HELENA — After a Game 1 win and a slug-fest called due to darkness, the Great Falls Bison continued their reign from the 2018 softball season and stayed undefeated in Helena Thursday night.
The Bison opened up their doubleheader with a 6-4 win against the Helena Capital Bruins. They immediately jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind three hits and an error by the Bruins’ defense. The Bison tacked on another in the second and third innings, before Madison Davis homered to lead off the bottom of the third inning to revive the Bruins’ bats. Capital would add three more runs over the course of the game, but it was not enough as the Bison cruised to their first victory of the day
In Game 2, the Bison took on the Helena High Bengals, and for the Bengals it was a tale of two halves, stifled by the fleeting sun.
The Bison, led by Shea LaRocque in the circle, put up 12 runs across five innings. LaRocque baffled Bengal hitters, giving up only one hit in the first four innings as the sun faded behind the field. The Bengals proceeded to put up nine runs in the bottom of the fifth, stringing together seven hits and an error to bring the score to 12-9, but the game was called to a halt following the fifth, giving the Bison their third win of the season.
The Bison will make the trip back to Great Falls, where they’ll get one day off before hosting the Kalispell Glacier Wolfpack and the Flathead Braves on April 6 at noon and 2 p.m. The Helena High Bengals will get the benefit of hosting again, as poor field conditions in Butte and Bozeman will send both Butte and Bozeman to Helena for games on April 6 at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
HELENA — The Great Falls CMR softball team split the road tilt in Helena, losing to the Bengals 4-2 and beating the Bruins 7-5.
In Game 1, the Rustlers fell behind early after a single by Mariah English and a walk by Riley Thennis. A few wild pitches set up Rheyse Struble to single home the two runners. The Rustlers strung seven hits across the seven frames, but only found pay dirt in the fourth and fifth innings for one run a piece to fall in the first game, 4-2.
The second game of the day saw to it that the Rustlers would ride home victors. The Rustlers did not have a stellar hitting performance in Game 2, only notching five hits. Combining those with five Capital errors and seven walks issued by Capital pitchers, the Rustlers were able scrounge together seven runs. The Bruins put together some momentum in the fifth inning, putting up four runs, including a home run by Lauren Archie. The Capital bats fell silent in the final two innings, though, relinquishing their second game of the day, 7-5.
The Rustlers will play also host on April 6, when they take on the Glacier Wolfpack and Flathead Braves at noon and 2 p.m. The Bruins, much like Bengals, will play host to the Bozeman Hawks and the Butte Bulldogs in Helena at 1 and 3:30 p.m.
