The Havre High softball team was represented on Friday night in Belgrade for the 11th annual Veterans Memorial Softball Classic. Here is how the Blue Ponies did in with their individual and team stats.
In a loss to the Marines team, pitcher Elle Verploegen got the start for the Coast Guard Team and fired two innings of two-run ball, picking up four strikeouts on 41 pitches. At the plate, she performed a sacrifice bunt in the top of the third inning, which led to a run being scored. Her Havre High teammate, center fielder Jersi Morse, was in the game for the first 2.5 innings, picking up two hits in the process: a single in the top of the first inning and a single in the top of the third inning, the latter of which would be in the middle of a two-run rally.
The Coast Guard would have a better outing in game two, winning (10-7) against Team Air Force. Morse led the game off by reaching on an error and then proceeded to play left field. Verploegen came in to begin the third inning and was hit by a pitch. Two batters later, Morse reached on an error to move Verploegen up to second base and scored on a sacrifice fly by the next batter.
Verploegen pitched from the fourth inning on. She retired three of the four batters she faced in the frame. She lined out in the top of the fifth inning before coming back out to pitch the bottom of the inning and struck out the side. With her team down by two runs, Morse was the second batter of the sixth inning and lined an RBI double to make it a one-run game and scored later in the inning on a ground out to tie it up.
Verploegen shut down the rest of the Air Force players in the bottom of the sixth inning in order, striking out two in the process. She then closed the game by striking out the first two batters before picking up another K. Her final line was three innings with five strikeouts on 60 pitches.
For Camille Keeley, she was the starting catcher on the Navy team, playing one game against the Marines on Friday night, catching the first four innings and reaching on an error in the second inning.
The 2024 Veterans Memorial Softball Classic continues on Saturday, which will include Keeley’s Navy team matching up with Morse and Verploegen’s Coast Guard.
