The Conrad/Choteau High School softball team opened the weekend with a 1-1 record at the Manhattan tournament on March 28.
The Cowdawgs opened the weekend with an 11-1 loss to Manhattan. Freshman Avery Martin contributed two hits and Daisy Standley added another to lead the team.
Head coach Tyson Anderson said the bats were cold in the first game against Manhattan because of some jitters, and the girls were did not seeing much live pitching before the game.
In the team’s second game, the Cowdawgs defeated Stillwater, 10-9. Stanley contributed two hits and three runs batted in, and Emily Thompson had a grand slam home run. Shae Shepherd tallied two hits and had a stolen base, and Avery Heinen hit two doubles. Sophie Sanders was credited as the winning pitcher.
Anderson said the team put together some good at-bats against Stillwater, highlighting Thompson’s grand slam to put momentum on the Cowdawgs’ side early. He said the Cowdawgs gave up an early lead, but the team answered to seal the victory. Anderson said he expects Stillwater to be a top-three team in the conference.
Anderson credited Avery Martin for her three hits in the tournament and some big catches in center field. He said Stanley also had three hits, three RBIs and had a solid performance at shortstop. Sanders pitched both games and hit her spots late against Stillwater to record some easy outs.
The Cowdawgs junior varsity team put together an impressive 15-7 win against Manhattan’s JV team. Autumn Tolliver contributed four hits, and Rylen Rasmussen and Avery Heinen both had two hits.
“I was satisfied with how things went on Saturday,” Anderson said in a March 30 interview with the Acantha. “Being a young team, there is going to be a learning curve. We made a lot of mental mistakes in the field that comes with a lack of experience and not very much practice, however, those are mistakes we will be able to fix as we go.”
The Cowdawgs are scheduled to play Lewistown’s JV team on April 2 in Conrad at noon. The team will then play Cut Bank/Shelby on April 10 on the road.