Trotters win way to State B-C tournament

It has been a great run so far; why should the fun stop now?

The Plains-Hot Springs Trotters fought back from the very precipice of elimination to win third place in the Western B-C divisional softball tournament last week and will now play in the State B-C tourney in Belgrade beginning Thursday at the Belgrade Softball Complex.

Coach Michele Bangen and her never-say-die Trotters will open the tournament facing the Huntley Project Red Devils, the No. 2 team from the Eastern B-C divisional, at 2 p.m. Thursday.

The Trotters had to work for P-HS's latest State B-C tourney bid in Florence. After starting the tournament with a 9-6 upset loss to Deer Lodge Friday, P-HS then staved off elimination later that day by defeating Anaconda 4-1.

Back on Florence's field Saturday morning, the Trotters made an epic comeback – rallying from a 6-1 deficit – to oust Mission-Arlee-Charlo 11-8 in that game to clinch a spot in the top four and the State bid, and then dumped Missoula Loyola 11-8 to secure no worse than third place, and a coveted divisional team trophy.

Playing for the fifth time in two exhausting days, the Trotters then fell to upstart Eureka 15-9 in the loser-third game to complete their Western B-C tourney sojourn.

Florence won the tournament, defeating Eureka 13-1 in the championship, and the Falcons, the Lions, the Trotters and Loyola now move on to the State B-C in Belgrade.

Bangen was more than a little proud of her die-hard Plains-Hot Springs girls all said and done.

"I am extremely proud of how these girls performed in Florence," she said. "They just played so hard, we were pretty gassed by the time we played Eureka in the consolation game."

Putting the Trotters' Western B-C tourney ride in perspective, the roller coaster of emotional turns began with the opening round loss to Deer Lodge Friday.

The Wardens used one big offensive inning, scoring six runs in the fifth, to get the win.

Kenzie Angle smashed a 3-run homer to lead the P-HS offense in that game, Natalee Deschamps added two hits and Stacy Gray and Dakota Butcher one apiece. McKenzie Elliott also drove in a run for the Trotters.

On the other side of things, Deer Lodge's Emmy Kunesh hit a homer and drove in three runs for the Wardens and Rachel Nicholson also homered and drove in two.

The Trotters then used a masterful pitching performance by Kassidy Kinzie, who scattered four hits and gave up only one run, to defeat and eliminate Anaconda 4-1 later Friday.

Sage Jackson had a hit and two runs batted in in that game, Deschamps doubled and drove in another run, Kinzie singled in a run and Elliott added Plains-Hot Springs' other base hit.

The game with rival Mission-Arlee-Charlo Saturday morning ended up propelling the Trotters into the State B-C tourney, although it did not look like it would happen early on as P-HS fell behind 6-1 by the bottom of the third inning.

Not to worry, the Trotters seized control from that point on, scoring two runs in the third, two more in the fourth, four in the fifth and two in the sixth to move to the big win.

Sage Jackson rapped out three hits and drove in three runs to pace the Trotters, Butcher added two hits (including a double) and drove in two more runs, and Angle had a base hit and another RBI.

Gray ripped a triple and Jessica Thompson a double in that game.

The Trotters earned the third place Western B-C trophy by defeating Loyola 11-8 after that. The win helped erase the sting of the fact that the Breakers had denied P-HS a berth into last year's State B-C tournament in a Western B-C loser-out game last spring, and many of this year's Trotters remembered that indignity.

"No doubt, it was nice to beat Loyola in that game," Bangen said. "We really played well Saturday, got our bats going, and Jess (Thompson) pitched great for us against Loyola."

The Trotters used a seven-run fifth inning to take control and then survived a four-run rally by Loyola in the bottom of the seventh to hold on and win.

Gray lashed out three hits, Kinzie and Butcher two each, Elliott doubled and Sydney Jackson, and Elliott and Thompson had a hit apiece. Elliott and Butcher drove in two runs each and Gray, Jackson and Angle one apiece.

Running on empty by then, the Trotters lost to Eureka in the consolation game and settled for third place.

Again the pitcher of record for P-HS against Eureka, Thompson led the Trotter offense with a double and a home run and drove in three runs, and Sydney Jackson, Elliott and Kinzie added an RBI each.

Looking ahead to this week in Belgrade, Bangen said she does not know much about Huntley Project or any of the Eastern B-C teams heading in, but relishes the opportunity to play on the sport's biggest stage.

"We are excited, the girls have really worked hard to get to this point, it is all good now," she said. "We will play our best and see where that takes us."

One wild card for the Trotters is the availability of Thompson, who will also be appearing in the State C track meet in Great Falls this weekend. Thompson is the defending State C champion in the shot put and discus, and won those two events, and the javelin, at the Western C divisional meet in Frenchtown last week, in between times joining up with her softball teammates in Florence.

Bangen said that Thompson will be with the softball team Thursday but that the Trotters "will play it by ear," as to her availability for Friday and Saturday. She said Kinzie's pitching has been crucial to P-HS's success so far.

"Kass is our No. 1 pitcher, we seem to play better defense behind her," she said, "but Jess gives us a lift, too. We are really looking forward to playing in Belgrade this week."

Belgrade and Great Falls are about an hour and a-half away from each other, meaning Thompson could spend much of the weekend travelling to and fro.