On Saturday, Helena faced Flathead in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Helena Bengals came out on top against the Flathead Braves/Bravettes by a score of 4-1. This was payback for Helena, who suffered a 5-3 loss the last time these two teams met.
Faith Howard spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Ashley Koenig and Keira Campbell did most of the damage at the plate: Koenig scored a run while going 3-for-4, while Campbell scored a run while going 1-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Charlie Smith, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
On Flathead's side, they also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Macey McIlhargey gave up only one earned (and three unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up 33 Ks.
On the hitting side, Mackenzie Brandt made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with a home run and a stolen base.
Even though they lost, Flathead didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 33 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Helena only tossed 12.
Helena has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-9 record this season. As for Flathead, their defeat was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 4-11.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Helena will be staying on the road on Thursday to face off against Hellgate at 3:00 p.m. As for Flathead, they will face off against Sentinel at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
