Polson, Whitefish to meet in high school baseball championship
BUTTE, Mont. — Friday was another great day for baseball in Butte, as four teams competed to be the first two to ever make the Montana High School Championship game.
In the morning matchup, Florence-Carlton faced Polson in a captivating affair.
The Pirates scored in each of the first four innings, including 2 in the fourth, to build a 5-1 1 lead.
Montana Tech football commit Jarrett Wilson had three hits in four at-bats and scored a pair of runs himself.
The Falcons soared back, putting up 2 in the sixth and 1 in the seventh, but with the tying at the plate, Florence-Carlton grounded out to end the ballgame, giving Polson the 5-4 victory.
Senior Dawson DuMont was key for Polson, striking out nine and allowing 3 runs over six innings, while also driving in a pair of runs on offense. He credits team chemistry for the squad’s resolve.
“We have a really good bond with each other. Everyone is best friends at school. We hang out all the time. We have a really good bond to help us perform on the field better. We know who is going to do what and what they are capable of,” said DuMont.
In game two, Whitefish met Hamilton. Bulldog senior Ty Schwaiger, who will be pitching at Washington State come next year, was outstanding. He allowed just 1 earned run over five innings while striking out seven. He also helped his own cause on offense with patient at bats that drove in several runs.
The Bulldogs put up 8 runs in the third after scoring 5 in the second, and the Broncs couldn’t keep pace, as Whitefish sailed to a 14-3 win to put themselves one victory away from glory.
Nine players recorded a hit for the Bulldogs, including Logan Kunz, who drove in 4 runs with two swings of the bat.
And an added bonus for Whitefish is that they were able to preserve most of their pitching staff.
“It’s big. The rest of the teams here, they’ve gone through five or six pitchers. We’ve only gone through two. So having that is huge. We still have our three guy, we still have our four guy. We have everyone still. Everyone on our team is a good pitcher. So I think that’s a big advantage for us, and I think it’s really going to help us out when we win tomorrow,” said Schwaiger, who added that most of the team has attended school together since kindergarten and have been playing together since they were in Little League.
Polson and Whitefish will play for the title on Saturday at 1 p.m. at 3 Legends Stadium in Butte.
