The Helena Bengals will challenge the Gallatin Raptors at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Helena will come into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.
Last Friday, Helena sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 victory over Glacier.
Faith Howard
| 04/04/25 @ Glacier | 8 |
| 04/04/25 @ Flathead | 14 |
| 03/28/25 vs Sentinel | 14 |
| 03/27/25 @ Hellgate | 15 |
Faith Howard spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three runs (all of which were unearned) on four hits and racked up eight Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts any time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, Helena saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kamryn Klemp, who scored a run while going 1-for-4. Charlie Smith also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Gallatin won against Butte two weeks ago with 11 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Saturday. The Raptors beat Belgrade by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 11-7. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Raptors.
Olivia Klemann was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up four earned (and three unearned) runs off ten hits (and only one walk). Those seven strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Adyson Ryles was incredible, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. Zoe Bassham was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
Gallatin was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Belgrade only posted a batting average of .235.
Helena pushed their record up to 4-0 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Gallatin, their win bumped their record up to 2-0.
Helena took their victory against Gallatin in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 11-3 score. Will the Bengals repeat their success, or do the Raptors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
