Prep Baseball: Bigfork might be best of tough Northwest A

Columbia Falls is coming off a third-place trophy and Polson is one year removed from the inaugural state championship, but Bigfork might be the team to watch as high school baseball heats up in the Valley.

“Bigfork has everybody back,” Columbia Falls coach Chad Green asserted, and the Vikings pretty much do: sophomore leadoff hitter Ryeln Rodriguez; junior Grady Campbell; the list goes on. 

Bigfork lost a five-inning, 16-6 decision to Frenchtown last week but the Broncs are loaded and it was early. Frenchtown’s pitchers allowed just three hits but nine walks; the Broncs, boasting five players coming off all-conference or All-State campaigns, banged out 11 hits including two home runs. 

Bigfork went 9-6 last spring while playing its second season at ABS Park in Evergreen. The Vikings are there on April 10 against Eureka, but on April 15 they’ll open their new home diamond — Flathead Beacon Field, located on Coverdell Road near the Catholic church — against Columbia Falls. 

The Wildcats, meanwhile, are still looking solid despite some big graduation losses. 

“We were 18-3 last year,” Columbia Falls coach Chad Green said. “It’s going to be hard to match that, but we just want to keep the program going in the right direction. 

“We’ve got some big shoes to fill, but we think we have the right guys to fill them.” 

Leading the way is returning All-State pick Reggie Sapa, who will pitch and play shortstop. Nico Young, all-Northwest A in 2024 returns to play second, pitch and fill in at catcher. 

Cooper Ross, who transferred in from out of state and played well for the football and basketball Wildcats, may do most of the catching; Green likes how senior outfielder Brady Matson swings the bat. 

Sophomore Jory Hill is penciled in at center field and the staff is bolstered by hard-throwing sophomore Jett Pitts and seniors Trenton DeRosa and, in the pen, Treyson Murphy. 

The bad news, one guesses, is that Columbia Falls and Bigfork — and Eureka, and Whitefish — have to deal with Polson, which has moved into the Northwest Division along with Ronan, Noxon-Thompson Falls and Plains-Hot Springs. 

That gives the conference 10 teams — there are now 36 teams under the Montana High School Assocation umbrella, including all three AA Missoula schools — but a lower number of state qualifiers: two, compared to three a year ago. 

“It makes it that much more important to win the conference,” Whitefish coach Kyler Blades said. “Finishing second and third puts you in a play-in situation.” 

Both Whitefish and Eureka had play-in games last May, and Whitefish was the third seed out of the Northwest. The Bulldogs dropped an 8-7 decision in a first-round game to Belgrade at State.  

“It was a great game and good experience for those guys, should we end up in that situation again,” said Blades, who like Bigfork coach Dave Romero has a lot of kids back. 

The list starts with shortstop Ryan Conklin, pitcher Tait Orme and catcher Avery Caton, but also sophomore Luke Dalen, who will also figure in at catcher, and centerfielder and leadoff man Calvin Eisenbarth. 

Drew Queen is back to play second and give Whitefish a left-handed bat, and Blades likes the way sophomore Finn Ryan swings it.  

Knee injuries hampered pitcher Bear Baker and utility man Carter Godsey last spring, they’re back healthy as are pitchers Christian Schwaderer and Reed Boyer.  

“We’ve got our work cut out but I think we’re going to compete very well,” Blades said. The Bulldogs will continue to play home games at Smith Fields. 

Eureka may have the premier pitcher in the league in Rowan Burow; the Lions, 16-4 last year, also return third baseman Emmett McKim and shortstop Tyce Van Order, who both will get turns on the mound. In all Eureka, which batted 10 throughout last season, brings back eight starters to its lineup. The list includes sophomores Loan Cuffe, Michael Van Gilder and Hunter Grieve. 

That brings us to Polson, which went 13-7 and won the Western A last spring but then lost to Butte High and Columbia Falls at the state tournament. 

Weather has kept the Pirates from being outside much, and they had a pair of games canceled Saturday. Now comes a conference game with Eureka this week. 

The good news is All-State players center fielder/pitcher Landon Shoemake and infielder Wyatt Wadsworth are back to lead a talented squad that includes sophomore left-handed pitcher Cole Wadsworth and catcher/utility guy Holden Emerson. 

Junior Cody Haggard is back to play the corner infield spots and pitch; he’ll also hit in the middle of the order. 

“After that, we’re kind of young,” said coach Brad Fisher, who listed junior infielder Noah Agliano and sophomore infielder Brayson DuMont as important players. “It will kind of be key to see how they develop and play for us. We have 20 kids, top to bottom. They’re going to play a lot, and they’re going to play a lot of different spots.” 

Ronan got itself a play-in game a year ago and could be in the hunt again. Noxon-Thomson Falls has an all-conference returnee in shortstop Bryson McCormick. 

    Columbia Falls' pitcher Reggie Sapa delivers against Polson in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

Whitefish shortstop Ryan Conklin (1) reaches for a grounder up the middle against Bigfork at ABS Park in Evergreen on Tuesday, April 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

    Polson's Landon Shoemake (4) connects on a single against Columbia Falls in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider