Lakers’ Diede steady as state tourney nears

Ethan Diede has been a three-sport athlete most of his life, playing a little bit of varsity basketball and a lot of tight end and defensive end on Glacier’s football squad.

But the diamond is where it’s at.

“Baseball is unlike any other game to me,” Diede said this week. “You can be so perfect, and still fail. A lot of people look at that and say, ‘That’s boring.’ But when you have the success — it brings a lot of joy to me. There aren’t a lot of sports that will challenge a player so much, mentally.”

Diede has met the challenge this season for the Kalispell Lakers AA, who are 33-11-1 going into an important 4-game set with visiting Helena, starting Sunday. Before a doubleheader sweep of Great Falls Wednesday — he went 1-for-6 but the Lakers won by scores of 7-5 and 20-9 — he had a .358 batting average and an on-base percentage of .491. His three homers, 10 doubles and five triples lead the Lakers; so does his 14 times getting hit by a pitch.

“He is a quiet leader, who leads by example,” Lakers’ coach Ryan Malmin said. “Coachable as heck, and he has a toughness about him that teammates respect.”

It’s not just the time he’s gotten “dotted.” Diede has battled a back injury off and on in high school. It didn’t stop him from playing football — he was an alternate for this summer’s Shrine Game — and it’s not stopping him now.

“It’s been better, it’s been worse,” Diede said. “I can’t complain too much. I’ve kept playing.”

This is good for Kalispell, which has lost two pitchers and top hitter Thomas O’Connell to injury. Malmin has had to reset the lineup and the Lakers have kept winning.

“We’ve been beat up,” Diede allowed. “But we’re seeing success. Obviously we strive for perfection, but we’re happy to see the wins coming for sure.

“We’ve definitely had some kids who have stepped up. Like young Max Holden, he’s 16 years old but he’s kind of been dominating on the mound. We didn’t have that last year, and he’s been big for us.”

Diede’s work at first base, third base and at the plate is leading him to Master’s University, a successful NAIA program in Santa Clarita, Calif.

“I talked to some other schools in their conference, but I kind of thought that Master’s was my first love,” he said of the recruiting process. “So I stuck with it.”

“He has been a four-year guy and has battled a back injury the last several years, yet does not miss a practice or a rep,” Malmin said. “When we say goodbye at the end of the season, it will be bittersweet. You hate to see a special kid leave your program, but there’s a sense of pride. “Without a doubt, he is going to do great things in his future.”

Last season the Lakers had a strong regular season before bowing out at the State AA tournament in three games.

“Won the first one and lost two really close games,” Diede remembered. A recent sweep of Bozeman was encouraging, though the Bucks are not nearly the team they were in 2020, when they won the state championship.

“That Bozeman series, the team was able to piece 41 hits together in a four-game set,” Diede noted. “That says a lot about a team.”

The Lakers can say more with some success against Helena, which sits fourth in the seven-team Montana conference, and the first-place Billings Royals, who come to Griffin Field July 23-24 (the Lakers are tied for second, at 10-6 in league).

The State AA isn’t far off, beginning in Great Falls on July 28.

“We play the two top teams in the conference,” Diede noted. “It would be good to test ourselves before the state tournament, where it really matters.”