Glacier is 6-1 against Billings West since May of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Wolfpack will be taking part in a tournament against the Golden Bears at 2:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Glacier is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Montana's top teams: Sentinel, who was ranked 21st at the time (Glacier was ranked seventh). The Wolfpack walked away with a 14-11 victory over the Spartans last Thursday. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Wolfpack, who until this game were averaging 3.11 runs allowed.
Ava Grady looked comfortable as she struck out 11 batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit (and not a single walk). That's the most strikeouts she has posted over her last four contests.
Taylor Vivian
| 05/08/25 vs Sentinel | 4 |
| 05/03/25 @ Capital | 3 |
| 04/19/25 vs Gallatin | 3 |
| 04/04/25 vs Capital | 2 |
| 05/01/25 @ Flathead | 1 |
At the plate, Glacier let Nakiah Persinger and Taylor Vivian run wild. Persinger got on base in four of her five plate appearances with three runs, three RBI, and two doubles, while Vivian went 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Those four RBI gave Vivian a new career-high. Kaydee Walcheck was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Billings West got the win against Russell on Thursday by a conclusive 15-5. The result was nothing new for the Golden Bears, who have now won seven matches by eight runs or more so far this season.
The team relied heavily on Tatum Bush, who fired off two home runs and four RBI while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryane Viker, who went 2-for-5 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run.
Billings West was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .412. They are a perfect 9-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Glacier is on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 13 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Billings West, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 13-6.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Glacier hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .384. However, it's not like Billings West struggles in that department as they've averaged .345. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Glacier skirted past Billings West 4-3 in their previous meeting back in April. Will the Wolfpack repeat their success, or do the Golden Bears have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
