BILLINGS – On a cold and wet final day of the 2018 regular season, Billings West swept Western AA top seed Helena Capital to pick up some much-needed momentum heading into playoff week.
Deven Creech went 4-for-4 with three RBI; Shea Dolan added three more RBI; and freshman McKinsey Matthews belted a two-run home run to help West out-slug the Bruins 12-9 in Game 1. Madisen Dahlquist, the Bears’ lone senior, scored four runs.
Lauren Blaschak was the hero in Game 2, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run and three RBI against Capital ace Shelby Martin to propel West to a 4-2 win. Martin, who became the Bruins’ all-time strikeout leader last weekend, allowed only three hits, but the Bears made them count.
Kinzee Koch threw a complete game, giving up just two runs and striking out six to earn the win.
No. 4-seed West will face No. 5 Great Falls CMR in the Eastern AA playoffs Wednesday. The three-game series is slated to start at 11:30 a.m. Capital, which entered the day 16-1 on the season, earned the West’s automatic bye to the State AA tournament.
