Maidens, Lady Pirates win State A qualifiers
Daily Inter Lake | Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 56 minutes AGO
HAMILTON — Hadassah Read drove in four runs as Ronan pulled away in the middle innings Saturday to beat Corvallis 11-7 and clinch a berth in next week’s softball State A tournament in Hamilton.
Polson (10-11) also kept its season alive Saturday, outlasting Dillon (9-11) 13-9 behind big offensive performances from Logan McCrea and Peyton Wirz.
Ronan (9-10) will open state Thursday against Libby (13-5) at 11 a.m., while Polson faces Laurel (16-8) at 1 p.m. at Hamilton High School.
Ronan 11, Corvallis 7
The Maidens struck first in the opening inning when Read doubled home two runs. Ronan later stretched the lead behind home runs from Keeley Jackson and Nevaeh Perez.
Jackson launched a solo homer in the fourth before Perez crushed a three-run shot to center field as Ronan opened a 7-1 advantage. Autumn Lozeau also added an RBI single during the rally.
Corvallis (7-11) chipped away with three runs in the sixth inning before adding three more in the seventh. Brooklyn Cary highlighted the rally with a solo homer, while the Blue Devils capitalized on walks and defensive miscues to tighten the game late.
Ronan answered each time Corvallis threatened and held on behind a strong outing from Jackson in the circle. She struck out 11 across 6 1/3 innings while allowing four hits and five runs, though only two were earned.
Polson 13, Dillon 9
McCrea and Wirz each drove in two runs as Polson finished with 12 hits in a high-scoring win over Dillon.
The Beavers grabbed an early lead behind home runs from Kaitlyn Konen and Bridget Lovaas. Konen connected on a solo homer in the second inning, before Lovaas added another long ball in the third.
Polson answered in the bottom half, tying the game on a pair of RBI groundouts before exploding for six runs in the fourth inning. Jaliyah Pierre, Maddie Turner, and Ahri Rushing drove in runs during the rally as the Lady Pirates surged ahead 9-4.
The Lady Pirates added four more runs in the sixth behind RBI hits from Wirz and Kendyl Jaeger, plus a sacrifice bunt from Graci Hammer. Dillon threatened in the seventh and loaded the bases before McCrea recorded the final out on a pop up to seal the victory.
McCrea earned the win after tossing six innings for Polson. Konen and Mya Creighton each recorded two hits for Dillon.