State Baseball: C-Falls, Eureka stay alive
MISSOULA — Big innings lifted Eureka and Columbia Falls to wins at the all-class State Baseball tournament Friday, with Whitefish and defending state champion Polson being the victims.
In Friday’s first loser-out game Eureka outscored Whitefish 15-8, before Columbia Falls roared back from a 6-2 deficit to beat the Pirates 8-7.
Florence pushed through to Saturday’s championship game in epic fashion, with Mason Arlngton throwing a no-hitter in an 8-0 win over Belgrade. That set up an all-Bitterroot Valley final, because Hamilton — 27 miles south of Florence on I-93 — beat Butte 10-4.
The championship is at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Both the Lions and Wildcats will play Saturday morning at the Playfair Complex behind Missoula
Sentinel. Eureka draws Butte and Belgrade will play Columbia Falls.
Saturday’s morning winners then play for third place back at Ogren-Allegiance Field.
Eureka 15, Whitefish 8
The Lions scored five in the fourth inning and then — after Whitefish closed the gap to two runs — added five in the seventh to push their lead to 15-6
The fourth-inning rally started with two out and nobody on: Rogan Lytle hit a two-run double in the frame, before AJ Truman hit a three-run double to make it 8-2.
Whitefish fought back, with Drew Queen’s two-run triple capping a four-run fourth inning. But the Lions got two runs in the sixth — Truman hit a two-run triple — and took advantage of four walks and an error to score five more times in the seventh.
Ryan Conklin and Michael Miller hit back-to-back triples in the third inning for the Bulldogs, who ended up 8-13.
Rowan Burow started for Eureka and threw 5 1-3 innings. He scattered eight hits and four walks and allowed three earned runs. He fanned seven. He also drew four walks and scored four times on offense. Tristan Butts also scored four times.
Eureka 102 502 5 - 15 10 1
Whitefish 101 040 2 - 8 11 4
Rowan Burow, Tyce Van Orden (6) and Rogan Lytle. Michael Miller, Otto Klein (4), R Boyer (4), Tait Orme (5), T Piatkowski (6) and Avery Caton.
EUREKA — Lytle 2-5, Burow 0-0, Tristan Butts 0-3, AJ Truman 3-3, Van Orden 0-3, Emmet McKim 2-3, Logan Cuffe 1-4, Michael VanGilder 0-4, Tristan Libby 2-3.
WHITEFISH — Orme 1-4, Piatkowski 0-1, Ryan Conklin 3-3, Miller 1-4, Christian Schwaderer 1-3, Caton 1-3, Calvin Eisenbarth 0-2, CJ Thew 0-2, Will Sisson 1-1, Drew Queen 3-4, Reyd Hobart 0-2, Reed Boyer 0-1, Carson Bramme 0-0.
2B — Truman, Lytle. 3B — Truman, Miller, Conklin RBIs — Truman 6, Lytle 2, Cufe, Queen 2, Orme, Piatkowski, Miller, Schwaderer, Caton.
Columbia Falls 8, Polson 7
The Wildcats’ six-run fifth inning proved to be the difference.
They scored two runs on a bases-loaded grounder in which a double-play turn went awry; Jett Pitts followed with an RBI single to cut the gap to 6-5.
With two out, Jace Hill drew a walk and Regie Sapa followed with a three-run triple and the Cats were up 8-6.
The Pirates threatened in the seventh. Cole Wadsworth was hit by a pitch and Espn Fisher followed with an RBI double — but was cut down at third trying to make it a triple.
Wyatt Wadsworth, who’d already hit two triples, then reached on an error before reliever Cody Schweikert, just inserted on the bump, got the next two hitters to ground out.
Pitts started on the hill for the Wildcats (16-3) and went 4 2-3 innings, allowing six hits, one walk and six runs (two earned). He fanned three.
Polson ended up 14-6.
Polson 000 240 1 - 7 7 3
C-Falls 110 060 x - 8 12 4
Landon Shoemake, Cason Graham (5), Landon Pablo (6) and Espn Fisher. Jett Pitts, Reggie Sapa (5), Cody Schweikert (7) and AC Chilson.
POLSON — Cole Wadsworth 1-3, Fisher 2-4, Wyatt Wadsworth 2-4, Hunter Emerson 0-4, Holden Meberson 0-4, Cody Haggard 0-3, Zak Muzquiz 0-2, Shoemake 1-2, Graham 0-0, Pablo 0-0, Aiden Gfroerer 0-3.
COLUMBIA FALLS — Sapa 2-4, Dominick Young 1-3, Kellen Kroger 2-3, Schweikert 2-4, Mathew Mitts 1-4, Chilson 2-3, Pitts 1-3, Dayne Tu 1-4, Jace Hill 0-2, Connor Venezio 0-0.
2B — Chilson. 3B — W.Wadsworth 2, Fisher, Tu, Sapa. RBIs — Fisher 2, W.Wadsworth, Hu.Emerson, Sapa 3, Schweikert, Mitts, Pitts, Tu.
Florence 8, Belgrade 0
Arlington fanned 14 Panthers and walked one, meaning Belgrade had just one base runner. That was Sawyer Olson, who drew a one-out walk on four pitches in the first inning.
Arlington got all the support he needed in the top of the first, when Chase Wagner hit an RBI triple and came home on Jake Roth’s sacrifice fly.
Drew Wagner hit an RBI double in the third to put Florence up 4-0; in the sixth inning Levi Winters hit another RBI triple.
Roth’s two-out triple — he was out trying to make it an inside-the-park homer — capped the Falcons’ three-run seventh inning.
Hamilton 10, Butte 4
Tyce O’Connell hit a three-run double in the pivotal fifth inning for the Broncs. Conner Ekin had two hits, drove in two runs and scored twice for the Broncs.
Hamilton trailed 3-0 after two innings but tied the game in the fourth and put up six runs in the fifth. O’Connell’s double put the Broncs up 8-3; that came after Ekin drew a walk and Boedy Tadvick was hit by a pitch, both with the bases loaded, to put their team ahead.
Ekin went the distance on the mound, allowing five hits, three walks and four runs. He struck out four.
Cayde Stajcar and Matthew Donaldson hit doubles for the Bulldogs (11-7).
State Baseball Tournament
May 16-18
Ogren/Allegiance Field, Missoula
Thursday
Game 1 — Belgrade 8, Whitefish 7, 8 innings
Game 2 — Florence 11, Eureka 7
Game 3 — Butte 12, Polson 8
Game 4 — Hamilton 10, Columbia Falls 7
Friday
Game 5 — Eureka 15, Whitefish 8, loser out
Game 6 — Columbia Falls 8, Polson 7, loser out
Game 7 — Florence 8, Belgrade 0, semifinal
Game 8 — Hamilton 10, Butte 4, semifinal
Saturday
Mt. Sentinel Fields
Game 9 — Eureka (16-4-1) vs. Butte (11-7), Field 5, 10 a.m. lo
Game 10 — Columbia Falls (16-3) vs. Belgrade (15-4), Field 6, 10 a.m., lo
Ogren-Allegiance Field
Game 11 — Winner 10 vs. Winner 9, 4 p.m., third
Game 12 — Florence (17-1) vs. Hamilton (18-3), championship, 6:30 p.m.