FRENCHTOWN — The opening day of the Frenchtown Invitational was a rollercoaster for Northwest A teams, with nearly every squad walking away with a split. Columbia Falls came closest to a perfect start, but even they couldn't escape the day's theme of highs and lows.

The Wildkats opened strong with a commanding 12-2 win over Stevensville, where pitcher Ella Branstetter shined in the circle. She allowed just three hits and one walk over five innings, striking out three and helping her own cause with a double at the plate. The game was called early under the run rule, giving Columbia Falls a quick victory.

Katie Bulawsky set the tone with a two-run home run that capped a five-run first inning. The Kats' offense kept rolling thanks to triples from Ella Timlick and Onnika Lawrence, plus doubles from Alexa Friske, Bella Mann, and Chevelle Bedford. Timlick, Mann, and Lawrence each drove in two runs.

But the afternoon matchup against Billings Central told a different story. Columbia Falls jumped ahead 8-5 after a six-run second inning, highlighted by Kylie Gjesdal-Davis's two-run homer to center field. Gjesdal-Davis had a monster game overall, finishing with two doubles and that home run. Friske added three hits and two runs scored, while Bulawsky and Bedford also chipped in doubles.

However, the Rams (13-2) refused to back down. Carlee Hofer launched two home runs, including a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth that ended the game early due to time limits. Her first homer, a two-run blast in the fourth, cut the Kats' lead to 9-7. Then Jill Harris delivered the knockout blow with a three-run homer later in that same inning, putting Billings Central ahead 11-9 and sealing Columbia Falls's 12-9 loss.

Elsewhere, Polson bounced back from an earlier setback to earn a split. After falling to Lockwood 9-0—where Reese Vonfeldt shut them out for six innings and Dylan Fraker-Fox hit a two-run homer—the Lady Pirates rallied against Ronan. Logan McCrea broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run single in the second inning, and a four-run third put the game away. Adrienne Crockett and Aleysia Black delivered back-to-back RBI doubles to cap that inning, while pitcher Maddie Turner allowed just four hits and three unearned runs over five innings, striking out four.

Lockwood's win featured a four-run first inning highlighted by Ana Plutt's two-run single, followed by Hailey Baenziger's RBI double in the second. The Lions (7-5-1) scored in each of the first four innings, with Vonfeldt allowing only three hits and no walks while striking out three. Jaliyah Pierre, Natalie Nash, and Kendyl Jaeger had the lone hits for Polson (7-5) in that game.

With run rules and time limits keeping games short, the Frenchtown Invitational delivered plenty of drama—and a reminder that in softball, momentum can shift as quickly as a wind gust across the diamond.