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9/22/02-Right now it's September 22, 2002. The girls are already asking when we will start working out. Their enthusiasm is amazing. They want to start right now and get after it. They want to get back to the Championship game and have a chance to come home #1. It won't be easy. It will be harder this year because now teams will be after us. Last year we were over-looked by many teams. This year we will have to accept the challenges put forth by all the teams. With the girls we have returning, I feel that we will be just fine. The girls  focus, desire and dedication will provide us with a successful combination that will help us all to reach our individual and team goals. - Coach O.

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3/8/03- We officially start our first practice on Monday, the 10th of March. "Open Gyms" have been productive. We have always had at least 10 girls show up to work on their game. Having had a sign up meeting already, I'm expecting approximately 35-40 girls trying out. We will keep a workable number for games, 12 on Varsity and 16 on the J.V. team. I am not going to cut athletes unless they pose a danger to themselves, instead I am going to allow the extras to practice with us and earn a uniform on game days. It is very unfortunate that we don't offer another J.V. team (J.V. #2) that could carry low end sophomores and freshman. This would only benefit our program in the long run because then if we wouldn't have to cut and discourage the girls. Right now, it is not beneficial to dress 18 girls out for J.V. games because the sophomores that we are trying to get ready to play Varsity as Juniors don't get the quality playing time. They end up sitting half the games. We will see how this first year of keeping extra's works. It will be a tough season but I feel the girls are up to the challenge. We know that we have to "out work" everyone. That is the only way it can be done.- Coach O.

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3/23/03- We have less than a week until we open in Helena. I have been very pleased with the efforts from the girls. The Seniors have provided awesome leadership and the younger girls have fallen in line and are starting to figure out what is expected. At the Varsity level we are having some very good and healthy competition. Unfortunately, I can only play 9 at a time (10 if I use a DH). We will look very closely at all the girls this week prior to our games and all will get a chance to play and show what they can do. The Helena games are non conference so it will allow us an opportunity to see everyone in game conditions. Saturday, 3/22/03, we spent some time doing to some "Team Building" activities. We started out putting the team in to 6 groups of 5  and then gave them some time to create short skits that make fun of the Coach's. I've got to tell you, I laughed soooooooo hard. It is amazing the things that they pick up on us. It was good, honest, innocent fun and I think the coaches had as much fun as the players did. We then gave each group a tape and they were to go out and film an Infomercial about Bison Softball. We will view these on the day we have our team BBQ. Another set of laughs, I'm sure. - Coach O.

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3/28/03- Well....the first game is tomorrow. Three weeks of hard work will come together tomorrow. We open at 11:00 against Helena Capital then play Helena High at 1:00. We are looking good and I'm expecting great things from the girls tomorrow. We met today and went over the expectations and I set them very high. These girls are seasoned and should be able to get themselves ready. Their attitude has been great and their work ethic very good. We have some great competition forming and unfortunately we will NOT be able to play everyone at the same time. There will be some girls that will have to sit and be supportive from the dugout. I know that this is a good problem to have but it doesn't make it any easier on me. I wish we could play all 12 at the same time. Hopefully they will understand and keep plugging away. Like Coach Barrett said today, " You don't win a State Championship with just 9 girls, it takes everyone!". I couldn't have asked for a better line at the time. Wish us luck. - Coach O.

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3/29/03- Well, the first games are under the belt and our games today were a good indicator as to what we need to work on to get back to our end of the year form from 2002. Our first game today was against Helena Capital. We lost 4-2 amd didn't play very well. Capital is returning 5 starters from 2002. Their pitcher really threw well. She kept us off balanced for most of the game and we really didn't even put it into play until the 5th inning. Our girls were not very aggressive at the plate, taking a lot of strikes without swinging. We had one inning where we didn't make the routine plays and it cost us. I was proud of the girls for staying focused and fighting back. Ashley Thatcher threw a great game. She fanned 12 of the 25 batters she faced, walked none and didn't give up an earned run. We needed to put the ball into play and make things happen. In the second game, against Helena High, we won 9-7. The game was not as close as the score indicates. We were up 7-2 before we self destructed a little bit. We committed some costly errors and let them back in to tie it at 7-7 before we plated two more runs in the top of the 7th. Amelia Nardinger pitched a good game. She kept them off balanced with her off speed stuff. We really hit the ball well, Ashley Thatcher got robbed of a Home Run. The umpire said it "bounced over". It bounced alright, 20 yards past the fence! Sheena Christiaens really pounded the ball going 3-4. Carrie Conners, Amelia Nardinger, Jessica Laabs and Sandy Niemeyer all went 2-4. To sum the day up I would have to say that we have a "ton" of work to do this week to get ready for the Billings schools. I'm sure the girls will respond and come ready to go on Monday. - Coach O.

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4/4/03- We played despite the cold weather. Billings Senior came to town. They are the defending State Champions and are always tough. They took an early lead but our girls stayed focused and got it done beating them in the conference game 4-2. Ashley Thatcher was very tough pitching today. She struck out 9, walked 2 and didn't give up an earned run. She is really looking good. My injured starter from last year got in to pinch hit and "crushed" the ball to the SS with the bases loaded. It was easily TH-TH (To Hot To Handle) and we scored two runs in the 6th and shut them down in the 7th to take the win, Sonja Barone making a diving catch in right field to end the game. In the second game (the non-conference) we lost 8-2. Amelia Nardinger was pitching very well and I took her out to get a look at Molly Sinnott. Molly got tagged pretty good, especially by Haake, the second baseman from Senior. She was hitting everything. Ashely Thatcher hit a two run homer and Molly Sinnott had two hits in the loss. Tomorrow we face Billings West. The put it to our cross town rivals, CMR, today 9-0. -Coach O.

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4/5/03- This morning we came to play. We did very well for  6 innings and then the wheels fell off. We committed 5 errors in the game and 3 in the last inning. Ashley Thatcher pitched well, going the distance. She faced 32 batters and gave up 6 hits and 3 earned runs. We had a 1-0 lead until the 6th inning and then Billings West put 3 across in their top of the inning. Lacy Ekert and Molly Sinnott each had 2 hits and Carrie Conners and Sonja Barone each had 1. In the second game we lost 10-3. Amelia Nardinger pitched all 7 innings and gave up 15 hits and 7 earned runs. Billings West really swings it and if you're not hitting your spots, they make you pay. I think Amelia learned a valuable lesson in this game. She didn't have much offensive support from her teammates, we only mustered 4 hits. Sara Aspinwall had 2 of them, coming off the bench for Carrie Conners. Conners collided with Thatcher on a short pop up in centerfield. Carrie got popped a good one and will have a nice black eye to show off on Monday. Michela Schmitz ( a 3 year starter but coming of knee surgery) had 1 hit and played solid at first and third base. Sonja Barone got yet another hit to add to her total for the season. I know the girls are disappointed and I know they will improve with time. I need to be patient with them because they are trying and they are giving me 100%. Next week we go to Bozeman on Friday and Billings Skyview on Saturday for 2 games. We need to get everyone healthy. -Coach O.

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4/11/03- We came to Bozeman looking good in our new uniform combination. If you look good, you'll play good.... Well, that is exactly what we did. Our girls came to play today. Ashley Thatcher threw a no-hitter and we scored 10 runs. The game was called after the 6th inning. Sandy Niemeyer and Sara Aspinwall led the hitting attack with 2 each. Sandy had a triple and 3 rbi's. Patti Jo Laabs, seeing her first varsity action, ripped a double and had an rbi in her first at bat. We played very solid defense, committing only 1 error. We are now 2-1 in conference and 3-4 overall. This should give us great momentum going into Billings to face Skyview.- Coach O.

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4/12/03- The weather in Billings is unusual for us. We are used to playing in 35 degrees and snowing but today the forcast is 80 degrees. A perfect day for 2 games. We beat Skyview in the opener 4-1. Ashley Thatcher pitched well but she really had to work hard to keep an aggressive Skyview team off the bases.. She kept us in the game with her solid pitching, 7 K's and 2 BB's and only allowing 2 hits. We scored 4 runs in the 3rd inning with Carrie Conners leading off with a "frozen rope" to the left-center gap for a stand up double. Ashley Thatcher, Amber Little and Sheena Christiaens led the attack with 2 hits each. We are starting to play to our potential and it look and feels great. In the second game Molly Sinnott pitched well enough to win the game( We lost 3-0, but she didn't give up an earned run) but we didn't give her the defense or the offense that was needed to accomplish this. We managed 5 hits but committed 4 errors. Carrie Conners, Molly Sinnott, Sara Aspinwall, Sandy Niemeyer and Amber Little all had hits. I've noticed that our focus is not there for the non-conference games. We need to change this. Every game should be a championship game. Next week we go back to Billings to face Senior and West for 4 games (2 of them conference). We will need some girls to step up since we will be without our ace, Ashley will be gone for college visits to Idaho, Washington and California.- Coach O.

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4/18/03- We drove down to Billings in the snow today. It really snowed. I thought for sure the games would be cancelled but by the time we got there it was starting to get nice again. We faced Billings Senior today and I really felt good about our chances. We didn't have Ashley to pitch for us but I felt good with Molly Sinnott and Amelia Nardinger. We talked before the game about getting after them right away and in the first inning we put 3 hits together and scored a run. Things changed in the bottom of the inning though. After Senior batted, the score was 4-1 in favor of them and it got worse from there. The final score for the conference game was 10-4 in favor of Senior. We hit the ball really well, in fact we out hit them by 4 or 5 hits. Our defense failed us as we committed 7 errors. YUK! Molly pitched good enough to when, she only gave up 3 earned runs. We lost the second game too. It wasn't a good day for the Bison. We need to regroup and get prepared for Billings West tomorrow.- Coach O.

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4/19/03- We came to play today. Billings West took it to us when they came to Great Falls earlier in the season and we needed to play a complete game. We did just that. Amelia Nardinger pitched a fantastic game. She had total command of her pitches and really kept Billings West off balanced forcing them to pop up or ground out. Our defense was almost perfect ( we did commit 1 error) but the bats were smokin'. Sara Aspinwall opened it up with a bases clearing triple in the first inning, then followed it with a double later on and in the 7th inning she buried them with a 2 run homer that exploded off her bat. She was a single away from the cycle and finished with 6 rbi's.  We didn't use our momentum from this win to fuel us in the second game. We dropped that on 9-0. For some reason, and I cannot explain why, we don't prepare to play the second game. We haven't swept anyone yet this season. In fact, we seem to lose very badly after we win. We need to turn this around. There has never been a State Champion team that played great half the time. Great Teams are very consistent. Right now.... we're not. We have the cross town game this Thursday against CMR. They are 3-3 in conference, having dropped both conference games in Billings. We are now 4-2 in conference and 5-8 overall.- Coach O.

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4/24/03- This cross town game carries a lot of emotions. No matter how good you are or how bad your playing, this game is an equalizer. This is the type of game that makes heroes out of everyday players. This is the game that gives someone the opportunity to "step up" and make a name for themselves. This is "The Game"! Ashley Thatcher is our starting pitcher. She is dominating CMR in the first inning. Together we decide to mix in some off speed stuff just to keep them honest. I call a change up and CMR's # 3 hitter almost knocks it out of the park. We are leading 1-0 at the time. I wish I could have that pitch back. As the game goes on it becomes apparent that defense will win or lose this game. We have a nightmare inning in the top of the 5th. Ashley fields a ball and makes an error on the throw to first. Bases loaded and Carrie Conners fields a hard hit grounder and throws over our catchers head. Ashley gets a little too much lift on her rise ball and Amber Little can't handle it and another run scores. Coming to bat in the bottom of the 5th we find ourselves down 6-1. It's not looking good. Our girls decide they have a little more fight in them and we score a couple in our half of the inning. We shut them down in the 6th and put 3 more on the board. It is tied going into the 7th. Now let me back up and say that a big reason we are staying in the game is because of some awesome defensive plays by Sara Aspinwall at first, Carrie Conners at second and Sonja Barone in rightfield. Sonja made two spectacular diving catches in right field. Risky? You bet! But she came through and provided us with the spark we needed going into the bottom of the 7th. With 2 out in the bottom of the 7th, Sara Aspinwall on first, Sonja Barone comes to the plate and "cracks" a line drive over the head of the centerfielder and Aspinwall, with good speed, scores the winning run. Bison 7 - CMR 6. After the game I had thought of what to say about the game. When the team met in LF, the girls were saying everything that I had intended. They were talking about staying in the game even when we were behind 5 runs. They were talking about the support base in the dugout, how everyone contributes to the outcome even when they are not starting. It was amazing to hear. They are starting to figure it out and they are starting to believe in their abilities. This game does a lot for individuals like "Super Sonja Barone", but it does more for the TEAM as a whole. We are a team for sure. - Coach O.

Patti Jo Laabs scoring for the Mighty Bison

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5/2/03- It's 12:26 A.M. and I can't sleep until I get this summary out. I need to get this out of my head so that I can sleep. We played Billings Skyview the first game. We are 5-2 in conference and with couple of wins we could clinch the conference championship. Ashley Thatcher is pitching a great game and we are winning 1-0 going into the top of the 7th. All of a sudden, things that I don't anticipate happening are happening. We walk a couple hitters, we have a couple wild pitches, throw in a couple of errors and we let them tie it up and take us to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Skyview manages to plate a couple extra and we lose 3-1. Up until the last inning, Ashley was pitching great. She ended up with 17 strike outs, 2 base on balls and no earned runs. The girls are very disappointed and so is the coaching staff. We are not executing the basics. Stuff that we incorporate into practices 3-4 times per week is not getting done in the games. We had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the bottom of the 6th and couldn't bunt them into scoring position ? We end up losing the second game to Bozeman (Their first win of the year) 1-0 and get only one hit. Amelia Nardinger pitched well enough to win but we offered no support with the bats or the defense. So in 17 innings we score 1 run? We get only 4 hits(2 by Molly Sinnott, 1 each for Carrie Conners and Lacy Ekert). We commit 9 errors! At this point in our season I would think we would be playing our best ball. We are watching perfect pitches go right down the pipe and not even getting the bat off our shoulder. We are still struggling with the simple task of playing catch. It is so frustrating because we work on these things in practice ALL the time. These games can either "MAKE US" or "BREAK US". It will all depend on how we come out to practice on Monday. We have the 3 Missoula schools coming in next week and they are all very tough. We need to tighten the cleats and pick up the pace. We are now 5-4 in conference and 6-10 overall. We are a better team than we showed today, A MUCH BETTER TEAM.- Coach O.

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5/10/03- We have a triple header with all the Missoula schools today. We open with Missoula Sentinel (they're probably the #1 in Missoula), then we play Missoula Hellgate (#2?) followed by Missoula Big Sky (3). All the Missoula Schools are having a successful year and they are playing well. We have our work cut out for us.......But it is not to be. Due to the weather we get rained out. It is too wet to play and that is too bad. We need the games. We play our cross town rivals next Thursday. We both have identical conference records and this game will play a huge part in where we are seeded for the upcoming State Tournament. On Friday we play host to Butte and Kalispell. We need to play well from here on out. - Coach O.

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5/15/03- It is Game Day. We need this game to bounce back from a terrible performance against Bozeman. Our girls had a great week of practice. Monday and Tuesday we scrimmaged hard. We made them compete. The losers of the scrimmage had to run 6 foul poles. The girls responded and played hard. I thought it was as good as playing an opponent. We now have to play CMR. If we win, we will end up 6-4 and in a 3-way tie for second with Skyview and Senior. If we lose we tie at 5-5 with CMR and could end up in 4th or 5th place. I chose to start Amelia Nardinger as pitcher for this game. Amelia is a senior, she has given this program 4 solid years, she pitched JV last year as a junior and never, never once complained. She deserved this opportunity and she made the most of it. She gave up 1 unearned run in the 5th inning but kept them off balanced with her pitch selection and got the win with a 5-1 victory. I went with more of a senior "flavor" with our line up. It worked well. We played solid defense and the emotions were very high. Michela Schmitz is back after missing many games due to a basketball injury. She was our MVP last year and we need her leadership and abilities in the line up. Sheena Christiaens and Amelia came up huge with some key hits. Amber Little continues to hit and recorded a 2-3 effort at the plate. This is the first year since I've taken the program that we've swept the Rustler's. Next up....Kalispell and Butte tomorrow. - Coach O.

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5/16/03- Kalispell is 10-2 in conference because they have a great pitcher in Chelsey Lorenz. She flat brings it! Ashley Thatcher gets the start for us and pitches extremely well. She strikes out 10, walks none and gives up NO earned runs but still takes the loss. It is very frustrating to have a pitcher that has a 0.74 ERA and she is 4-4 overall. The cold wind did probably play a factor but they had to play in the same conditions too. We managed only 3 hits but did out hit them as they got 2 hits. We lose 3-0, everyone gets in the game and we use this as an opportunity to see the best from the west. We play Butte next, Another sub par performance by the Bison. Amelia throws but isn't as sharp as yesterday and Molly Sinnott came in to pitch 2 innings of relief. Butte isn't very overpowering but we just don't play with any emotion. We wait too long to try to come back and lose 4-2. Ashley Thatcher goes 3-3 with a double. Jessica Laabs and Ameber Little get one hit each. What we need to do now is get our minds focused for the State Tournament in Kalispell next week. I feel as if our girls have lost confidence in their abilities. We don't have a very intimidating team batting average but we are capable of swinging the bats. The TEAM must come together now, We must be unselfish and supportive. Otherwise we will be coming home early.- Coach O.

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5/22/03- THURSDAY- We opened with Helena High today at 1:00 PM. This is a game that I feel we should win but if we don't play to our ability we can just as easily lose. It is a very close game and we are down 2-1 late in the game. We manage to get some runners on with a timely walk and a base hit. The catcher for Helena is awesome and she is keeping us on our toes. Unfortunately for her, and great for us, she can't handle two wild pitches and we score the winning run. I big heavy sigh of relief from everyone. Ashley Thatcher pitched a great game and our defense kept us in it.Next up is Helena Capital, they are led by Shyla Schmitz who is having a great year pitching. We lost to them early in the year so this is a big game for us. Amelia Nardinger is  going to pitch this one and she does outstanding. She limits Capital to 3 hits but we lose 1-0. We had opportunities to score, we had 7 hits, but couldn't get the runs across. We also let them have more than 3 outs a couple of times. We need to play better or we go home tomorrow. FRIDAY- We have to play Missoula Hellgate in loser out action today. They are led by Molly Hays. She is a 6'2, very athletic girls who excells in many sports. We fall behind and have to play catch up. We have some great defense from our shortstop, Lacy Ekert and great pitching by Ashley Thatcher. We come back and win 4-3. These tight games are wearing me out. Next up is Billings Skyview. This is a huge game because Skyview beat us last time and we want them bad. We jump out to a 2-0 lead and hold on to this for 5 innings. Skyview score once in the bottom of the 6th and ties it in the bottom of the 7th. Ashley is pitching another great game and our defense is superb. We are making all the great plays and making the routine plays look routine. Jessica Laabs at third base has really stepped it up. Michela Schmitz playing first base for the first time since our first games is keeping us in the game with her glove. Lacy at shortstop is catching all the ground balls hit her way and gunning them out at first. The game goes into extra innings and we end up losing 3-2 in the 10th on a bloop single. How frustrating! The girls left it all on the field and gave me everything they had. I feel bad for them because we all had higher expectations. Sometimes things don't turn out like you plan, sometimes you need a little more luck. I appreciate the saying, " The harder I work, the more luck I seem to have!" We will work harder. Ashley Thatcher ended up on the All-State team as a 2nd team Pitcher, and also made 1st Team All-Conference Pitcher and Outfielder, Amber Little was 2nd Team All-Conference Catcher, and Sandy Niemeyer was Honorable Mention Outfielder. Congratulations to these girls and best of luck to the Seniors that our leaving our program. For you returnees, get ready for next year. -Coach O.