Area Spring Sports 2020

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Ponies hoping to get back on the diamond COVID-19 keepng all spring sports in limbo Aarron Thompson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The sports world has been experiencing its fair share of hectic moments currently, with much uncertainty of what the future holds. With the Montana High School Association suspending spring sports as of early March, many high school teams face a tough loss of their season. The Havre High softball team is one of those teams. Right now, the Blue Ponies are in a difficult position due to the coronavirus crisis. Until MHSA makes its verdict on April 13 as to whether or not cancel spring sports indefinitely, Havre’s season may be a swing and a miss. It is a trying time for the Ponies and head coach Tony Vigliotti is hoping for the best when it comes to his team’s season. “Right now, we’re just keeping our fingers crossed that we can save some kind of softball season for these girls, especially the seniors, who put in a lot of work in the offseason,” Vigliotti said. “We’re just hoping for any kind of season at all. We had a group of girls that put in a tremendous amount of time in the offseason. I really hope they get a chance to compete this year.” Many softball players were looking forward to continuing or start their sports journeys this year, too. After winter sports conclude, many of the athletes move to a spring sport for an array of different reasons. Now, there is a chance they may not get to. The 2020 senior class is currently taking quite the blow, too. Many, if not all, Havre seniors look forward to their last year as a Blue Pony because of how much it means to them, their families, teammates, coaches and fans. These seniors will be going through a big struggle. Not only that, but the Ponies

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson Havre High senior Peyton Brown is one of many Blue pony seniors on the HHS softball team hoping that their season is suspended, and not canceled due to COVID-19. are in an even rougher spot. With the possible cancellation of spring sports, along with the hold in place issued by Governor Steve Bullock, Havre softball does not even have a roster selected for the potential season as of now, as the tryouts are usually held right after the winter sports season. “We didn’t even get to our selection process,” Vigliotti said.

“We had 31 to 32 girls come out, we got going and, of course, the state basketball tournament was in there, so we lost a couple girls to basketball, cheerleading, the pep band and kids that just wanted to go down and support their classmates. We haven’t even made it through the selection process yet. It just breaks my heart for these girls. This year was a fresh start in

many ways, especially with the new conference arrangements for Class A. Instead of the Central A, the Ponies new Northeast A conference opponents were going to be Glendive, Sidney and Miles City, with long-time-rival Lewistown in the conference, as well. Vigliotti and his team had a lot to look forward to when it came to these new rivals on the

field. “For us, it was going to be the first year of our new league,” Vigliotti said. “to be really honest, the only team I’m real familiar with is Lewistown. They were and are going to be pretty good if we can get this season underway. We have a chance to be pretty good if we get going here, but we’ll just have to wait and see.” If the season does permit after

the decision of April 13. Havre will have quite the exciting schedule ahead of them. March 28 has passed already, but last weekend was to be the start of the season for the Ponies, where they would have played against Class AA twotime defending state champions Great Falls on the road. Then, on Saturday on the road, Havre had Miles City waiting for them. The Ponies then would have exchanged road and home games with Lewistown, going to the Golden Eagles Apr. 10-11 and then playing them at home Apr. 13. Havre’s next matchup would be Class B Glasgow on Apr. 20, who would come up to Blue Pony country for a game. HHS would have followed that game up with two Northeast A games in a row, with Sidney in Havre first on Apr. 25, then on the road back to Lewistown next on May 1. On May 2, the Ponies were to host, then head to Glasgow May 5 and end the regular season against Butte Central on May 8-9. After that, the postseason would be back in Havre on May 15-16 and state softball was to be held in Butte on May 21-23. If the year were to go on, Vigliotti has an idea of who would provide the toughest competition on the schedule. “I think as far as Class A teams go, probably Lewistown as far as our conference schedule goes,” Vigliotti said. “We were scheduled to play Great Falls High and I was kind of looking forward to that.” There was a lot to be excited about when it came to the HHS softball season for the team and the fans this year. But now, there is a cloud of uncertainty and worry that the team that worked so hard before the season may not get to show all that effort on the field. Even so, Vigliotti knows that all him and his team can do right now is have hope that they will get the chance to take the field for the 2020 season, so that the Blue Ponies can show their stuff once again. Like many of the Havre spring sports, hope is what is keeping them moving.


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Area Spring Sports 2020 by Havre Daily News - Issuu