Panthers defeat Broncs 8-5

By RYAN AMYS Chronicle Sports Writer

ANACONDA - Belgrade coach Eddy Holgate said his young Panther softball squad would do one of two things after dropping its quarterfinal game on Friday to Libby: either curl up and quit, or it would rebound and fight its way back through the consolation bracket.

DAN CHESNET/BELGRADE NEWS Belgrade’s Ali Morgan takes a cut against Libby Friday at the Class A state softball tournament in Anaconda. The Panthers chose the latter of the two in the double-elimination Class A state tournament and defeated Hamilton, 8-5, to become one of four remaining teams.

“I think we were a little fired up after our loss,” Holgate said. “We were a little disappointed with how well Libby played and how well we didn’t.”

Libby took control of the game early with a 5-1 lead after the opening inning, and one of the preseason favorites in Class A softball didn’t stop there. The Loggers continued spraying the ball around the field, delivering the Panthers their first mercy-rule loss of the season after six innings, 13-3.

Panther sophomore Lauren Torres was having a hard time placing her pitches, and the Loggers took advantage when the Belgrade ace put the ball over the plate. While Torres was having an off-game, Libby’s Brooke Hageness was having everything but.

The senior left Belgrade batters scratching their helmets, tallying nine strikeouts and giving up only five hits.

“Usually, we can out-slug teams,” Holgate said. “But against a top pitcher and a team that plays good defense and is a perennial power every year like Libby, they came to play.”

With just over an hour break between the Libby beating and the make-or-break contest against the Broncs, the Panthers came to the conclusion that this was too good of a season (17-3, 12-0) to finish it without a medal of any sort.

“Before the game, we talked about how we had to do this for our seniors and how we didn’t want this to be their last game,” Torres said.

With the game tied, 4-4, in the top of the fifth inning, Belgrade sophomore Kassie Kallestad answered the call as a pinch-hitter and made certain the three seniors on the team would be able to tighten up the cleats for one more game.

With no outs and Panthers’ Ali Cygan on second and Paige Newell on first, Kallestad stepped into the batters box for her first time in tournament play. She then uncorked a double that resulted in two runners crossing home plate to give the Panthers the lead.

But two RBIs weren’t enough for Kallestad. She then stole third base and followed that up by taking home on a passed ball.

“She does a great job when she goes out there,” Holgate said of Kallestad’s performance. “It’s nice to have her. She pinch runs for us, is a smart base runner and a smart ball player. We use her in key situations. I told her that when we get runners on base, she’s going to come in and hit, and she knows it.”

Holgate added: “That’s not the first time, and I guarantee that’s not the last time.”

Belgrade’s Jillian Gue and Newell’s defensive effort clinched the victory in the Broncs’ final at bat, with Gue making an ESPN top 10 play for the second out by catching a blooper over her shoulder at shortstop. And Newell gobbled up a grounder at second base and threw it to Cygan at first for the last out.

“They stepped up. Bottom line, they stepped up,” Holgate said. “We could have just quit and went home. But there are four teams left, and we’re one of them. We still have a chance.”

The Panthers will play Frenchtown at 9 a.m. today in Butte, with a victory earning Belgrade at least a third-place medal.

Ryan Amys is at ramys@dailychronicle.com.

Libby 13, Belgrade 3 (6)

Belgrade 102 000 — 3 4 1

Libby 510 601 — 13 12 1

Lauren Torres and Brittany Larsen; Brooke Hageness and Shelby Barton. W — Hageness. L — Torres.

Belgrade (18-4) — Kelsey Foster 1-3, Megan Bell 0-2, Torres 103, Larsen 1-2, Jill Gue 0-2, Ali Cygan 0-3, Paige Newell 0-1, Alie Morgan 0-2, Kasey West 1-2.

Libby (20-4) — Hageness 3-4, Barton 0-1. Nickole Lapka 2-3, Laice Dedrick 1-3, Alysha Martin 1-4, Megan Wedel 2-4, Jordan Refsland 1-2, Kim Klin 2-3, Holly Cirian 0-3.

2B — Hageness 2, Dedrick. RBIs — Klin 3, Martin 2, Lapka, Dedrick, Wedel, Refsland; Larsen 2, Torres.

Belgrade 8, Hamilton 5

Belgrade 101 132 0 — 8 13 0

Hamilton 201 101 0 — 5 8 2

Lauren Torres and Brittany Larsen; Nicki Koning and Sarah Callaghan. W — Torres. L — Callaghan.

Belgrade (19-4) — Kelsey Foster 4-5, Megan Bell 1-4, Torres 2-4, Larsen 0-4, Jill Gue 2-3, Ali Cygan 1-2, Paige Newell 1-3, Ali Morgan 1-3, Kassie Kallestad 1-1, Kasey West 0-4.

Hamilton (13-14) — Kristen Fergusn 2-5, Amanda Hood 2-4, Melissa Hood 0-2, Callahgan 1-1, Koning 1-4, Sam Wood 1-2, Annie Schultz 2-3, Brittany Keimig 0-4, Kaylie Strandberg 0-4.

2B — Torres; Ferguson, Callaghan, Schultz. RBIs — Kallestad 2, Morgan, Gue, Larsen; Koning 2, M. Hood, Wood, Schultz.

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