On Monday, May 13th, the Park High Softball team traveled to Hardin to compete in a play-in game for divisionals. With Hardin being the higher seed in the conference, they got the advantage of playing at home. However, this did not phase the Lady Rangers for they won 21-4 and secured their spot at the divisionals tournament.
The Lady Rangers started strong in the top of the first inning. Lead off, Emily Jesson, hit a homerun during her first at bat of the game. “It was a great way to start the game off and it really helped the team get fired up,” commented Jesson. To gain more of an advantage, the Lady Rangers stayed disciplined at the plate and loaded the bases. A few players would be walked in or batted in, increasing the score; however, bases remained loaded. This set the stage for junior Kenna Benzel to hit a grand slam and bring the score to 11-0 in the first inning.
After the Lady Rangers’ offensive success, they took the field. Freshman Chloe Goosey started at the mound for the Lady Rangers. They would hold the Bulldogs to only two runs, bringing the end of the first inning to 11-2.
The Lady Rangers would score ten more runs in the second inning, but go scoreless in the third. They would hold the Bulldogs off in the second inning. In the third inning, the Bulldogs made one last final attempt to stay in the game by scoring two more points. However, the Lady Rangers would shut them down with them only scoring two and ending the game. With the run rule in effect, after the third inning, a team with more than 15 points over their opponents will win the game.
This key win places the Lady Rangers as the fourth seed in divisionals. They will travel to Lewistown Friday, May 17 to play Havre for the first round of the divisionals tournament.