Hit or get off the pot!

It wasn't the rivals of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, but the competition was still fierce and even included a team of superheroes.

Ten teams - four of them from Plains - competed for two days in the 5th Annual Wildhorse Showdown Softball Tournament at Amundson Sports Complex in Plains. When the diamond dust settled, the Silver Spur team of Troy claimed victory with a 14-12 win over the Super Heroes in Town of Missoula. The two top teams, however, had Sanders County ties. Plains resident Kim Earhart, going as Superman once again, and his daughters, Melody and Felicia, played for the Super Heroes. Chad Peterson of Noxon was pitcher for Silver Spur. Many of the Silver Spur team, including Peterson, played the last two years for the Noxon Limp Noodles, which was the champion team in 2018.

Third place went to Hit or Get Off the Pot, a Plains team sponsored by The Printery. The other three Plains sponsored teams were Quit Your Pitchin, sponsored by Rock Solid, Ice Cold Pitchers, sponsored by Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels, and Hammer Time, sponsored by Stud's Building and Home. Lucas McArthur of Heron and possibly the only player to get a grand slam at the tournament, played for Hammer Time and Travis Fitchett of Thompson Falls played for Quit Your Pitchin. Randy Garrison, owner of The Printery, once again served as announcer for the tournament.

The three goals of the co-ed tournament were good competition, fun and to raise money for the Wildhorse Sports Association, the nonprofit organization responsible for the four ball fields and two soccer fields at Amundson Sports Complex, according to Holly Blood, coordinator of the tournament. This was Blood's first year to coordinate the tournament and she said it went smooth and they accomplished their goals and raised about $2,600, which will go to maintenance and upkeep of the fields. The cost to enter the tournament was $250 per team. They also collected $350 in the home run derby, which was sponsored by Block Mountain Stone of Plains.

The tournament began Saturday morning with each team playing two games in the pool play competition, which seeded teams for the double elimination bracket, ending shortly before 9 p.m. Silver Spur won both their games and went undefeated for the weekend. Hit or Get Off the Pot went 1-1, as did Hammer Time. Ice Cold Pitchers and Quit Your Pitchin lost both games.

The double elimination competition started late Saturday afternoon and continued Sunday morning. Many of the players had participated in the tournament before, some with the same team, but under a different team name.

Not all teams turned in their scores, said Blood, who played for Hammer Time, which lost to both Ice Cold Pitchers and Silver Spur, beat the 7B Ballers of Coeur d'Alene, but were defeated by 406 Warriors of Missoula. Quit Your Pitchin beat 7B Ballers, lost to Major Left Bench of Spokane, and won against Ice Cold Pitchers, which also lost its second game to Day Drunk of Missoula. Hit or Get Off the Pot lost to Super Heroes in Town 14-11 and Silver Spur 13-3. The second day's competition started at 9 a.m. and went to almost 5 p.m.

The home run derby had more participation than past years with 20 men and 15 women signing up. Women competed on the shorter field with the fence 200 feet away, said Cory Ovitt, past president of the Wildhorse Sports Association, but a strong wind constantly worked against the ladies. Each batter had 10 swings. Eighteen-year-old Kassidy Kinzie of Plains was the first to get a homer, but she was quickly followed by Lucy Orr of Troy and Marie Errecart of Plains, both with one home run apiece. In the playoff, contestants had five swings, but none of the three hit the ball over the fence. In the third round, however, Kinzie hit one over to claim victory and the $100 prize.

The men's field fence ranged from 255-270 feet, but the wind was with them. It came down to a three-way tie between Joey Robinson and Dakota Swank, both of Missoula, and Trent Thompson of Plains, each with four homers. In the playoff, Swank sent one over for the $100 win. Swank was a late entry, borrowing the $10 entry fee from a teammate.

Blood said the tournament went smoothly and plans to coordinate it again in 2020, hoping to get more teams. She said she appreciated the teams, sponsors and the Wildhorse Sports Association. Al Anderson and Shane Wilson, both of Polson, served as umpires for all 29 games.