With wins, Wildkats secure conference title

Columbia Falls Wildkat softball left no doubt this past week about who reigns as this season’s Northwest Class A Conference champions.  The Kats are currently undefeated in conference play action at 9-0 as they head into their final week of the regular season.

The Wildkats opened this past week on Tuesday with a dominating 22-5 win over the Ronan Maidens, then followed it up on Thursday with another conference victory, defeating the Polson Pirates 11-8.

The Kats pounded out 20 hits against Ronan.  Onnikka Lawrence led the offensive surge, entering the game with a .578 batting average and a .633 on-base percentage before going 5-for-5 with four RBIs versus the Maidens.  Katie Bulawsky, Kylie Gjesdal-Davis, Alexa Friske, Bella Mann, and Kyler Gietzen also turned in multi-hit performances for the Wildkats.

Bulawsky earned the win for Columbia Falls, working five innings in the circle. The right-hander faced 24 batters, allowed two runs, and struck out five.  Ella Branstetter offered relief in the top of the sixth, recording one strikeout and allowing three runs, one of them earned.

“Ronan went well for the team to win 22-5.  We played good defense, and everyone wanted to hit.  Ronan has come back from behind to win a few times this year, so we didn’t want to take our foot off the gas,” head coach Rick Lawrence said.

Thursday’s win over Polson required a little more perseverance.  Columbia Falls jumped out early in the bottom of the first on back-to-back home runs from Mann and Lawrence, but the Pirates kept the pressure on and carried a two-run lead into the bottom of the sixth.

That advantage disappeared quickly. Mann lined a ball to left field to drive in two runs, and Kylie Gjesdal-Davis followed with a two-run home run over the left-field fence.  Polson was unable to answer in the top of the seventh, and the Wildkats secured the 11-8 conference victory.

Gjesdal-Davis led Columbia Falls at the plate, going 3-for-4, while Mann finished with three RBIs. Altogether, the Kats recorded 12 hits over six innings.

Columbia Falls used two pitchers against Polson. Katie Bulawsky started and worked three innings, allowing six hits and five runs while striking out two.  Ella Branstetter pitched the final four innings in relief, giving up four hits and three runs with one strikeout.

“Polson was back and forth, and we stayed in it scoring five in the 6th and holding them in the top of the 7th to get the win.  Playing Polson is always really competitive and fun!  Both teams always expect to win and the atmosphere is always so fun and exciting,” said Lawrence.

To close out the week, the Wildkats traveled to Butte for the Laverne Combo tournament.  Columbia Falls went 1-1 on Friday before Saturday’s games were canceled due to weather.

The Wildkats opened tournament play with an 18-2 win over Dawson County – Glendive in four innings.  Bulawsky led the offense, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs.

“Dawson County catcher threw a ball and hit our batter in the back while in the batter’s box hard. Then, she laughed about it.  So needless to say, our young ladies didn’t like that too much and hit the ball really hard and a lot,” said Lawrence.

Bulawsky and Branstetter split time evenly in the circle, each pitching two innings.  Bulawsky struck out five batters, while Branstetter recorded one strikeout. 

The Cowgirls out of Miles City claimed a 14-8 win over the Kats during the second game of the day on Friday, 

The Kats would be stronger at the plate by outhitting the Cowgirls 11-10.  

“We played Miles City on Friday with our JV team.  We lost 14-8, but it was a good extra game for them.  They played hard and were down 8-0 to come back within 14-8,” Lawrence said.

Columbia Falls will have one final regular season away conference game on Tuesday against Polson before heading into post-season action on the May 28 in Hamilton.

“Really proud of this team to get first in the conference!  We did it a game early, and we play Polson on Tuesday.  We will go in as No. 1 seed regardless of the outcome.  It would be really good to go get a win there and go into state on a few good wins,” Lawrence said.