Helena softball wins home opener behind 16 hits

Published 4:16 pm Friday, February 23, 2018

By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–For the second straight game, the Helena Huskies softball team put up double digits on the scoreboard enroute to a 15-3 win against Clay-Chalkville in a shortened five-inning game due to the 10-run rule on Thursday, Feb. 22.

The Huskies had no trouble in their home opener as they put up at least three runs in four innings while collecting 16 hits as a team.

Helena had four players collect multiple hits in the game as KK Wilson finished with two hits, Jamie Gregg and Katie Lively had three hits apiece and Grace Robertson led the way with four hits.

Robertson finished the game one hit shy of a cycle going 4-for-4 with two singles, a triple and a home run. She also scored four runs and collected six RBIs in the game.

“We didn’t really know what to expect on the mound from both these teams so our approach going into it was to keep our weight back and let the ball travel deep in the pocket and just explode through the ball,” Helena head coach Heidi Kouveras said of the first two games this season. “We have struggled with slower pitching so this is probably the first time that I’ve seen us go from the get go with the first slower pitching and be able to hit as solid as we have been. For me, that’s a huge plus right now and a great outlook for the rest of the season.”

Helena busted the game open in the bottom of the third inning after already leading 6-0.

After a Gregg RBI single to make it 7-0, Robertson stepped in the batter’s box with two on and two outs when she launched a home run to centerfield to make it 10-0 Huskies. Helena would go on to score two more runs in the inning to put the game out of reach.

Helena used a trio of pitchers in the circle as Katie Lively, Lexie Bullock and Avery Barnett combined to allow just two hits in the game. Lively started the game and threw three innings while recording three strikeouts.

With the win, Helena moved to 2-0 on the season as they hope to continue to swing a hot bat moving forward.

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