Lady Broncos go 2-2 in league games, still in play for playoff bye

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos softball team had a mixed bag of results last week, sweeping one league doubleheader while getting swept in another.

The Lady Broncos started out the week on fire, sweeping the Reardan Indians in a home doubleheader on April 16.

In game No. 1 of the doubleheader, the LRS offense broke out the bats in the fourth inning, scoring 11 runs to help power a 16-6 victory over Reardan. The game was tied 3-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth, but the Lady Broncos broke it open and was eventually able to 10-run the Indians, winning in six innings.

Lacey Miller was on fire all day long, going 4-4 with three doubles and six RBIs in game No. 1. Kelsey Billigmeier had a big day at the plate as well, going 3-4 with an RBI and scoring two runs. Junior Cailey Vallone pitched the whole game, giving up just three hits.

Game No. 2 was just as fun for the LRS bats, who scored eight runs in the second inning and five runs in the third inning en route to a 13-0 shutout. The game was again called early due to the 10-run rule.

The biggest moment of the game-and perhaps the season-came in the second inning, when Miller blasted a grand slam, her second home run of the season. Miller finished the game 2-3 with five RBIs, giving her 11 RBIs for the day.

Head coach Todd O'Brien was pleased with his team's consistency from one game to the next in the doubleheader.

"We played a doubleheader back-to-back and we played it well. Sometimes there's been a little bit of a let up in the second game, and so that was good to see," O'Brien said.

LRS returned to the diamond four days later on April 20, traveling to Liberty to take on the Lancers in a doubleheader. Liberty hit a home run in the first inning of game No. 1 to go up 3-0, and the Lady Broncos weren't able to recover, losing 4-9. The Broncos scored two runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh inning, but it wasn't enough.

Liberty had another big day at the plate in the second game of the doubleheader. The Lady Broncos grabbed a brief 1-0 lead following the top of the first inning, but the Lancers responded with four runs of their own to take the lead, never looking back. LRS grabbed two more runs in the third inning, but Liberty won 15-3, with the game being called after four innings due to the 10-run rule.

Errors reared their heads in the doubleheader, and had a big impact especially in the first game, according to O'Brien. Liberty hit two home runs in the first game, accounting for five total runs. But if the fielders had been able to execute defensively and limit baserunners, just two runs would have come across the plate instead of five.

The Lady Broncos will finish regular season league play this weekend, as they play host to the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves on April 27. First pitch of game No. 1 is scheduled for 12 p.m., and O'Brien expects his team to pick up a pair of wins on the day and finish league play at 5-5, which may be enough for his team to clinch the No. 3 seed in the district playoffs and avoid a play-in game.