By Coach Lauren Bartoe

The Badger girls beat the undefeated Priest River Spartans Tuesday, and fought a rare and valiant battle against the St. Maries Lumberjacks Saturday, forcing a rare triple-header after a two-point win in the series opener.

In the bottom of the fourth, Mattea Bertling began the comeback with a hard hit double. Becca Farrens followed, getting on base from an error, and Lindsay Taggart's single brought in Bertling for the first run of the day, making it 4-1 Spartans.

The bottom of the fifth produced two more runs as a result of a walk by Chelsea Taggart and a double from Aubree Wasmer.

Aaramie Hoisington stepped in to get a timely walk, which allowed Wasmer to score. The sixth inning was enough for the Badgers to clinch the victory with two more runs scored by Farrens and L. Taggart, with an RBI going to Jordan Porter. The final score was 5-4 Badgers, giving them their first league win and the Spartans, at the top of the Intermountain League, their first league loss of the season.

Chelsea Taggart earned nine strikeouts, while Porter went 3 for 4 and L. Taggart went 2 for 4 at the plate.

On Saturday, the St. Maries Lumberjacks, ranked second in league, traveled to Bonners for an unusual triple-header.

The first game saw the Badgers jump out 2-0 by the second inning, stemming from a slew of singles from Porter, L. Taggart, Bertling and Farrens.

By the fourth inning, St. Maries battled back to even the score at 2-2.

Each team rallied to bring in one more run, and with a tie score at the end of the seventh, the extra innings rule came into effect.

Both teams started the eighth inning with a runner on second base.

The Badgers began with two base hits from Bertling and Tessa Payne to drive in the first run, and then a sacrifice from Sam Robertson allowed Payne to score, resulting in a 5-3 lead.  The defense held the Lumberjacks runner at second for the entire inning, giving the Badgers their second conference victory. 

C. Taggart earned the “W” at the mound, with Porter, Bertling, Payne and Farrens going 2 for 4 at the plate.

The second game was a complete turn around, as all three pitchers, Porter, Taggart and Makenzie Carle made a showing at the mound.

The Lumberjacks hit their stride with eleven hits in just five innings.  Four girls from St. Maries went 2 for 4. The Badgers were unable to get the bats going, which led to a 0-10 final score. 

The third game started well for St. Maries.

They jumped ahead with a 5-0 lead by the fifth inning. The Badgers rallied to score Wasmer in the fifth after her double and a single from Farrens.  In the sixth, Carle pounded a lead-off double. Up next, Porter switched places with her on another double.  C. Taggart added a single, but the effort was too little, too late for the Badgers as the game ended 8-2.

Carle and C. Taggart both worked the mound in the loss, and Carle and Porter went 2 for 3 at the plate.  C. Taggart threw a total of 253 pitches on the day, which is quite a feat. 

“Even though all of Saturday's games didn't go the way we anticipated,” said assistant coach Wendy Bertling, “the girls are working hard and we are looking forward to the next two weeks going into Districts.”

The Badgers' final home game and Senior Night will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 28.

By Coach Lauren Bartoe

The Badger girls fought a rare and valiant battle against the St. Maries Lumberjacks Saturday, forcing a rare triple-header after a tie in the series opener.

In the bottom of the fourth, Mattea Bertling began the comeback with a hard hit double. Becca Farrens followed, getting on base from an error, and Lindsay Taggart's single brought in Bertling for the first run of the day, making it 4-1 Spartans.

The bottom of the fifth produced two more runs as a result of a walk by Chelsea Taggart and a double from Aubree Wasmer.

Aaramie Hoisington stepped in to get a timely walk, which allowed Wasmer to score. The sixth inning was enough for the Badgers to clinch the victory with two more runs scored by Farrens and L. Taggart, with an RBI going to Jordan Porter. The final score was 5-4 Badgers, giving them their first league win and the Spartans, at the top of the Intermountain League, their first league loss of the season.

Chelsea Taggart earned nine strikeouts, while Porter went 3 for 4 and L. Taggart went 2 for 4 at the plate.

On Saturday, the St. Maries Lumberjacks, ranked second in league, traveled to Bonners for an unusual triple-header.

The first game saw the Badgers jump out 2-0 by the second inning, stemming from a slew of singles from Porter, L. Taggart, Bertling and Farrens.

By the fourth inning, St. Maries battled back to even the score at 2-2.

Each team rallied to bring in one more run, and with a tie score at the end of the seventh, the extra innings rule came into effect.

Both teams started the eighth inning with a runner on second base.

The Badgers began with two base hits from Bertling and Tessa Payne to drive in the first run, and then a sacrifice from Sam Robertson allowed Payne to score, resulting in a 5-3 lead.  The defense held the Lumberjacks runner at second for the entire inning, giving the Badgers their second conference victory. 

C. Taggart earned the “W” at the mound, with Porter, Bertling, Payne and Farrens going 2 for 4 at the plate.

The second game was a complete turn around, as all three pitchers, Porter, Taggart and Makenzie Carle made a showing at the mound.

The Lumberjacks hit their stride with eleven hits in just five innings.  Four girls from St. Maries went 2 for 4. The Badgers were unable to get the bats going, which led to a 0-10 final score. 

The third game started well for St. Maries.

They jumped ahead with a 5-0 lead by the fifth inning. The Badgers rallied to score Wasmer in the fifth after her double and a single from Farrens.  In the sixth, Carle pounded a lead-off double. Up next, Porter switched places with her on another double.  C. Taggart added a single, but the effort was too little, too late for the Badgers as the game ended 8-2.

Carle and C. Taggart both worked the mound in the loss, and Carle and Porter went 2 for 3 at the plate.  C. Taggart threw a total of 253 pitches on the day, which is quite a feat. 

“Even though all of Saturday's games didn't go the way we anticipated,” said assistant coach Wendy Bertling, “the girls are working hard and we are looking forward to the next two weeks going into Districts.”

The Badgers' final home game and Senior Night will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 28.