Terry Column: Loggers beating the heat

Until a few brief days of relief this week, this summer has been long and hot.

Very hot.

While many of us are able to avoid the oppressive heat by jumping from air-conditioned location to air-conditioned location, the area’s American Legion baseball teams have had no such reprieve.

With temperatures reaching the high 90s for much of the first two months of the season, the sunny baseball fields of Montana have offered little forgiveness for the players and coaches on the diamond.

The Libby Loggers have had to deal with the heat as much as any team in the state this season.

As the weather has heated up, so has the team with it.

It’s been a long season for Montana’s westernmost team.  

The Loggers, who were scraping for players as the season began, landed on a roster that features 10 relatively-healthy players and an 11th guy on the bench from the Babe Ruth team in Troy. Three came back after playing after a year of college ball.

While there was a wealth of experience in spots, the team had its growing pains to start the season, losing nine of its first 10 games, including seven straight.

As the year progressed, however, the team caught fire. They won six of the next 10 and as Logger Days approached for the host Big Bucks tournament in Libby, the Loggers had won five straight.

Libby went on to win its home tournament despite having to deal with temperatures reaching record levels for the end of June, including games played in 110-degree weather.

“We had a bucket with wet, iced towels in the dugout, that’s something we had to do,” Loggers bench coach Jack Helber said.

“It started for pitchers and catchers, but what the heck, guys come off the field, throw in another towel or two and let anybody join in on it.”

The Loggers won the Big Bucks tournament and finished well at the Polson Firecracker tournament the next weekend. Despite the atrocious start to the year and little to no rest for their starters, the Loggers played their way to within a game of .500 before a lull at the Clancy Ellis Tournament in Lewiston, Idaho last weekend.

Their recent run of success has seen them hand defending state champion Glacier its first league loss of the season and win a game on Wednesday despite seven defensive errors.

“We’ve done as well as we can building,” Helber said.

“Our outfielders have really come along. It’s been a building situation and they have responded.”

With their recent run of form, it’s possible for the summer to get hotter and longer for Libby. The Loggers finish up their regular season on Sunday ahead of the district and state tournaments the next two weeks.

“I’m happy with what we’ve got going,” Helbing said.