lodge on the road Friday, by scores of 20-3 and 18-3, and over Anaconda 18-3 in Thompson Falls Saturday.

With their post season fate still up in the air, the Hawks were set to visit MAC in Mission Tuesday, May 12, but results of that game were not available. The Hawks will complete regular season action with four non-conference games in the Cut Bank Tournament this weekend, playing Conrad and Manhattan Friday and Cut Bank-Shelby and Glasgow Saturday.

Although the playoff situation is muddled, Koskela thinks his girls are capable of clearing things up themselves. “All we have to do is go out and beat Mission and then we would be in,” he said of a way to eliminate the mystery. “The bottom line is that every game is important. We’re just happy to play, that’s the way we are approaching it.”

For more on the possible playoff picture, please see the Plains Trotter softball story.

Last week’s game with Plains last was a battle. The Trotters took an early 2-0 lead before the Hawks fought back, finally taking a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. A three-run homer by Plains’ Karissa French in the top of the seventh inning proved to be the Hawks’ undoing. The Hawks were threatening to answer in their half of the seventh but left two runners on base on the game’s final out.

“That was a tough loss, one that makes you think about things you might have done differently as a coach,” Koskela said. "But it was a good game, one we can learn from.”

Uncharacteristic fielding errors also hurt as the Hawks committed three errors in the game.

Offensively, senior captain Annalise Fairbank led the Hawks at the plate, going three for four with two runs scored and a run batted in, Audrey Fairbank and Marely Robinson both went one for three with a run scored, and Robinson’s sole hit was a well-hit double.

Kassidy Dana, Kaylie Mercer, Addie Traver and Nevaeh Christensen also had base hits for the Hawks. See other story for details on Plains efforts in the game.

The Hawks rebounded from the tough loss to Plains with the double thumping of Deer Lodge in Powell County Friday.

Mercer hit two triples and a double, driving in six runs to key the 20-3 win in the first game. Audrey Fairbank hit a triple and Dana and Robinson both hit doubles. Audrey scored three times and Annalise, Dana, Traver Mercer and Robinson twice each.

In the 18-3 win over the Wardens, Kaydence Pavlik not only pitched the three-inning win allowing no hits, she also went three for three with two runs scored and four RBI to lead the Hawk offense.

Kylee Borgmann, Traver and Robinson scored three times each, and Borgmann and Annalise Fairbank scored two runs apiece.

Back in action for senior day in Thompson Falls Saturday, Christensen celebrated for Annalise Fairbank, dedicating one of her two towering home runs in the game to her senior captain teammate. Christensen finished the game four for four with four RBI. Her two homers in a game mark the first time in Koskela’s memory that one of his players has done that.

Audrey Fairbank finished the game with two hits, a run and three RBI and Annalise, playing her last regular season game at Pirk’s Place, had two hits, two runs and an RBI.

Mercer hit two doubles, scored a run and drove in two, Robinson doubled, singled, scored twice and drove in a run, Pavlik also singled, doubled, scored twice and drove in two runs, and Traver was two for two with four runs scored and an RBI.

    BLUE HAWK JUNIOR Addie Traver raps out an opposite field base hit during Thompson Falls’ 18-3 win over Anaconda Saturday. Hawks complete regular season play with four games in the Cut Bank Tournament this weekend. (John Hamilton/vp-mi)