Rivalry week came with an upset as the Ronan Maidens softball team took a historic win over Polson.

With the Maidens splitting the season series, the state push will be exciting as both teams look for success in the back half of this season.

Ronan 10, Polson 9

For the second time this season, the Maidens and Lady Pirates faced off on May 7. This time, the orange and black came out victorious.

Polson and Ronan played evenly early, with both teams sitting at 6-6 after the first two innings. A scoreless third inning led to Polson taking the narrow 6-7 lead in the top of the fourth off a Logan McCrea single.

Despite being down, the Maidens took advantage of multiple Polson fielding mistakes to retake the lead 9-7. The Lady Pirates tied it back up 9-9 in the top of the sixth with McCrea crossing the plate for the third time that day. However, another set of fielding mistakes helped get Keeley Jackson around for the 10-9 lead. 

Polson was able to advance the tying run into scoring position with two outs on the board. However, the Maidens got an infield groundout to secure a historic win over Polson by 10-9.

Autumn Lozeau and Keeley Jackson both had strong performances for Ronan. Lozeau had two RBIs on one hit with two runs scored. Jackson had two RBIs on two hits with one run scored.

McCrea was Polson’s star with one RBI on four hits and three runs scored.

This is just the fourth time Ronan has beaten Polson in the history of each program. The last time the Maidens won was in 2010. Their only other two wins in the rivalry game were in 2009 and 2004.

Ronan 16, Browning 0

The Maidens followed up their rivalry win over Polson with a thrashing of Browning on May 8.

This game was over early, with Ronan dropping eight runs on Browning in the first inning. That production kept up with six runs in the second inning. Two runs in the third were more than enough to secure the 16-0 for Ronan over three innings.

Jackson had a day, pitching a no-hitter and recording nine strikeouts in the shutout win. It was a well-rounded scoring effort from Ronan as well, but Lozeau was a star on offense with three RBIs on one hit and two runs. 

Libby 14, Polson 13

Polson suffered another one-run loss before their rivalry defeat when they fell to Libby on May 5.

The Lady Pirates took the early lead and commanded that game for the first four innings. Despite allowing Libby to score six runs in the fourth, Polson led 13-9 going into the final three innings. 

Unfortunately for the Lady Pirates, they were unable to score for the rest of the game, leading to Libby’s comeback with runs scored in the fifth and sixth innings. Polson lost 14-13.

McCrea was the top hitter for Polson with three RBIs on three hits and two runs scored. Gracie Hammer led the team in runs scored with three. Aleysia Black also had a standout performance with three RBIs on three hits with one run scored.

Florence 16, MAC 8

It was a tough loss in Mission/Arlee/Charlo’s only game this week when they succumbed to Florence on May 5.

Even with the loss, it was a game of high-octane offense. The Lady Falcons went up 3-2 after the first inning, but MAC kept it close. In the second, the Lady Bulldogs only trailed 5-4. 

Despite that, the Florence bats were too much as they went on to score in every inning after that. They closed out their scoring day with a five-run fifth inning and a four-run sixth inning. 

MAC scored three runs in the fifth, but that was about it for their run scoring. They lost 16-8 to Florence.

Kieran Incashola led the team with three RBIs, while Avia Lee led the team in hits with four.

  

    Ronan pitcher Keeley Jackson pitches against Polson on May 7. (Emily Messer/Leader)
  

    Ronan hitter Marie Cheff drops the bat and runs to first base against Polson on May 7. (Emily Messer/Leader)
  

    Polson hitter Ahri Rushing waits for the ball against Ronan on May 7. (Emily Messer/Leader)
  

    Polson pitcher Logan McCrea pitches against Ronan on May 7. (Emily Messer/Leader)
  

 Polson pitcher Logan McCrea winds up a pitch against Ronan on May 7 in Ronan. (Bob Gunderson Photo)