FLORENCE — Florence had the home advantage Friday night as it hosted Mission-Arlee-Charlo in the undefeated semifinal game at the State B-C tournament, where the Falcons cruised past the Bulldogs with a 12-5 victory to advance to Saturday’s championship game.
Kylie Kovatch continued her successful day in the pitcher's circle, striking out 11 batters on 116 pitches. In Friday morning's quarterfinal game against Cut Bank, the junior clocked 13 strikeouts.
In the top of the first, MAC's Izzy Evans hit an RBI single to left field for a Bulldog lead. However, that quickly changed once Florence got its first at-bat.
Jaidyn Larson got the Falcons' momentum going with an RBI triple to right field. She scored on the following pitch thanks to Kolbi Wood's dinger to left field for a 2-1 lead.
Wood also cranked a solo home run to left field, finishing 3-for-4 at the plate with a team-high three RBI.
While MAC may have lost, its road to the state championship isn’t over just yet. The Bulldogs now move to the loser's bracket where they will play the Stillwater co-op of Columbus-Absarokee-Park City Saturday at 9 a.m. That winner will advance to the state championship against Florence, which is set to start directly after at 11 a.m.
