Whitefish, Polson advance to first state baseball semis

BUTTE — Whitefish Jacob Polumbus threw seven strong innings and catcher Fynn Ridgeway hit a three-run triple as the Bulldogs downed Frenchtown 7-2 at Montana’s first State baseball tournament Thursday.

Polumbus allowed six hits and a walk — he also hit a batter — and struck out seven Broncs in his first complete game of the season, at 3 Legends Stadium.

He got all the runs he needed in the first, when the Bulldogs batted around and scored five times. Clayton Godsey had an RBI single ahead of Ridgeway’s big hit. Godsey had three hits and Jake McIntyre scored twice for the Bulldogs.

Whitefish advanced to Friday’s noon semifinal and will throw fireballer Ty Schwaiger against Hamilton, which beat Belgrade 12-6 in Thursday’s late game.

Earlier Thursday Florence beat Butte 6-5 in eight innings, and Polson edged Eureka 6-4. The Falcons and Pirates play Friday’s early semifinal at 9:30 a.m. Both semis are at 3 Legends Stadium.

Eureka fell into a loser-out with Butte at noon on Field 4 at Copper Mountain Park; Frenchtown and Belgrade play at 9:30 a.m. on Field 4.

Frenchtown 000 011 0 - 2 6 2

Whitefish 500 002 x - 7 8 0

N Gibbs, Carter Anciaux (1) and G Gibbs. Jacob Polumbus and Fynn Ridgeway.

FRENCHTOWN — N.Gibbs 0-3, M Kleinsmith 0-0, Kellen Klempel 0-2, B Day 1-3, C Mickey 1-3, Connor Michaud 3-3, Anciaux 0-2, Bow Petersen 0-1, S Zetterberg 0-1, J Alexander 0-1, G Gibbs 0-3, J Warner 1-2.

WHITEFISH — Polumbus 1-3, Maddox Muller 1-3, Jake McIntyre 0-2, Ty Schwaiger 1-3, C Clayton Godsey 3-4, Ridgeway 2-3, Logan Kunz 0-2, Josiah Ruther 0-3, Christian Schwaderer 0-3.

2B — Michaud. 3B — Ridgeway. RBIs. — Michaud, Warner, Ridgeway 3, Godsey 2, Kunz.

Polson 6, Eureka 4

Tristan Butts homered, doubled and drove in two runs for Eureka, but the Lions committed six errors that helped Polson score three unearned runs.

The bottom of the lineup, including Cymian Kauley and Landon Shoemake, combined for three of the Pirates’ six hits and three runs.

Butts’ RBI double was the big hit in Eureka’s 3-run fifth inning, and he scored on an error for a 4-2 Lions lead.

Polson responded with four runs: Shoemake’s two-run double tied the game at 4-4; Jarrett Wilson’s single brought in Shoemake for a 5-4 lead, and Wilson took third on the throw home and eventually scored his third run of the game on a passed ball.

Kauley pitched into the fifth inning before Espn Fisher came on in relief for Polson. Fisher threw two 2-3 innings, getting six of his eight outs via strikeout. Kauley also fanned six.

Sam Hall threw 4 2-3 innings for Eureka, allowing five hits and two walks, and striking out for.

Eureka 001 030 0 - 4 7 6

Polson 100 140 x - 6 6 3

Sam Hall, Rowan Burow (5) and Tristan Butts. Cymian Kauley, Espn Fisher (5) and H.Emerson.

EUREKA — Rogan Lytle 0-2, Cole Hurst 1-4, Butts 3-4, Hall 1-3, AJ Truman 1-4, Caleb Hutter 0-2, Burow 0-3, Tyson Brouillette 1-3, Ramsey Stalcup-Waits 0-3.

POLSON — Jarrett Wilson 1-3, Fisher 0-1, Dawson DuMont 1-3, Cody Haggard 0-3, H.Emerson 1-3, Aiden Gfroerer 0-3, H.Emerson 0-3, Kauley 1-3, Landon Shoemake 2-3, Noah Agliano 0-0.

2B — Truman, Butts, Shoemake, H.Emerson. HR — Butts. RBIs — Butts 2, Hurst, Shoemake 2, Fisher, Wilson.

Florence 6, Butte 5 (8)

Isaac Bates’ RBI single in extra innings gave Florence the walk-off win.

The host Bulldogs trailed 5-2 at one point, but knotted the score in the seventh with RBI doubles from Anthony Knott and Cayde Stajcar.

The Falcons’ Patrick Duchien struck out the side in the eighth; Bates also had an RBI double in the second.

Butte 100 110 20 - 5 7 3

Florence 111 200 01 - 6 13 2

E Cunningham, G Trudgeon (7) and T Duffy. G Philbrick, T Oster (6), Patrick Duchien (8) and J Roth.

BUTTE — S Ossello 1-3, Knott 2-3, Stajcar 3-3, Tierney 1-3, Cunningham 0-3, Donaldson 0-1, Hansen 0-3, O’Connell 0-4, A Jorgenson 0-1, Quinn Cox 0-1, Trudgeon 0-1, Duffy 0-2, Armstrong 0-0.

FLORENCE — B Hinsdale 3-4, Isaac Bates 2-5, Duchien 0-3, Roth 2-4, Philbrick 3-4, Winters 0-0, D Wanger 1-3, Oster 1-3, E Alexander 0-1, M Arlington 1-4, T Abbott 0-4.

2B — Knott, Stajcar, Bates, Arlington. 3B — Wagner. RBIs — Stajcar 2, Knott, Bates 2, Duchien, Roth, Wagner.

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