HELENA — In Class AA softball's return to Helena, the Helena High Bengals topped the Bozeman Gallatin Raptors, 21-2, and the Bozeman Hawks, 16-0. Across town the Helena Capital Bruins had similar results knocking off the Hawks, 13-1 before beating the Gallatin Raptors, 11-1.
Helena High 21, Gallatin 2 / Helena High 16, Bozeman 0
In the Bengals' first game of the day against the Raptors, the Raptors were able to get two hits in the first inning but weren't able to scratch across a run as Paea was gunned down on a Duneman double to end the top of the first.
The Bengals weren't able to score until the second inning when Wetzel roped a double and scored on a Richardson single up the middle. From there, the floodgates opened for the Bengals.
The Bengals recorded 12 hits, including three home runs, en route to a 17-run third inning to ice the game. Brooke Ark was 2-4 with three RBI, two runs, and a home run, Richardson was 2-3 with a home run and four RBI.
Ailette was 2-3 for the Raptors with a double and a run scored.
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Game two of the afternoon for the Bengals was just about as good as the first as they shut out the Bozeman Hawks, 16-0.
The Hawks had just two hits on the afternoon en route to the loss. The Bengals on the other hand had two homers in the first inning alone and, along with a couple of other hits, made it 6-0 through the first frame.
The Bengals put on a clinic of patience in the fourth inning drawing 5 walks and getting a few base hits to score a couple of runs before Kalley May launched a missile over the fence for a grand slam to cap off an eight-run fourth inning on the way to the Bengals second double-digit win in as many games.
Helena Capital 13, Bozeman 1 / Helena Capital 11, Gallatin 1
At Helena Capital, a similar storyline played out, just a bit less severe. The Bozeman Hawks were the first team to strike in the affair after Josie Laufenberg was able to score on a double by the Hawks' Tailyn Black.
The Bruins got that run back immediately and were able to tie it at 1-1 on a fielder's choice before the end of the first.
Neither, the Bruins or the Hawks were able to tick the run column in the second, but starting in the bottom of the third, the Bruins began to unload as they scored four runs in the third and eight in the fourth inning to take a commanding, 13-1 lead headed into the top of the fifth.
The Hawks tried to claw their way back into the matchup after getting runners into scoring position, but Capital's Kathryn Emmert was able to navigate the log jam unscathed getting a pop-out to second and a strikeout to end the game, 13-1.
Anna Cockhill was 4-4 for the Bruins with three runs and three RBI, Emmert finished the day with one inning pitched, giving up one hit while getting two strikeouts, and was 3-4 at the dish with two runs and one RBI.
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In the Bruins' second game of the afternoon, McKenzie Siegers was a single short of the cycle as the Bruins rolled over the Gallatin Raptors, 11-1.
Siegers was a perfect 3-3 at the plate with double, triple, home run, and had four RBI. Nyeala Hearndon was 2-3 at the plate for the Bruins while pitching four innings of no-hit ball for the Bruins with seven strikeouts to just two walks.
Much like the Bruins' first game, the bulk of their runs came in the third and fourth innings, scoring 5 and 4 respectively.
Emmert came into the close out the affair, and much like their crosstown counterpart, the Raptors showed a bit of life as they were able to push a run across in the top of the fifth, but Emmert snuffed out the Raptors' momentum to end the game, 11-1.
