The 14U Montana Madness learned the hard way Saturday that all the solid defense in the world won't win games without a little offense.

The Helena team dropped its first game on the second day of the Capital City Classic, 3-1 to the Columbia Falls Kats.

Helena's Kerstie Ward led off with a single for the Madness, but unfortunately it would stay the club's lone hit until late in the fifth inning. Columbia Falls starter Ashley Trueblood held the Madness to just four hits all game.

Kennar Ward pitched 5 1/3 innings for the locals. Ward struggled to find the strike zone early on, walking three and hitting Ciara Holm with pitches in two separate at-bats. Eventually, Ward settled down and fanned four, getting some much needed help from her teammates in the field.

"Defensively we played well, we just didn't put any hits together in an inning," said head coach Jeremy Ward. "Ward pitched well, we just struggled offensively."

Darcy Ryan relieved Kerstie Ward, striking out three in just 1 2/3 innings and not giving up any hits. But it was Trueblood who was credited with the win.

"We were just out in front of her," Jeremy Ward said. "We're used to a faster pitcher so it was hard to adjust to, but she just kept throwing strikes."

14U Billings Fury 11, Capital City Thunder 1

Abbie Kuck was 2-for-2 with a three-run triple and Billings busted the game open early, scoring seven runs in the first inning en route to a rout.

The Fury loaded up the bases in the third, but Thunder second baseman Kady Bartsch turned a key double play to get her team out of trouble. Bartsch also connected on Capital City's lone hit off Billings' Alexa Rockwell. Rockwell struck out seven and walked just two.

12U Helena Thunder 8, Columbia Falls 3

Brittany Smith earned the start for the Thunder, striking out six.

"She had a great game on the mound," said coach Shawn Smith.

Columbia Falls took a two-run lead in the first inning but the Thunder battled back and held their opponent to just one more score.

"We were real patient, drew a lot of walks and stole a lot of bases and we were able to get it done," Smith said.

10U Electric City Heat 10, Capital City Thunder 8

The Thunder rebounded from a rough first day of the tournament with a performance that, despite the loss, made coach Sonny Silverthorne proud.

The locals found themselves trailing 10-3 but rallied with five straight runs to make the loss respectable.

10U GF Selects Green 10, Capital City Thunder 5

Capital City carried a 5-5 tie with a tough Great Falls team into the final inning, but with two outs in the last frame allowed the victors to score five runs.

"They just kind of fell apart there at the end, made a couple of mental errors," Silverthorne said. "But they played much better today."

Jaley Priddy stroked two doubles for the Thunder and Mackenzie Hash and Dene Mech each had web gems.

12U Montana Madness 5, Flathead Monsters 2

Nina Murphy hurled a complete game for the Helena squad, fanning five. Alyssa Newhart had a strong game at second base while Madi Quick and Jordan Hinman paced the offense.

12U Ronan 17, Montana Madness 0

Montana Madness coach Scott Murphy was pleased with his pitching from ace Murphy and Alli Dunbar, but the locals couldn't get anything going on offense in the blowout.

14U Missoula Osprey 7, Helena MW Crush 5

Kari Tirrell belted a bases loaded grand slam late in the game to propel the Osprey to a come-from-behind 7-5 win over the Crush. Jaiden Nisbet pitched the win. Helena's Quinci Robertson stroked a double.

10U GF Selects Green 4, Bitterroot Sparks 2

Great pitching from Myla Robbins paved the way for a Great Falls victory. Mackenzie Walden powered the game-winning RBI.

14U Electric City Heat 5, Frenchtown Fury 4

The Heat took a 7-4 lead, but because of the drop-dead rule when an inning is incomplete as time expires, the Electric City crew only held on to win by one. Still, it was enough to move the Heat to a 2-0 record in the tourney.

10U Glacier Emeralds 11, Mining City Magic 6

Kloie Thatcher had a single and two RBIs for Butte, which just came up short against the Emeralds. Isabell Bonney scored twice, but head coach Patti Boltz said her girls looked a bit sluggish in the 8 a.m. game.

10U Mining City Magic 13, Bozeman Stealers 2

Aidan Dennehy had a triple and 2 RBIs and Ryan Trudnowski stroked a double and 2 RBIs for the victors.

10U GF Selects White 3, Mining City Magic 1

Taylor Wahl's double was the big hit for Butte, which lost what mainly turned out to be a pitcher's duel.

12U Mining City Magic 12, Belgrade Wolfpack 1

Amanda Peterson and Baylee Thatcher both tripled in the Magic's win.

12U Mining City Magic 11, Calgary Diamond Devils 1

Thatcher continued her offensive explosiveness for Butte, recording another triple, and Kendyl Boltz added a double for the victors.

12U Polson Purple Wave 14, Butte Magic 8

The Purple Wave used some small ball, including several bunts, to overcome a 6-0 deficit and beat the Butte Magic, 14-8. The two teams were tied at 7-all, and then Butte went up 8-7, before the Wave scored seven times in the final frame to close the deal. Polson's Kiana Coudier laced a three-run double to spark the rally.

14U Calgary Diamond Devils 9, Butte Magic 2

Calgary bested Butte 9-2, behind the mound mastery of Chelsey Guido, and the offensive output of Guido, Jessica Fortier and Samantha Stockwood.

12U Bitterroot Sparks 5, Diamond Devils 4

The Bitteroot Sparks trailed the Diamond Devils 4-3 going into the last inning, but rallied for two runs for the 5-4 victory. Carly Vercruyssen rapped the game-winning RBI single, bringing home Micayla Cole. Megan Byrne was the winning pitcher.

12U Frenchtown Fury White 9, Electric City Heat Red 7

The Fury and Heat were tied at 7-up in the top of the fifth inning with Frenchtown at bat, when Laci Willett and Gabby Martello helped give their team a two-run advantage. Then Martello, who went the distance on the bump for the Fury, shut down Great Falls in the bottom of the stanza to clinch the triumph.

Other scores from Saturday: 14U Billings Fury 9, Belgrade Wolfpack 7; 14U Belgrade Wolfpack 8, Ronan 0; Polson Purple Wave 14, Mining City Magic 7; 14U Calgary Diamond Devils 10, Polson Lakers 4; 14U Glacier Emeralds 8, Butte Magic (Walsh) 6; 14U Diamond Devils 4, Fury 1; 14U Frenchtown Fury 13, Polson Lakers 7; 12U Frenchtown Fury 11, Great Falls Sparks 4; 12U Butte Magic 11, Calgary Diamond Devils 3; 12U Purple Wave 10, Wolf Pack 1; 12U Great Falls Heat Red 14, Columbia Falls Clash 3; 10U Missoula Osprey 7, Bozeman Stealers 6; 10U Great Falls Heat 10, Capital City Thunder 8; 10U Glacier Emeralds 9, Selects White 7; 10U Sparks 12, Wolfpack 0; 12U Thunder 13, Frenchtown Fury White 7.

Friday's late scores: 12U Great Falls Selects White 13, Bozeman Stealers 0; 10U Bozeman Stealers 9, Electric City Heat 9; 14U Montana Bandits 2, Columbia Falls Kats 2; 12U Great Falls Selects 13, Bozeman Stealers 0.

The tournament concludes today, with single-elimination play.

Amber Kuehn: 447-4079 or amber.kuehn@helenair.com