Hawks live, learn, get better

Learning to work your way out of jams is one of the traits of a good softball team.

Taking their lumps but learning a lot along the way, the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks dropped a doubleheader with Mission-Arlee-Charlo in Mission last Tuesday, falling 15-0 in the first game and 6-2 in the second, but came away from that twinbill with a newfound sense of team unity and resolve.

Coach Jared Koskela said his team was down on themselves before finally fighting their way back in Mission.

“We were intimidated in that first game, fell behind 11-0 in the first inning,” he said, “but worked our way out of it and ended up learning a lot. We needed to learn the lesson of digging yourself out of situations and, by the end of the day in Mission, I think we had done some of that.”

The Hawks, after falling hard in the first game, took stock of their situation and asserted themselves very well in the second, tagging one of their best games of the season on to the end of one of their worst outings.

“We went from possibly our worst game of the season to probably our best effort of the spring in one afternoon,” Koskela offered. “The girls were resilient, they listened to their coaches and really came to play in that second game – it was pretty impressive what they were able to do.”

After being limited to only three hits in the first game – singles by Faith Frields, Haley Morgan and Jody Detlaff – the Lady Hawks rapped out nine base hits in the second.

“Mission used the same pitchers, had the same players in the field,” Koskela said, “nothing had changed but us. We erased what had just happened and were resilient, I was very proud of the way the girls responded.”

Seniors Haley Morgan and Maya Stiles led the Lady Hawk resurgence in the second game, collecting three hits each including a double apiece. Belle Cooper added two hits and Riley Wilson another.

The Hawks played the Bulldogs tough from the start and trailed only 2-1 after one inning and only 3-2 after two.

Now that they have a better sense of themselves and their ability, the Lady Hawks face an important test in a doubleheader at Troy Thursday. The Lady Hawks and Trojans will likely face off in a play-in game next month to determine which team moves on to the divisional tournament later on.

“This is the team we need to beat if we hope to move on,” Koskela said. “We don’t know much about them but will find out a lot this week. A lot of softball is about confidence, and we feel we are getting better all the time.”