BILLINGS — Thursday just wasn’t the Bulldogs’ day.
Billings West ended Butte High’s softball season Thursday by sweeping a best-of-three Eastern AA playoff series.
The Bears won the opener 10-1 before completing the sweep with a 7-1 win in Game 2. West advances to the Class AA State tournament, which is next week in Kalispell. The Bulldogs close the season at 7-16.
Butte High committed 15 errors and hit a collective .187 on the day.
“We just didn’t play very well,” Butte High coach Ryan Stosich said.
The losses close the career for Butte High seniors Isabelle Bonney and MacKenzie Daily.
Billings West 10, Butte High 1
Butte native Kendyl Boltz and Lexi Mahood homered to highlight West’s nine-hit attack in the opener.
Mahood went 3 for 4, while Boltz went 2 for 4 for West, which took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Mahood pitched the distance, striking out four, walking one and scattering six hits to pick up the win.
Freshman Taylor Huff doubled to lead the Bulldogs. Brittney Tierney, Brianna Ossello, Kennedi Ferriter, Jenna Maroney and Daily singled.
Kaidy McClaffery struck out four in five innings in the loss. Ferriter pitched the fourth inning.
“She pitched pretty well,” Stosich said of McClafferty. “It was the errors. Instead of facing three or four batters an inning, she was facing five or six. We gave them too many outs.”
Butte High 010 000 0 — 1 6 7
Billilngs West 300 214 x — 10 9 0
Kaidy McClafferty, Kennedi Ferriter (6) and Brittney Tierney. Lexi Mayhood and Kylee Koch. W – Mayhood. L – McClafferty.
BUTTE HIGH (7-15) —Tierney 1-2, Brianna Ossello 1-3, Ferriter 1-3, Taylor Huff 1-3, Jenna Maroney 1-3, Katelyn Alley 0-3, Jenna Walker 0-2, McKenna Savage 0-1, Isabelle Bonney 0-3,, MacKenzie Daily 1-2.
BILLINGS WEST — Mackenzie Mahood 0-3, Cody Rogers 1-4, Lexi Mahood 3-4,, Shea Dolan 0-0, Kendyl Boltz 2-4, Jenna Cragwick 0-3, Kylee Koch 2-4, Madisen Dahlquist 0-0, Alexis Ford 1-4, Kira Drake 0-3, Madison Harris 0-4.
2B – Huff. HR – L. Mayhood, Boltz. RBI – Jenna Maroney; Harris 2, Boltz 2, Mayhood 2.
Billings West 7, Butte High 1
The Bulldogs struck first in the bottom of the first inning Tierney, the leadoff hitter, walked and scored on a single by Huff.
That was the end of the good news for Butte High, however.
Kylee Koch singled and courtesy runner Ellie Jones scored on a sacrifice fly by Kira Drake to tie the game.
West took the lead with two in the third and broke the game open with three in the fifth.
Boltz pitched the distance in the win. She struck out eight, walked six and gave up just three hits.
Mackenzie Mahood went 3 for 4, while Lexi Mahood doubled and singled in the win. Kotch hit two singles.
Ferriter and Tierney joined Huff with a hit for Butte High. McClafferty struck out six in the loss.
Billings West 010 230 1 — 7 9 2
Butte High 100 000 0 — 1 3 8
Kendyl Boltz and Kylee Koch. Kaidy McClafferty and Brittney Tierney. W – Boltz. L – McClafferty.
BILLINGS WEST — Mackenzie Mahood 3-4, Cody Rogers 0-5, Lei Mahood 2-4, Boltz 0-4, Shea Dolan 0-0, Jenna Cragwick 1-4, Kylee Koch 2-4, Ellie Jones 0-0, Aleix Ford 1-4, Drake 0-3, Madison Harris 0-4.
BUTTE HIGH (7-16) — Tierney 1-3, Brianna Ossello 0-3, Kennedi Ferriter 1-4, Taylor Huff 1-4, Jenna Maroney 0-3, Katelyn Alley 0-2, McClafferty 0-3, Isabelle Bonney 0-1, MacKenzie Daily 0-3, Jenna Walker 0-0.
2B – L. Mayhood. RBI – Drake, M. Mahood; Huff.
