2004  GAME SUMMARY

4/3/04- You couldn't ask for a better day to open the season. This whole spring has been wonderful to us as far as weather is concerned. We open up against Helena at noon. Helena has given us problems in the past. We just don't seem to play to our ability against them. I chose to start Spud Dupuis the first game and then have Molly Sinnott against Helena Capital. Spud threw pretty well and limited Helena High to just 3 runs. We played excellent defense and manufactured some runs using the short game and capitalized on some errors by Helena. It took us awhile but we did manage to put 6 runs on the board and came away with a win. Helena Capital has beaten us a couple of times last year and I was really encouraged with our first game and was expecting the same performance for the second game. Capital went 10 innings against CMR and lost, so we ended up waiting longer than I would prefer. The game was a complete 180 from the first game. We committed 6 errors and didn't get on the board until the 5th or 6th inning. Simple plays became a challenge for our defense. We didn't make the routine plays. After the game, the girls were already mentioning the things I was going to bring up such as: Intensity, Focus, Turning up the level of Enthusiasm, etc. It was great to know that we are on the same page in that aspect. They know what to do to fix the problem. Hopefully they will work hard to correct the negatives. We have Billings West and Billings Skyview next weekend. It won't be easy. - Coach O

4/9/04- We open conference play today against Billings West. West is a good program year in and year out. We will have to play pretty good to have a chance. They will pitch Kristi Radi who was 12-3 last year and we will come at them with Molly Sinnott. The first game was a very good game played by both teams. Unfortunately we lost 1-0. Molly pitched a great game. She gave up 3 hits, struck out 6 and walked zero. She deserved the win. We only generated one hit in the game and that was Molly's hot shot up the middle. I don't like to lose but if you play that well and lose, you have to accept that you got beat by someone better that game. In the second game, Whitney Secord got her first varsity start as pitcher. She did a fine job for her first time out. She gave up 7 hits, 9 runs and walked 5. This isn't what she or I wanted but it was a good learning experience. Offensively, we were led by Carrie Conners (2-4) and Jori Hollis (3-4) who generated 5 of the 11 hits for the game. Errors did hurt us this game and not coming out ready to play the second game continues to cause us problems. We need a good day tomorrow when we face the Skyview Falcons.

4/10/04- The first game against Skyview was not a good one for us. We committed too many errors to justify winning. We lost 5-2 but the girls battled. Molly took the loss again striking out 6 and walking only 1. Our defensive support wasn't there, we committed 7 errors. Offensively we were led by Carrie Conners (2-4), Sammy Bergan (2-3) and Patti Laabs (3-4). The second game was a wild one....a marathon game of 12 innings. We lost 8-4. The wheels came off in the top of the 12th. I take the blame for not having anyone ready in relief for Spud Dupuis who threw a great game.  We had 2-3 opportunities to win it for her. The girls really battled and that's very encouraging. Leading hitters were Sara Aspinwall (2-4), Lacy Ekert (2-6), Whitney Secord (2-4) and Spud Dupuis (2-5). We are very close to becoming a good team. We just need to keep working hard and trying to improve.

4/16/04- We left for Bozeman today. Bozeman has beaten Butte already this season so I anticipate a good game. It is our first time on the bus this season and I always wonder how the girls will react to travel. It turns out that I have nothing to wonder about. The girls got off the bus ready to go. We did our warm up, they were relaxed and confident. Molly Sinnott is going to pitch against Bozeman and she is ready to get us our first conference win. We beat Bozeman 9-1 and it could have been worse. We hit the ball really well, played great defense and Molly had total control of the game from her pitching circle. Leading the offensive attack is Sophomore, Sammy Bergan who was 3-4, Molly Sinnott 2-4, Amber Little 2-4, Lacy Ekert 2-4 and Meaghan Beecroft who was 2-2 with a triple. Now it's on to Billings to face the always tough Lady Broncs from Billings Senior....but first a stop off at our favorite eating establishment, The Olive Garden.

4/17/04- Wow! It is tough to get ready to play in the morning, but to be at the fields at 8:00 A.M. ? It is not an easy task especially if you are a Freshman and don't know what time to go to bed. I received a phone call from my Assistant Coach wanting to inform me that the Freshman room was still going strong at 1:30 in the morning. Bouncing off beds, laughing.....oh my, Coach Napierala was not happy and I have to say, I wasn't really pleased either since he woke me up to tell me all of this. Bring your running shoes to practice next week Freshman! The first game against Senior is the conference game. A game we want to win badly. Molly Sinnott is throwing for us but unbeknownst to me, she is NOT feeling well. (What happened to good communication?) Around the 5th inning I notice that she is doubled over in pain but she assures me that she is alright. It seems like the fastest game on record, three up, three down, three up, three down....then Billings strikes first scoring 1 run in the 3rd and another in the 4th. They add two more in the 5th. We are down 4-0. I am trying to keep the girls positive and not let down. They are trying to stay in it. In the top of the 6th, Whitney Secord leads off and gets on with the only error of the game. Meaghan Beecroft follows with a "walk" after getting the count to 3-2. Carrie Conners moves the runners over with a difficult grounder to second. Runners at second and third and Sammy Bergan rips a single that scores two and advances into scoring position on a poor decision by the defense. Molly Sinnott then comes up to rip a single and score Bergan. It is 4-3, runner on first when Sara Aspinwall comes to the plate and "cranks" one out of the park in deep centerfield. We are now winning 5-4. Patti Laabs hits a single and then is caught stealing, Amber Little finishes out the inning with a grounder to first. We hold Senior in their bottom of the 6th and we threaten again in the top of the 7th. Bases loaded and Molly gets hit by the first pitch thrown to her....Only problem is that the Ump behind the plate doesn't see it. The ball hit Molly in the hip then bounced off the catcher's shin guard. We ask him to get some help with the call and the Ump in the field doesn't see it either....Go Figure! Molly get our by hitting it to the second baseman and now we have to face Seniors 2-3-4 hitters in the bottom of the 7th. The first hitter is a 3 time All-State player and a very dangerous hitter....Molly strikes her out looking. One out. The next hitter is already 2-4 with a double, she hits a hot shot one hopper right back at Molly who throws her out at first. Two outs. The four hitter is also a 3 time All-State player and probably the best hitter in the State. Molly tries to paint the corners and we end up walking her. That is a good move because she could tie the game with one swing. We now face the 5 hitter with a runner on first. Molly strikes her out. Game over. I am really proud of the girls for the way they battled and stayed in it mentally. The second game we lose 7-1 but we are getting other girls some much needed innings and work. Leading hitters for us were Sara Aspinwall 2-3, Patti Laabs 2-3, and many with one hit each. We go back to Billings next week to face Billings Skyview and Billings West again. We are getting better. - Coach O.

4/23/04- We have Billings West today. The task will not be easy since they have a Pitcher that has had our number. Radi is throwing again and we struggle with her again. We lose 3-0. We manage only 2 hits off her and she whiffs 10. Our defense was okay but we need to generate some runs for Molly. Molly is throwing well enough to win games. We just need to give her more support. I hope she doesn't get too frustrated because we are very close to coming out and being really good. Carrie Conners and Molly Sinnott were the only ones to get hits off Radi. In the second game ( the non conference game ) we were leading  3-0 , then 3-2 in the 5th inning. In the bottom of the 6th the wheels fell off and gave Billings West 7 more runs. Not all of the earned....errors again hurt us. Leading the offense was Molly Sinnott with a 2-4 effort, Carrie Conners 1-3, Sara Aspinwall 1-3, Whitney Secord 1-3, Lacy Ekert 1-3, Sonja Barone 1-3 and Spud Dupuis and Amber Little with a 1-4 effort.

4/24/04- Early morning games are tough....especially when we have to face a team the likes of Billings Skyview. Skyview has improved so much in the last 2 years. It is a tribute to their Coaches. They have really turned their program around. Molly is pitching the first game and we are facing their ace...Kelcey Cavan. We lose 8-4 and we gave them all 8 runs in the first two innings. Molly wasn't her best to start the game but got on track and shut them down the rest of the game. Leading hitters were Carrie Conners 2-4, Amber Little 2-4, and Lacy Ekert 1-4. In between games we talked in the outfield. We aren't looking like we are having fun...DUH! No one has fun while losing...but this is different. We don't look like we are having fun from the beginning. I challenged the girls to 'change' the way they approach the game. The second game they were yelling, cheering, hugging, slapping 5's....it was awesome....oh yeah, we also won the game 10-2. It was a complete 180 turn around. Hopefully they can keep this attitude for this coming Thursday's crosstown showdown with the Rustlers. In the interview on the news last night, Jessica Frank was quoted as saying, "We look forward to beating the Bison this year...last year they (the Bison) were just lucky." We'll see. -Coach O

4/30/04- The CMR game was everything we thought it would be. Exciting. We lost 4-3 in 8 innings. We had our opportunities and we took advantage of them. CMR made some good plays to keep us from taking over the game. Our girls 'crushed' the ball off Keeler. We generated 11 hits and only committed one error. Molly Sinnott was outstanding as a pitcher, as a hitter and as a human. It wasn't easy for her to pitch so well and lose....AGAIN!  During her interview for the television, she showed why she is a winner. She showed nothing but class and reassured everyone, including myself, that we will build on this close loss. It will make us better and make us work harder. Leading the offensive barrage was Molly with a 3-4 effort, Sara Aspinwall 2-4, Patti Laabs 2-4 and Whitney Secore 2-4. CMR got the win and they are 7-0 but I wouldn't trade my team (at 2-5) for anything. Bozeman and Billings Senior next week. - Coach O.

During this last summary, I had written, in frustration, my thoughts on an umpire that was behind the plate. I regret writing my thoughts on the matter. I regret writing so soon after the game when my emotions were still running high. All I did was make an excuse for our team and that isn't right. We don't make excuses....we work harder to get better. Our umpires have always been fair and will continue to be fair for all teams involved. - Coach O.

5/7/04- Billings Senior and Bozeman come to town today. We have to play well and winning two of these conference games would benefit our chances of getting a good "seed" at the State Tournament. Senior is our first opponent and we are ready. Coach Napierala has implemented the "NAP ATTACK" which is the afternoon hitting group. He totaled up the amount of swings and, for the most part, each girl was getting 450 extra swings. It showed. We crushed the ball all day but only earned a split. We were victims to our inability to make the routine play. We lost the first game to Senior 7-6 after leading 6-2. Five errors....gave them 7 runs. The straw that broke our backs was when the second baseman (Haacke) launched a Grand Slam. Carrie Conners blasted her first homer of the the season. It was gone in a hurry, already we can see positive results in Coach Napierala's extra efforts. Leading hitter for the Bison, Carrie Conners (2-4), Patti Laabs (2-3), Amber Little (2-3). We need a positive performance for the Bozeman contest and we got it from everyone. We continued to hit the ball well recording 14 hits. Leading hitters were Carrie Conners (3-4), Molly Sinnott (2-3), Sara Aspinwall (3-4), Whitney Secord (2-3) and the rest of the team getting at least one hit each. Spud Dupuis picked up the win, striking out 5 and walking only 1. A great solid effort from her. Next up is the triple header in Missoula. We open with Big Sky at 1:30, Sentinel at 3:30 and Hellgate at 5:30. We need to keep plugging away...we are very close to coming together and being a very good team, a very tough team. -Coach O.

5/14/04- After much confusion, we finally made it to our destination....Missoula. Big Sky was first on our schedule and they have been up and down all year. We start our Sophomore pitcher, Sammy Bergan, who hasn't pitched as much as she needs to. She throws a great game and we beat Big Sky 8-1. Good defense, good offense and great pitching....that's what it takes. Leading hitters for the Bison, Amber Little (3-4), Sara Aspinwall (2-4), Jori Hollis (2-2) and Carrie Conners, Patti Laabs, Whitney Secord, and Meaghan Beecroft all notched on hit apiece. Next up is Sentinel, they are the best Missoula team. We start Spud Dupuis and she throws a consistent game. Sentinel is a great hitting team. We lose 5-0. We had some break downs on defense and left a few too many on base in scoring position. Leading hitters for the Bison, Whitney Secord (2-3) and Carrie Conners, Jocelyn Head, Sara Aspinwall, Amber Little and Sonja Barone all had 1 hit apiece. On to Missoula Hellgate. We start Whitney Secord on the mound and give her some innings. We jump on them early for two runs in the top of the first. I'm thinking we will romp but we don't. We go into cruise control and let them back in to beat us in the bottom of the 6th. We left 6 girls in scoring position.... frustrating! We lose 3-2 and head home frustrated with ourselves. Leading hitters for the Bison were Jocelyn Head (2-3), Whitney Secord (2-3), Spud Dupuis (2-4), Jori Hollis, Amber Little and Carrie Conners all got one hit apiece. Next up for the Bison is the crosstown showdown -vs- the Rustlers. We need to win. -Coach O.

5/20/04- It was another CMR -vs- BISON showdown, another nail bitter. We are ready for them, we are SO ready. CMR jumps ahead first and leads 1-0 after the top of the 3rd. In the bottom of the inning we tie it up with a sacrifice fly by Molly Sinnott. It stays 1-1 until the 8th inning. Both teams have had opportunities to score but don't get it done. It is a another great game and there is a lot of Pride on the line. In the bottom of the 8th, Jocelyn Head (Sophomore SS) hit for an injured Sara Aspinwall and smacked on of the glove of the pitcher for a base hit. Spud Dupuis then sacrificed her to second with a great bunt. Patti Laabs followed with an infield single and now the runners are on first and third. Whitney Secord pops up and we have two outs. Lacy Ekert (Senior SS) steps in and drives the first pitch into right center for the game winner. It finally came together....our defense and our offense. Leading hitters for the Bison were, Amber Little (2-3), Patti Laabs (2-4), Sam Bergan, Lacy Ekert and Jocelyn Head with one hit apiece.  Hats off to the girls for staying in the game mentally and physically. They NEVER let down and battled to the end. I believe this could be the game that puts us over the hump and we can build on this going into STATE. We have Kalispell and Butte this Saturday, Butte is probably going to be the first game we play at STATE. Today is an off day so we are going to have the Annual Bison Softball BBQ at my house. -Coach O.

6/1/04- It is our first day back at school since the State Tournament. It seems like we've been gone a long time. The weather in Bozeman was nice at first....at little cool but nice. We opened the Tournament against Butte. We eventually won 4-1 but it wasn't easy at all. We struggled to get going, (game one at State is always a tough one) but did get enough runs across to win the game. Molly Sinnott threw all 7 innings and did a great job. Now we face the Rustlers....again. The game ended up going 9 innings with CMR coming out on top. We had our chances and that is all you can really ask for. We just couldn't get the run we needed. It was an awesome game, both teams playing excellent defense and both teams providing great pitching. It is a tough loss for us because we really did have some chances to win it and stay undefeated. The loss but us in the loser's bracket and we faced Bozeman. Bozeman, the host team, really put some games together and played very well. After beating Missoula Hellgate they were fired up to battle us. Again, we go 9 innings and win it in the bottom of the 9th. Our next challenge is against Billings Senior and it won't be easy. After 8 innings it is deadlocked at 3-3 only because Lacy Ekert  "crushed" a two strike rise ball out of the park to tie it up. Whew! We manage to go up 5-3 going into the 9th inning but the constant rain....did I mention it was raining? It was raining so much that an Arc was being put together in the field next to ours. Anyway, it was too wet to continue the game so it was suspended. The next morning we are at the field at 8:00 AM and go through our warm ups. The game resumes  with a runner on second, the batter has a count of 2-0 and there is one out. We still hold a 2 run lead. The key to winning this is to jam the hitters inside. We have the unfortunate task of pitching to Senior's 2,3 & 4 hitters. Not something you would wish on anyone. Meadors draws a "walk", Haacke drills a single to rightfield and Daniel comes to the plate with the bases loaded. She then rips one to right field that gets by our outfielder and all the runs score. Game over. Total shock and disbelief overcome everyone who was there to watch the Bison. Just like that the season is over. In retrospect, I am so lucky that I have the girls that I do in this program. These girls gave everything to this program, they played in miserable weather, they played while they were sick, they played while they were hurt....they played. I will miss the Seniors very much. Sara Aspinwall-played hurt the whole tournament, Carrie Conners- crushed the ball every game and got us going when we needed a kick start, Sonja Barone- who continued her diving catches in the outfield, Lacy Ekert- who found the "power", Jori Hollis-who supported her team and helped out as a runner, Amber Little- who proved that she is one of the best catchers in the State and Molly Sinnott-who despite being sick, still pitched all but 5 innings for us in whatever weather was there at the time.  What a great crew. Most will continue their softball careers in colleges such as Walla Walla, Wenatchee Valley, Dawson Community College and Spokane Falls Community College. Aspinwall will compete at U of M doing soccer for the D1 school. Good luck to all of you and don't forget us here at GFHS. Thanks for the great season. -Coach O.