CMR and Great Falls softball square off Friday night under the lights

Crosstown softball between Great Falls High and C.M. Russell High has produced many memorable contests over the years at the Multi-Sports Complex, including earlier this spring.

However, Friday’s matchup will bring a new element to the rivalry, as the Rustlers and Bison face off under the lights for the first time in recent memory for a night game to close out the regular season.

The game will be played on Field 7 in the upper section of the Multi-Sports Complex and is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

“I don’t think any of these girls are old enough to have seen these lights being on,” Great Falls High head coach Don Meierhoff said. “It’s been years. That whole thing, it’s going to be a show. Obviously both teams are going to be hyped up and ready to go.”

In an email announcing the in-season schedule change, Great Falls Public Schools Athletic Director Mike Henneberg thanked the Park and Recreation Department for helping make the night game possible.

“It’s our last home game so our seniors are excited,” CMR head coach Alex Lowry said. “So, there will be a lot of emotion with that and crosstown and under the lights, but they’re super excited.”

The Bison (10-3 Eastern AA, 12-7 overall) are currently the No. 2 seed in the conference ahead of next week’s state tournament in Helena. Great Falls High and Billings Senior have the same league record with one game to go each, but the Bison hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with two wins over the Broncs.

Great Falls High won all four of its conference contests last week against Belgrade and the Bozeman schools but fell twice Tuesday at Kalispell Flathead 3-1 and Glacier 10-0 in rescheduled non-league games. Starting pitcher Tehneson Ehnes threw minimal innings and star hitter Ella Galloway was out sick for Tuesday’s losses.

“If you would’ve asked me the day before (Tuesday), I would’ve said it was looking really good,” Meierhoff said. “But we really just had a mental lapse (in Kalispell). You can make all the excuses, but we just had a mental letdown and that’s the bottom line. But I think we’ll get it back in order.

“I don’t think there’s any way they’re going to be flat going into the rest of the year.”

The senior Galloway is leading the Bison at the plate with a .450 average this season and is third in the state in both RBIs (33) and home runs (8).

“She’s developed into our emotional leader, I like to call it, because she’s just so motivated,” Meierhoff said of Galloway. “She keeps everybody up and the positiveness that comes from that always works well physically, also.”

Ehnes boasts a solid 4.77 ERA for the Bison and also is third in Class AA with 78 strikeouts. Meierhoff said Ehnes has suffered some lingering ailments this season, but the Bison have tried to limit her pitches as needed to help her recover for the home stretch.

“She’s doing great,” Meierhoff said. “We’ve been using her a lot. She has some nagging injuries and we’ve been trying not to use her as much, but then we need to. If we could just get rid of those nagging injuries, she’ll be back to her top level. And we’ve been doing that, we’ve been doing things in practice to get her healthy, so that’ll all come along.”

Seniors Alex Bloomgrem and Dyna Timboe are both also hitting north of .400 this year, and sophomore Mackenna Medina is second on Great Falls High with 18 RBIs. Seniors Ashlyn Jones (14) and Dani Senger (12) and junior Mackenzie Noble (11) have all also driven in double-digit runs for the Bison.

“CMR is playing really well right now, and other than (Tuesday), we’ve been pretty good, too,” Meierhoff said. “So, it’s going to be a battle for both sides.”

The Rustlers earned the first crosstown win 7-6 in April on a Julia Bushard walk-off base hit, seizing the victory after surrendering an early lead.

CMR (7-6, 10-8) has won four straight with victories over Bozeman High and Gallatin on Saturday and non-conference wins against the Kalispell schools on Tuesday. The stretch follows a four-game losing streak in early May against formidable Eastern AA foes Billings West and Belgrade, two of which were one-score games.

“We fixed a few things and cleaned some things up defensively and switched a few things up at the plate so we could be more aggressive, and I was pleased to see how that came together (Tuesday), against especially Glacier,” said Lowry, referring to the Rustlers’ 5-3 win over the 15-2 Wolfpack.

Senior pitcher Brie Ginnaty has continued to step up for CMR this season and the team as a whole is playing at a high level to close out the regular season, Lowry said.

“We’re just coming together at the right time,” Lowry said. “We’re communicating well and performing well defensively and offensively. Brie has been doing a great job on the mound for us. It’s been great seeing them improve as we come toward the postseason.”

Senior Jaclyn Kleinsasser paces the Rustlers with a .510 batting average and also leads the team in doubles this season.

“I’d say Jaclyn is our best hitter right now, she’s been the most consistent all season,” Lowry said. “She just has a great swing and is really coachable fixing a few things with her swing. She’s just aggressive at the plate and is selective with her pitches. She’s helped us out a lot with her bat.”

All-State catcher Sarah Faulk is hitting over .400 in her senior year at leadoff and has been invaluable helping command the defensive side.

“(Faulk) hitting in our leadoff spot helps us out a lot,” Lowry said. “She does a lot watching pitches, she’s very disciplined at the plate. And having her behind the plate really helps our team defensively altogether.”

Lowry also praised the all-around contributions of Bushard, Kadence Taylor, Myli Adams, Jenna Etcheberry and Brooke Powers.

“I think everybody is coming around and producing for us whether it’s defensively or offensively, we’re just kind of playing as a unit,” Lowry said.

CMR is likely locked in the No. 5 seed for the Class AA tournament next Thursday through Saturday, but a crosstown win to end the season is still at the front of the Rustlers’ minds, Lowry said.

“Our girls are hungry and motivated,” Lowry said. “Great Falls High is always a tough, competitive team and we’ll have our battles with them. But if we play our game right and hit strong at the plate and get some hits early, I think we’ll be OK.”

Photos were provided courtesy of Matt Ehnes of Jared's Detours.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: CMR, Great Falls softball Friday night to be played under the lights