Scottie Softball Ends Regular Season

The Glasgow Scottie softball team went three and one over the course of their last weekend of regular season play. Their trip started with a 23-19 win in Lewistown over Fergus. They then traveled to Cut Bank where they beat Great Falls Central Catholic 20-2, lost a tight 3-2 defensive game to Cut Bank, and finished with a strong 21-3 victory over Shelby.

With the three wins, the Scotties finished their regular season with a 9-7 overall record, going 4-3 in conference play. The team sits in the number four seed going into the Eastern B/C Divisional Softball Tournament this Friday and Saturday, May 21-22, at Sullivan Park in Glasgow.

The Scotties are scheduled to play at 11 a.m. on Friday, however, weather predictions are calling for rainy weather, which could threaten plans. If weather does cause a cancellation, the Scotties will still advance to the state tournament as the top four teams advance. If the tournament proceeds as planned, the team will need to battle for honor. Head Coach Ryan Hartwell expressed the utmost confidence in his girls, saying, "I feel we can beat anyone in our conference."

Hartwell's confidence came after a strong weekend for his team. The action started in Lewistown with the home team taking an early lead in the game. Fergus went up 14 to 4 after the first three innings. Glasgow roared back in the top of the fourth sending 13 runners across home plate to take control of the game. The Scotties scored another four runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh, while holding Fergus to five runs over the remaining four innings.

Scottie senior Davyn Myrick led Glasgow at the plate, going 4-for-6 at bat. She singled in the fourth, doubled in the fifth and doubled again in the seventh, notching four RBIs and scoring five runs. Daley Aune, Tatum Nyquist and Brielle Partridge also contributed 4 RBIs in the game. Aune also went 4-for-6 at the plate while scoring three runs. Alexys Mann had three stolen bases and Partridge had two in the game.

Aune was credited with the win for the Scotties, pitching for three and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on two hits. The sophomore struck out six and walked one. Ashlee Meland started at pitcher and allowed seven runs on three hits over one-and-one-third innings. Partridge came in as relief out of the bullpen, and threw for two innings, allowing 10 runs on 13 hits.

From Lewistown the team traveled to Cut Bank for an Invitational, where they went 2-1 over two days. Glasgow faced Great Falls Central Catholic first in the tournament and Aune led her team to a victory, going 4-for-4 at bat, scoring four runs and notching three RBIs.

Glasgow took the lead in the first inning, going up 6-1. The Scotties kept GFCC off the board in the second inning while scoring two runs to extend their lead. But it was the third inning when Glasgow took full control of the game, sending 11 runners all the way around the bases. Aune, Stevie Hartwell, Partridge, Elizabeth Nyquist, Meland and Myrick all had hits in the bottom of the inning to power Glasgow's offense. Glasgow shut out GFCC in the bottom of the fourth before adding one more run to cement the win. Great Falls was unable to muster a comeback in the fifth and the game ended early.

Meland pitched the game for Glasgow and took the win, allowing two runs on three hits. She struck out four and threw a 56.6 strike percentage. In addition to Aune, Mann aded four hits in four at bats and Myrick had three hits in three at bats. Myrick and E. Nyquist batted in four runners each and Aune and Hartwell added three RBIs each. Aune racked up five stolen bases in the game, Meland had three and Mann and Partridge had two each.

Glasgow was right back on the field following their win, this time to take on the host team, Cut Bank, who served the Scotties their only loss of the weekend. The game was tight all the way through and was not decided until the bottom of the seventh when Cut Bank hit a double and batted in a runner to snatch the W. "That Cut Bank game was awesome," raved R. Hartwell. "It was fun to coach!"

Cut Bank was on the scoreboard first in the game in which every play counted, scoring a home run in the bottom of the second. Goose eggs graced the scoreboard until the to of the fifth when Partridge crossed home on a throw. Glasgow claimed the lead in the top of the sixth when Aune homered on a fly ball to center field. Cut Bank tied the game in the bottom of the inning before claiming the win in the seventh.

Aune took the loss for Glasgow as pitcher. She allowed three runs on seven hits over the game. She struck out seven players and threw a 67.4 strike percentage. She went 2-for-3 at the plate and had one RBI in addition to her home run. Meland had the other RBI for Glasgow.

Glasgow rebounded from their loss, hitting the field hard against Shelby on Saturday morning. After allowing Shelby two runs to start the game, Glasgow came on strong offensively, scoring 12 runs to establish dominance. The Scotties built on their lead, scoring three times in the third and five times in the third, plus one run in the fourth, all while holding Shelby to a single score in the top of the third.

Hartwell told the Courier his team used the last two innings of the game to practice their bunting skills. "We didn't want to run the score up on them," he said of his decision.

Partridge threw all five innings for Glasgow, securing the win while allowing three runs on four hits. She threw a 69.6 strike percentage in the victory. Aune went 4-for-4 at the plate for the Scotties, and racked up five RBIs. Partridge went 3-for-4 at bat with three RBIs and Mann also had three RBIs, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Mann led the team with four runs, followed by Meranda Bechel, Myrick and Partridge with three each.