On Monday, Helena faced Hellgate in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Helena Bengals never let the Hellgate Knights onto the board and left with a 20-0 victory. Helena's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Faith Howard spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just zero earned runs on zero hits and racked up eight Ks. Those no hits set a new season-high mark for her.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kylee Gardipee, who went 3-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles. Ashley Koenig was another key contributor, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Helena's win ended a five-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 3-5. As for Hellgate, they haven't won a game yet this season and fell to 0-8.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Helena's homestand will continue as they prepare to take on Big Sky at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Big Sky will roll in looking for their sixth straight victory, something Helena surely won't give up without a fight. As for Hellgate, they will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Flathead at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
