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El Segundo's first baseman Michael Bundy
catches the ball and tags Miles City's Connor Brown
during the seventh inning.
Star photo by Rachel Bauer
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Thursday,
July 3
Pitching dominates
Day 2 at Newhouse
By Josh Samuelson
Baseball fans from the ‘Dead-Ball Era’ would
have felt right at home last night at Denton Field for
the second day of games at the 28th Annual Bill Newhouse
Wood Bat Tournament.
Pitching completely controlled the five games held yesterday,
especially a young man from Rapid City, South Dakota.
Rapid City Post 320 pitcher Adam Carroll tossed a no-hitter
against the powerful Dickinson (N.D.) Roughriders yesterday
afternoon, leading Rapid City to a 2-0 win.
“I can’t say much about it,” Carroll,
just a 16-year old, said. “It was mostly the defense.
I had a little trouble early on, but finally came through.
It’s pretty exciting. I’m speechless.”
While Carroll had the most impressive outing, his was
far from the only good pitching performance yesterday.
Great Falls Stallions starter Dan Olinger allowed three
runs on five hits in their 4-3 win over Eastside (Wash.).
Dickinson’s Grant Kovacs earned a tough-luck loss
against Carroll and Rapid City. Kovacs allowed two runs
on just three hits in that game.
Loveland (Colo.) starter Nick Miller shut out the Miles
City Mavericks 4-0, allowing four hits. In the final game
of the day, El Segundo’s (Calif.) Jonathan Aceves
and Ben Doucette combined to shut out Loveland 2-0. Loveland’s
pitchers allowed just two runs on four hits in the loss.
In what was also a well-pitched game, Rapid City topped
Eastside 9-4.
On the day, the teams scored a combined total of 26 runs
(or 2.6 per team, per game) and had 49 hits (a combined
.199 batting average). The pitchers struck out a total
of 58 batters on the day.
El Segundo (3-0) and Rapid City (2-0) are the only unbeatens
after two days. Dickinson, Great Falls and Loveland are
each 1-1, while Miles City (0-2) and Eastside (0-3) remain
winless.
There are no games today with Play Day activities for
the teams earlier in the day, and the more fan-friendly
home run derby and skills challenge starting at 7 p.m.
at Denton Field. Games will resume tomorrow morning at
11:30.
RAPID CITY 2, DICKINSON 0
Over 28 years, the Bill Newhouse Tournament has seen some
great pitching performances. But only three other pitchers
have known the feeling of throwing a no-hitter.
Bill Traber, of El Segundo, threw a no-hitter in the championship
game of the 1997 tournament; Miles City’s Tyrel
Gentry no-hit Jamestown (N.D.) as a 16-year-old in 1999,
and last year Miles City’s Colby Tognetti no-hit
Gillette.
Now, Adam Carroll gets to add his name to that list.
“He’s been in this program for two years,
and he still has three years left, so you can tell as
a coach how happy we are,” Rapid City Coach Mick
Mitzell said. “He’s a bulldog out there. The
mentality of him, he just doesn’t give up, and in
that last inning we went fastball, fastball, fastball.
He threw nothing but fastballs.”
The impressive thing about Carroll wasn’t his age,
but the fact that he did it against a great offensive
team like Dickinson. The Roughriders are a good baseball
team, sitting at 24-5 on the year.
“They (Dickinson) do swing it well,” Mitzell
said. “They hit it on the button quite a few times.
Centerfielder Kyle Starkey must’ve run down three
or four well-hit balls. All the way around, it was a good
effort by everyone. Our catcher threw out a base runner
at a key play in the game, and we got some timely hits.”
Carroll used his defense quite a bit in the win, with
12 balls leaving the infield and being caught by their
quick outfielders. Starkey alone had five putouts in the
game in center field.
Carroll finished the game with six strike outs and walked
two and hit one batter. Two Dickinson runners reached
on errors.
While Carroll was busy taking care of the Dickinson bats,
Dickinson starter Grant Kovacs was nearly as unhittable.
Kovacs walked Chris Lindemann to start the game, and Lindemann
stole second and scored two batters later on Starkey’s
RBI single.
Kovacs then retired the next eight, but walked Starkey
to lead off the fourth.
Starkey was sacrificed over to second base and came around
to score on an error.
Kovacs finished the game allowing three hits, two coming
in the sixth inning. He walked three and hit one, and
struck one batter out.
GREAT FALLS 4, EASTSIDE 3
The first game of the day set the tone for some great
finishes.
Going into the bottom of the fifth inning, the score was
tied at one between Great Falls and Eastside.
But Great Falls took advantage of two Eastside errors
and smacked four hits to score three runs and take a 4-1
lead.
Eastside answered in the top of the sixth, with two runs
on three hits to cut the lead to one and set up a great
seventh inning.
In the top of the seventh, Luke Taylor singled to start
the inning. Taylor was retired on a fielder’s choice
from John Aaron.
Aaron moved to second base on a wild pitch, setting up
some heroics for either Eastside or Great Falls.
Clean-up hitter Ben Mednikoff stepped to the plate with
Aaron on second base and smacked a single up the middle.
Aaron rounded third and looked to score, but centerfielder
Zach Griffth came up firing to second baseman Jake Bleskin.
Bleskin then threw a perfect strike to catcher Cole McPherson,
who tagged out Aaron to preserve the one-run lead.
Jeff Chaney singled to move Mednikoff to third base, and
Clifford Kahn was hit by a pitch to load the bases with
two outs.
But Michael Elwell grounded out to shortstop Dan Olinger
to end the game.
Taylor and Chaney each had two hits in the loss for Eastside,
and Aaron Stucker had two hits for Great Falls.
RAPID CITY 9, EASTSIDE 4
The Rapid City Post 320 Stars scored six runs in the second
inning as they sent 11 batters to the plate. The Stars
scored their six runs on just two hits. They took advantage
of five free passes from Eastside pitching.
The Stars added two in the fourth and one in the seventh
to keep the game out of reach.
Eastside looked to make a comeback in the seventh, scoring
three runs on two hits, but the game was well out of reach
at that point.
Rapid City starter Sean Holloway allowed four runs on
six hits. He struck out six and walked two.
Kyle Starkey was 2-4 with four RBIs to lead the Rapid
City offense. John Aaron was 3-4 with two RBIs for Eastside.
LOVELAND 4, MILES CITY 0
The Miles City Mavericks had a tough time with left-handed
starter Nate Miller, and again mistakes cost the Mavericks.
Miller shut down the Mavs throughout the game, not allowing
a base runner to reach third base. Only twice did the
Mavs have a runner in scoring position.
Chris Bogner led the Mavs’ offense with two hits,
and Jared Thomason and Bryant Bradshaw also had singles.
While the offense had a hard time with Miller, the defense
struggled in two innings.
In the third, starter Jordan Bryant walked two batters,
and a bad throwing error allowed those two runners to
score. In the fourth inning, the Mavs committed two more
errors, allowing two more runs to score.
Bryant threw well for the Mavs. He scattered seven hits
in his six innings of work. Seth Crawford threw well in
the seventh inning, getting out of a jam.
EL SEGUNDO 2, LOVELAND 0
Pitching again took center stage in the final game of
the evening between El Segundo and Loveland.
Both starters, Jonathan Aceves for El Segundo and Derek
Neeper of Loveland, kept opposing offenses off balance
all night.
After retiring the first five El Segundo batters, Neeper
gave up back-to-back singles to Jake Booterbaugh and Nigel
Nootbaar, with Booterbaugh scoring on Nootbaar’s
hit.
After that, Neeper, along with relievers Logan Moore and
Nate Thurlow, retired 13 of the next 17 El Segundo batters.
In the top of the seventh, clinging to a 1-0 lead, Nootbaar
singled again to lead off the inning. He came around to
score on an error.
While Neeper, Moore and Thurlow kept El Segundo’s
bats fairly quiet, Aceves and reliever Ben Doucette kept
Loveland completely silent.
In the first inning, Aceves allowed two hits, but struck
out the other three batters. By the end of the second,
Aceves already had six strike outs.
In his five and a third innings of work, Aceves scattered
five hits, one walk and one hit batter. But he struck
out eight and had great defense behind him.
In the sixth, Loveland had its best chance to score since
the first inning.
With one out, Nick Miller singled and Logan Moore was
hit by a pitch. A throwing error from the catcher allowed
Miller to move to third and Moore to second.
Doucette was then called in to pitch, and he promptly
struck out the first batter he faced and coaxed a ground-out
to end the threat.
Doucette walked two in the seventh, but he struck out
the other three batters in the inning.
Broadus Hawks take
tourney title
By Josh Samuelson
The Broadus Hawks won the 2008 Cow Capital Babe Ruth League
Tournament title last weekend in a wild tournament that
saw multiple extra-inning games and didn’t see the
championship game end until 1:30 a.m.
The tournament started with the two Miles City teams,
the Miles City Elks and Miles City Rotary. The Elks prevailed
13-2 to advance to take on top-seeded Colstrip.
Miles City Elks and Colstrip battled into the ninth inning,
but Colstrip snuck out the 9-8 extra-inning win.
Rotary kept their season alive with a 13-7 loser-out win
over Baker. With the loss to Colstrip, the Elks dropped
into the consolation bracket where they played Rotary.
To that point, the Elks held a 5-1 record against Rotary,
but those records were thrown out as the teams battled
into extra innings.
Heading into the seventh, Elks held a 7-5 lead. But Rotary
scored two to tie the game and force an extra inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Elks got runners on
first and third with two outs when Jacob Beaner hit a
single into left field, seemingly scoring the winning
run.
But left fielder Gavin Askin came up firing and retired
the runner going to second base to end the inning.
With the momentum, Rotary scored four runs in the top
of the eighth and went on to win 11-7.
In the undefeated semi-final, Broadus topped Colstrip
5-3 to earn a spot in the championship game.
In the consolation championship game, Rotary continued
their strong play, but Colstrip scored eight unanswered
runs to win 9-3.
In the first championship game, Colstrip took a 1-0 lead
in the third and held that lead until the sixth inning
when Broadus tied the score at one.
In the bottom of the seventh, Colstrip won the game when
Evan Chandler scored on a fielder’s choice.
With games running late, the second championship game
didn’t start until 11 p.m. The offenses were much
more plentiful as Broadus won 13-8.
Playing for the Miles City Rotary this season were: Dalton
Niedge, Dillon Niedge, Gavin Askin, Tad Beehler, Chris
Kurkowski, Brett Dobie, Logan Henke, Thomas Ideker, Drew
Senger and James Martin. They were coached by Chaz Kountz,
Shawn Niedge, O.J. Grasby and Jared Grasby.
The Miles City Elks were: Koby Leidholt, Garrett Baldry,
Brian Askin, Zach Watts, Johnny Cahill, Dillon Smith,
Jared Dean, Jacob Beaner, Jared DeVault, Kort Gudmunson,
Dakota Babcock and Alan Bishop. They were coached by Tyler
Chapmon and Josh Samuelson.
Wednesday,
July 2
El Segundo picks up
two wins in first day of Newhouse
By Josh Samuelson
The El Segundo (Calif.) Blues earned two wins during the
first day of the 28th Annual Bill Newhouse Wood Bat Invitational
at Denton Field yesterday.
The Blues topped the Miles City Mavericks 6-2 in the second
game of the day, and then came from behind to beat the
Great Falls Stallions 5-3 in the final game of the day.
In game one of the tournament, the Dickinson (N.D.) Roughriders
walloped Eastside (Wash.) 9-0.
The Newhouse Tournament continues today with five games,
starting at 10 a.m. The games feature Eastside and Great
Falls at 10 a.m., Eastside and Rapid City (S.D.) Post
320 at 12:30 p.m. and Rapid City and Dickinson at 3 p.m.
Following the Opening Ceremonies, the Mavericks will take
on Loveland (Colo.), and Loveland will then play El Segundo
at 8:30 p.m.
DICKINSON 9, EASTSIDE 0
Dickinson’s offense took advantage of 11 walks and
four hit batters by Eastside pitching and also got a great
pitching performance from Steven Laylock to win the first
game of the Newhouse Tournament 9-0.
The 15 free bases allowed by Eastside pitching, combined
with 10 Dickinson hits, led to a win that was in the books
early, thanks to Laylock.
Laylock allowed a single to the third batter of the first
inning, but didn’t allow another runner until the
sixth, when he walked the leadoff batter. That walk was
erased on a double play.
Laylock tossed six innings, allowing no runs on the one
hit. He struck out four and only walked one.
Eric Seiler threw a perfect seventh inning.
Offensively, Dickinson put together a strong game plan
and took advantage of Eastside’s inability to throw
a strike.
The Roughriders scored two in the first, three in the
second, two more in the fifth, and added a single run
in both the sixth and seventh.
Leadoff hitter Travis Tooley led the Dickinson offense,
going 4-5 with three runs scored and a double. Grant Kovacs
went 2-2 with two runs and two RBIs.
EL SEGUNDO 6,
MILES CITY 2
The Miles City Mavericks played pretty good baseball against
the vaunted El Segundo Blues. But a few mistakes and quiet
bats gave the win to El Segundo.
“I thought we came out and played well. Our starting
pitching gave us a chance at winning, and that’s
all you ask for,” Mavs Head Coach Kyle Pryor said.
“Seth Crawford was sick, and that hurt a bit. Our
kids were ready to play. We’re getting better, and
you can definitely see that. Our younger kids are stepping
up. We didn’t score many runs, but we’re having
better approaches at the plate.”
The Mavs were in the game from the beginning.
El Segundo got on the board in the top of the first with
an unearned run, thanks to a base hit and two Maverick
errors.
But in the bottom of the inning , Chris Bogner walked
with two outs and moved to third on a Shawn Elliott single.
Bogner then tied the game on a passed ball.
Errors hurt the Mavs in the top of the second, when Jake
Booterbaugh reached on an error.
The second unearned run of the game gave the Blues a 2-1
lead.
But again the Mavs came back and tied it in the bottom
of the inning.
With two outs, the Mavs put together a string of great
at-bats, with Isaiah Bergman, Garrett Askin and Jordan
Bryant earning walks. Bergman scored on another passed
ball.
But then the Mavs' offense went cold.
The Mavs had just three more base runners in the last
five innings, and only one base hit. For the game, the
Mavs had two hits, both from Elliott.
Mavs starting pitcher Bryant Bradshaw had a solid outing.
He allowed three runs, only one earned, in his three and
two-thirds innings of work. Kasey Tharp came in relief
and got through the fourth unscathed.
In the fifth, the Mavs defense had a few lapses, and El
Segundo scored three runs to blow the game open.
The Mavs' pitching didn’t help them too much, allowing
only four hits but giving up nine walks.
Ben Doucette led El Segundo’s offense, going 2-2
with two runs scored and an RBI.
The Mavs will play Mountain View, from Loveland, Colo.,
tonight at 6.
EL SEGUNDO 5,
GREAT FALLS 3
The Great Falls Stallions looked like they were going
to squeak out a win over El Segundo in the third game
of the Newhouse Tournament, but late offense from the
Blues gave them a 5-3 win.
The Stallions jumped out in front in the top of the first
inning, when Dan Olinger hit a double and scored on a
triple from Bryce Thompson.
In the third, the Stallions scored two more runs on three
straight hits from Alex Waltari, Olinger and Tanner Bleskin.
El Segundo’s offense was kept off balance through
the first four innings by Stallions starter Jake Bleskin.
The only run scored by the Blues was a long home run from
catcher Justin McCullough.
In the fifth, Jake Bleskin started to tire, and El Segundo
took advantage.
Brice Savage led off the fifth with a bunt base hit, and
Grant Palmer walked.
The pair moved up on a passed ball, and then Michael Bundy
drove them both in with a single to tie the game at three.
In the bottom of the sixth, Booterbaugh led off with a
single, and with two outs Savage hit another single.
Palmer and Doucette then followed with RBI singles to
give the Blues the win.
In the game, the Blues pounded out nine hits, two coming
from Savage.
Nigel Nootbaar threw a complete game for the Blues, striking
out nine and walking none.
The Stallions played the early game this morning against
Eastside, and don’t play again until Friday, when
they meet Dickinson at 11:30 a.m.
El Segundo has the late game tonight when they play Loveland
at 8:30.
Tuesday,
July 1
Newhouse Baseball
Tournament schedule
28th Annual Bill Newhouse Wood Bat Baseball Tournament
schedule
Tuesday, July 1
Eastside, WA vs. Dickinson, N.D., 3 p.m.
Miles City vs. El Segundo, CA, 5:30 p.m.
El Segundo vs. Great Falls Stallions, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, July 2
Great Falls vs. Eastside, 10 a.m.
Eastside vs. Rapid City, S.D., 12:30 p.m.
Rapid City vs. Dickinson, 3 p.m.
Opening Ceremonies, 5:30 p.m.
Miles City vs. Loveland, CO, 6 p.m.
Loveland vs. El Segundo, 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 3
PLAY DAY
4-man Best Ball Golf Tournament, 9 a.m.
4-man Bowling Tournament, 11 a.m.
4-man Canoe Races, 1 p.m.
All-Team Barbecue, 5:30 p.m.
Outfield Arm Accuracy, Timed Base Running, Home Run Derby,
7 p.m.
Friday, July 4
Dickinson vs. Great Falls, 11:30 a.m.
El Segundo vs. Dickinson, 2 p.m.
Miles City vs. Eastside, 4:30 p.m.
Rapid City vs. Loveland, 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 5
Loveland vs. Eastside, 10 a.m.
Dickinson vs. Loveland, 12:30 p.m.
Miles City vs. Great Falls, 3 p.m.
Great Falls vs. Rapid City, 5:30 p.m.
Rapid City vs. El Segundo, 8 p.m.
Sunday, July 6
Semi-Final 1, 12:30 p.m.
Semi-Final 2, 3 p.m.
Championship, 6 p.m.
Long-time competitors
El Segundo, Rapid City return; Great Falls makes first
trip
By Josh Samuelson
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two previews
for the 28th Annual Bill Newhouse Blue Rock Distributing
Wood Bat Baseball Tournament starting today in Miles City
and continuing through the week. Today’s preview
will cover the El Segundo Blues, Rapid City Post 320 Stars
and the Great Falls Stallions.
For the first time since 1999, the El Segundo (Calif.)
Blues will be returning to the Bill Newhouse Invitational.
El Segundo ranks as one of the all-time great teams in
the Newhouse Tournament. In their previous 12 trips to
the Newhouse Tournament, the Blues have posted a 52-19
record and have won five titles.
Their .732 winning percentage ranks eighth all time and
their 52 wins is second only to Claremont’s (Calif.)
65 wins. The Blues’ five titles are the most in
Newhouse history.
In 10 of their 12 trips to the Newhouse, the Blues have
at least reached the semi-finals and have played in six
title games.
In a period of five years (1995-99), El Segundo won four
of five championship games.
Their first title came in 1992 when they beat Eugene (Ore.)
6-5. The other wins have also come against outstanding
teams, with title game wins over Claremont twice, Kennewick
(Wash.) and Eastside (Wash.).
The Blues are under the direction of one of the all-time
great high school baseball coaches in the nation in John
Stevenson.
Stevenson has guided El Segundo High School’s baseball
team for 50 seasons and will retire after this year. Stevenson’s
long list of accomplishments includes 1,036 wins at ESHS
(not including Legion victories). Those wins place him
fifth in the nation in all-time wins and tops among California
coaches.
El Segundo will be bringing a very young roster to the
2008 Newhouse Tournament. Of their 17 players on the roster,
only one graduated this past spring, and seven will be
seniors this coming fall.
The Blues have been enjoying themselves in Montana already,
having floated the Gallatin River earlier in the week
and visited the Little Bighorn National Battlefield before
they played their first two games today.
The Blues will face the Miles City Mavericks at 5:30 p.m.,
and then will follow with the Great Falls Stallions at
8 p.m.
GREAT FALLS STALLIONS
(Great Falls, Mont.)
The Great Falls Stallions are in their first Bill Newhouse
Tournament and will be coming in with a pretty good baseball
team.
Miles City Maverick fans will remember two weeks ago when
the Stallions came to town and beat the Mavs 9-1 on the
great pitching of Zach Griffith.
The Stallions come into the tournament with a solid 28-18
record on the season. They have won six of their last
eight games and played well in the Rapid City Post 22
Tournament two weeks ago.
“Right now we’re playing pretty good baseball,”
Stallions Manager Mike Ferradas said. “We’re
playing solid defense, getting good pitching and we’re
hitting the ball. This is about the best we’ve played
this year. We’re coming in with a good frame of
mind and getting ready for the last stretch of conference
games.”
The Stallions are used to playing quality out-of-state
competition, having just competed in the Rapid City Rich
Hinseth Agency Tournament.
In that tournament, the Stallions picked up wins over
Wheatland (Wyo.), Watertown (S.D.) and the always tough
Rapid City Post 22.
“These tournaments give good quality of play from
outside of the state,” Ferradas said. “It
gives the kids an opportunity to see some great teams.
And there’s a chance of seeing some college coaches
who may not normally see our kids.”
Offensively, the Stallions are hitting .335 on the season.
They have three regulars who are hitting over .400 with
Dan Olinger leading the way at .445, Bryce Thompson hitting
at a .422 clip and Tanner Bleskin hitting .407.
“Those guys are our two, three and four hitters,”
Ferradas said. “And they’ve done a great job
of setting the pace for us.”
Bleskin leads the team in triples with six and home runs
with seven, and he has also driven in 41 runners. Thompson
has 55 RBI on the season and leads with 15 doubles. Olingher
has 51 runs scored and 36 RBI.
Bleskin also is one of the Stallions’ top arms on
the mound. He is 5-4 on the season with a 3.79 ERA. He
has 53 strikeouts in 68 innings of work. Bryce Thompson
and Zach Griffith are each 4-1 on the season and have
ERAs under 2.80.
“We have seven different guys that throw innings,”
Ferradas said. “If we’re lucky we can have
some guys throw a game each day.”
The Stallions will open the tournament tonight against
El Segundo at 8.
RAPID CITY POST
320 STARS
(Rapid City, S.D.)
The Rapid City (S.D.) Post 320 Stars will be making their
seventh consecutive trip to the Bill Newhouse Tournament.
In their previous six appearances, they have a 19-25 record
and won the 2003 championship. They have reached the semi-finals
in each of their six appearances.
This year, the Post 320 Stars come into the tournament
with a 20-10 record on the season.
They have won nine of their last 11 games, and went 4-0
in their own tournament last weekend.
The Stars return four starters from last year’s
team that reached the Newhouse championship game, which
they lost 6-0 to Chino (Calif.).
Zach Cimburek, Brad Winkleman, Kyle Starkey and Chris
Lindeman are the returning starters.
The Post 320 Stars will open the Newhouse tomorrow at
12:30 p.m., when they will play Eastside (Wash.).
Monday,
June 30
Newhouse Tournament
starts tomorrow
By Josh Samuelson
EDITOR’S NOTE: We will preview four of the seven
teams in the Newhouse Tournament tonight, with the other
three running in tomorrow’s Star.
For the 28th straight year, Denton Field will be the sight
of one of the premier tournaments in the region.
Seven teams from around the West will vie for the Bill
Newhouse Wood Bat Tournament title this season in what
looks to be a very good tournament.
Joining the Miles City Mavericks will be Eastside (Wash.),
Dickinson (N.D.), Loveland (Colo.), El Segundo (Calif.),
Rapid City (S.D.) and the Great Falls Stallions.
Games will run Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. The play day on Thursday returns again this year
with a golf tournament, bowling tournament, canoe races
and baseball skills challenges.
Tuesday’s games will get started at 3 p.m., Wednesday’s
will start at 10 a.m., Friday’s will start at 11:30
a.m., and Saturday’s will also start at 10 a.m.
The semi-finals are set for 12:30 p.m., and 3 p.m., on
Sunday. The championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
MILES CITY MAVERICKS
The Miles City Mavericks have had a tough season so far.
The host team comes into the 28th Annual Bill Newhouse
Tournament with a 3-23 record.
They had started the season 2-1, but then lost 22 straight
games until Sunday when they finally got off the slide
with a 7-1 win over Regina, Sask., at the Terry Jablonsky
Wood Bat Tournament in Dickinson, N.D.
“There’s a lot of good competition coming
into town,” Mavs Head Coach Kyle Pryor said. “It
was big for us to get the win and get some confidence.
We were so close the past 8-10 games, just finally breaking
out. I think the kids are finally realizing that with
good pitching and good defense we can win ball games.
We don’t have to score 10 runs a game. It’s
just executing and being focused every play.”
The Mavs have been led this season offensively by shortstop
Jordan Bryant.
Bryant, before this past weekend, was hitting near .500
on the season and has been the catalyst for the Mavs offense.
Seth Crawford, Jared Thomason and Shawn Elliott have also
been key contributors to the Mavericks offense.
Elliott has turned into one of the stronger pitchers for
the Mavs this season. He picked up the win over Regina,
allowing just one hit, and was named to the All-Tournament
team in Dickinson.
Crawford and Bryant also give the Mavs strong innings.
Crawford redshirted for the Miles Community College Pioneers
this past season.
The Mavs, who are very young this year, have also been
hit hard by the injury bug.
One of the Mavs top performers from last season, Chris
Bogner, has just started playing again after breaking
his collar bone in the first game of the season.
The Mavs have had numerous other players on the sidelines
with injuries.
Of course, the Mavs are the only team that have played
in all 27 previous Newhouse Tournaments. They hold a 42-87
record in the tournament, and won the title in 2001.
The Mavs will open the tournament with El Segundo on Tuesday
at 5:30 p.m. They will play Loveland at 6 p.m., on Tuesday;
Eastside on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and Great Falls on Saturday
at 3 p.m.
EASTSIDE BASEBALL
(Kirkland, Wash.)
The Eastside Baseball Club of Kirkland, Wash., will be
making their eighth-appearance in the Bill Newhouse Tournament.
They are 15-29 in their previous seven appearances.
This year, Eastside comes in near .500 on the season.
They are a group of players made up from high schools
around the Kirkland area, east of Seattle.
Three of the Eastside players come from Cedar Crest High
School who reached the state semifinals in Washington.
The team that won the Washington state championship, fell
to Cedar Crest in the Regionals this past season.
The Eastside team will be missing four of their players,
but come in feeling good about their season so far.
“We’re playing good ball,” Coach Keith
Elwell said. “We have a solid defense, with a lot
of options. We’re blessed with good position players
that can play both infield and outfield. We’ll continue
to do a lot of things defensively in the tournament. And
our pitching is solid. We have a good combination of experienced
18 year olds and some younger ones that throw hard and
if they throw well, they’ll be tough.”
The Eastside group has enjoyed coming to the Newhouse
and especially the Play Day on Thursday.
“We like coming to the tournament,” Elwell
said. “We’re glad to see that they’re
going back to the original format with the play day in
between. We have a chance to do things as a team and rub
elbows with the other teams in the tournament on a different
level than just the field.”
DICKINSON ROUGHRIDERS
(Dickinson, N.D.)
The Dickinson Roughriders will be making their first appearance
at the Bill Newhouse Tournament, but they are far from
strangers to baseball fans in Miles City.
The Roughriders and Mavericks have had a long-standing
rivalry, with Dickinson earning a big 16-0 win earlier
this season.
Dickinson was sitting 12-3 after their tournament this
season (they played two games with Devils Lake tonight).
“We’ve been hitting the ball well, and have
improved defensively,” Roughriders Head Coach Cory
Hansen said. “We’ve been cleaning things up.
We’ve been getting good starts out of our pitchers.”
At the Terry Jablonsky Tournament, the Roughriders went
4-1. They beat Moose Jaw, Sask., 3-2, Regina, Sask., 15-1,
Pierre, S.D., 6-0 and Coon Rapids, Minn., 2-1. Their lone
loss came to Durango, Nev., 10-7
“We saw everyone’s number one pitcher,”
Hansen said. “We lost a tough one to Durango, but
had chances to win.”
Coming to the Newhouse for the first time, this will be
a chance for Dickinson to see teams they’ve never
seen before.
“We’re excited about it,” Hansen said.
“We get to see some new competition. And it’s
good to see some quality pitching.”
Steven Laylock is Dickinson’s top pitcher, while
Travis Tooley and Ben Herauf lead the Roughrider offense.
Coach Hansen is no stranger to Denton Field, or Maverick
fans. He was involved in the Billings Scarlets organization
for 10 years, and was the head coach of the Scarlets for
four seasons, winning the state AA title in 2006.
He was also Mavericks Head Coach Kyle Pryor and assistant
coach Cole Pryor’s coach when they played for the
Scarlets.
MOUNTAIN VIEW LIONS
(Loveland, Colo)
Also making their first appearance in the Bill Newhouse
Tournament will be the Mountain View Lions from Loveland,
Colorado.
Mountain View comes in with a solid program. During the
summer they play against some good American Legion and
Connie Mack teams from the Denver area.
They are leading their conference with a 14-1 mark so
far this summer, they are 24-5 overall.
“We’ve had a good summer,” Lions Head
Coach Brian Smela said. “We’ve played some
very good Connie Mack teams and have fared well against
them, going 3-2. It’s been a pretty good season
so far.”
The Lions, which are made up of Mountain View High School
players, had a disappointing high school season that saw
them miss the state playoffs for the first time in school
history.
“We missed the playoffs by a game,” Smela
said. “That was a major disappointment. We’re
pretty young, but that’s the mark that we’re
held to. We’ll look to remedy that pretty quick.”
The Lions will be finishing up their regular season tonight
and will begin their playoffs the week after the Newhouse.
The Lions top pitcher will be Derek Neeter who will be
a junior this coming fall. He’s 3-2 with a 3.04
ERA so far this season and has 44 strike outs in 40 innings
of work.
“He’s a hard thrower, throwing in the upper-80’s,”
Smela said of Neeter. “He’s been our ace since
his freshman year.”
Nick Miller is also a strong pitcher, who will also be
a junior. He’s 5-1 on the season and has 37 strike
outs in 36 innings of work. The team has a solid pitching
staff with a 2.34 team ERA.
Ben Netzel is the top slugger for the Lions. He is hitting
.475 on the year with six home runs and 35 RBIs. Logan
Moore is hitting .500 with 48 hits and 44 RBIs.
Swinging wood bats will be nothing new for the Lions.
In league play, two of the three games are played with
wood bats.
“We really enjoy using wood bats,” Smela said.
“It’s a lot more like real baseball. Baseball
the way it should be.”
Mavericks off slide
with 7-1 win over Regina in Dickinson
By Josh Samuelson
The Miles City Mavericks are off the slide.
For the first time in over a month, the Mavs got to taste
the sweetness of victory.
In Sunday’s final game of the Terry Jablonsky Wood
Bat Tournament in Dickinson, N.D., the Mavs picked up
a 7-1 win over Regina, Saskatchewan.
“Towards the end of the game, we were up 5-1. You
could just feel in our dugout that the pressure was released,”
Mavs Head Coach Kyle Pryor said. “The monkey was
in the sack, and the sack was in the river.”
The win came after the Mavs had lost 22 straight games.
In the past few games, especially in the tournament, the
Mavs had been close to getting off the slide.
“We have been so close. We probably should have
been 4-1 in the tournament,” Pryor said. “The
staff gave us opportunities to win. But plays here and
there took the momentum away from us.”
The Mavs are now 3-23 on the season. They don’t
get many more breaks, especially this week when they will
be hosting the highly competitive Bill Newhouse Tournament.
In the Jablonsky Tournament, the Mavs opened with a 7-1
loss to Pierre, S.D.
On Friday, the Mavs dropped a tough 5-2 game to Coon Rapids,
Minn.
The Mavs got a lot closer on Saturday, dropping a 10-6
decision to Moose Jaw, Sask., and then losing 5-4 to Durango,
Nev.
But everything came together on Sunday.
The Mavs got on the board right away in the first inning,
taking a 2-1 lead.
Jordan Bryant led off the game with a single, stole second
base and went to third on a Regina error.
He then scored on a sacrifice fly from Chris Bogner.
Seth Crawford came around and scored on an error to give
the Mavs a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“We had a good approach at the plate,” Pryor
said. “Just getting more games, we’re getting
better at the plate. Hits might not be falling in, but
at least we’re putting out good swings.”
Bryant and Crawford each had two hits in the win.
Shawn Elliott picked up the win for the Mavs. He allowed
just one hit in the game, that coming in the first inning.
“It was 2-1 in our favor after the first, and he
settled down and threw a lot of strikes and got ahead
of batters,” Pryor said. “It’s easier
to play defense when you’re getting ahead of batters.”
The Mavs took advantage of playing bunts, hit and runs
and stolen bases to score the remainder of their runs,
something they haven’t been able to do in recent
games.
“We used small ball for the rest of the runs,”
Pryor said. “We’re finally executing the things
we’re calling. Those first four games were one hit
away from breaking the game open, and yesterday we finally
just told ourselves we were going to do it and get the
job done.”
Elliott was named to the All-Tournament team for his efforts
in the Mavs win.
The Mavs will play at least four games this week in the
Newhouse Tournament. They will play El Segundo, Calif.,
tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.; Loveland, Colo., on Wednesday at
6 p.m.; Eastside, Wash., on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.; and
the Great Falls Stallions at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The semi-finals for the tournament are set for 12:30 and
3 p.m. on Sunday. The championship game will be played
at 6 p.m.
Colt starting classes
coming to Miles City
For the Star
A series of free colt starting clinics is coming to the
Miles City area.
On Tuesday, July 1, at the Church Steeple Quarter Horses
in Miles City, nationally known horse trainer Paul Daily
will gentle, bridle, saddle, and ride a young horse in
only two hours.
Daily does not “break horses,” he “gentles”
them, with words and pats, until they let him bridle,
saddle and ride them — all within two hours. Occasionally,
Daily can get the horse to totally submit by lying down.
According to Tana Canen, one of the area organizers, “One
usually has to pay quite a bit to watch and learn from
a good horse clinician, but our clinic is free and Paul
really does a wonderful job with the horses.”
Daily follows the steps outlined in the “Round Pen
of Life” when training a horse during a Wild Horse
Ministries presentation. As Daily works with the horse,
he explains the “Round Pen of Life” to his
audience — pointing out similarities between man’s
relationship with God and a horse’s relationship
with his trainer.
Daily says the Lord has given him this ability and is
using him to reach people who shy away from organized
religion and church. As the horse submits to Daily’s
ministrations, people submit to God’s.
“We have witnessed individual lives being changed
because of their willingness to submit to Jesus Christ,”
said Daily.
Four Wild Horse Ministries colt starting clinics are being
held in the area. One was in Sidney on Sunday. To learn
more about the ministry, go to Daily’s Web site:
www.wildhorseministries.com
The three other clinics’ schedules are:
Tonight — Glendive at the J&A Arena, 6-8 p.m.
Free will donation. This clinic will be followed by a
free country gospel concert with Val White. Snacks will
be available. Bring lawn chairs to this event. No alcohol
permitted. Contact: Jim and April Heilman, 1-406-687-2110
Tuesday, July 1 — Miles City at Church Steeple Quarter
Horses located at 9430 Valley Drive East, 6-8 p.m. Free
will donation. Snacks will be available. Bring lawn chairs
to this event. No alcohol permitted. Contact: Kathy Blumhagen,
1-406-232-3290
Wednesday, July 2 — Jordan at the Garfield County
Fairgrounds, 6-8 p.m. Free will donation. Lunch will be
available. No alcohol permitted. Contact: Janet Guptill,
1-406-557-2337.
Friday,
June 27
Mavs open Jablonsky
Tourney with loss to Pierre
The Miles City Mavericks opened the Terry Jablonsky
Wood Bat Tournament in Dickinson, N.D., with a 7-1 loss
to Pierre, S.D.
It was much the same for the Mavericks as they had chances
in the game, but couldn’t come through
“They (Pierre) were a pretty good team,” Mavs
Head Coach Kyle Pryor said. “Their pitcher is going
to South Dakota State. But, we had runners on and we just
couldn’t get any big hits.”
The loss drops the Mavs to 2-20 on the season and they
have now lost 19 straight games.
They played Coon Rapid, Minn., this morning in the tournament.
On Saturday the Mavs will play Moose Jaw, Sask., at 9
a.m., and then Durango, Nevada at 4:30 p.m. On Sunday,
the Mavs will play Regina, Sask., at 2 p.m.
The Mavericks will host the 28th Annual Bill Newhouse
Tournament next week, starting Tuesday and running through
Sunday.
Babe Ruth tourney
starts
The Cow Capital Babe Ruth League’s Tournament started
last night at Denton Field.
In the first game of the tournament, the Miles City Elks
topped the Miles City Rotary 13-2 and in the second game
Broadus withstood a late rally from Baker 10-6. By virtue
of their regular season record, Colstrip had a bye through
the first round.
The Elks will now take on Colstrip tonight at 5 p.m. The
teams split their four conference games this season, while
the Elks topped Colstrip 12-2 in a non-confernece game.
Rotary will take on Baker in a loser-out game tonight
at 7 p.m.
The tournament, with all games being held at Denton Field,
will run through Saturday.
The semi-final game, featuring Broadus and the Elks/Colstrip
winner, will be played at 1 p.m.
Loser-out games will be held at 3 and 5 p.m., with the
championship game being set for 7 p.m.
Eagles donate $31,000
to Special Olympics
Special Olympics Montana, a 38-year-old movement that
enables children and adults with intellectual disabilities
to train for life through sports, received a $31,313.60
donation from the Montana Fraternal Order of Eagles at
their recent state convention and annual awards banquet
in Kalispell.
Special Olympics Kalispell athlete and global messenger,
Chrissy Siefke, who accepted this donation on behalf of
Special Olympics Montana, said,
“The Fraternal Order of Eagles are made up of people
who really care about us. I’m so happy that they
would donate all this money so 2,000 athletes like me
in Montana can train and compete in sports.” Special
Olympics Montana President/CEO Bob Norbie said, “Just
as athletes like Chrissy Siefke inspire all of us to do
our best, the Fraternal Order of Eagles has given above
and beyond anything we could have possibly imagined. We
are very grateful for their generous support.”
Ralph Becktold, Junior Past State President for the Fraternal
Order of Eagles said,
“Our fraternal organization is all about people
helping people. It is our privilege to help Special Olympics
athletes become valued, appreciated and respected members
of our communities with this donation.”
“The Eagles Aeries and Auxiliaries all across Montana
are hometown builders committed to upholding and nourishing
the values of home, family and community. Special Olympics
is a perfect fit with our mission,” said Wanda Ehlert,
Junior Past President of the FOE Ladies Auxiliary.
The Fraternal Order of Eagles, an international non-profit
organization, unites fraternally in the spirit of liberty,
truth, justice, and equality, to make human life more
desirable by lessening its ills, and by promoting peace,
prosperity, gladness and hope.
For more information about the Fraternal Order of Eagles
visit www.foe.com.
To learn more about Special Olympics Montana and how to
register eligible athletes or to volunteer your time and
talent, please visit www.somt.org or call 1-800-242-6876.
Thursday,
June 26
Fun Run has 52 participants
For the Star
The Badlands Bowl Fun Run was again held in Miles City
this past Saturday, in conjunction with the 15th Annual
Knights of Columbus Badlands Bowl.
The Fun Run had 52 participants in the three events, ranging
in ages from four-62. The 5K course looped through southeastern
residential Miles City and started and finished at the
Miles City Community Track.
The three events were the 5K Run, the 5K Walk and the
one-mile fun run.
Brian Lynnes of Miles City was the overall 5K Run winner
with a time of 23:51.7. Mindy Vanderpan was the overall
female winner, coming in at 26:19.9.
Mark Bilden was second in the 5K Run with a time of 25:06.4
and Joe Baker was third at 25:33.8.
Terri Stevenson was second in the women’s race at
26:41.5 and Erika Christianson was third at 29:45.5.
The Baker family of Miles City was well represented in
the race with dad Joe placing third in the 5K run, mom
Mila was sixth in the one-mile fun run at 10:54.6 and
four-year old daughter Olivia was fifth in the one-mile
fun run at 10:53.1.
Bradley Kneeland won the fun run at 8:03.4, Quinn Pray
(6) was second at 8:22.5 and Kori Pray was third at 8:23.7.
The Doug Vanderpan family from Bismarck had five participants
in the 5K Run, with daughter Mindy Vanderpan being the
overall female winner in the 5K Run and winning the 20-29
female division; Doug Vanderpan won the 40-49 male division;
daughter Molly Vanderpan won the 16-19 female division;
son Kevin Vanderpan won the 15-under male division and
was the youngest 5K runner, and mom Laurie Vanderpan was
4th in the 40-49 female division. They were all here supporting
Dane Vanderpan, who was one of the North Dakota All-Star
football players.
The walkers were led by Kathy Sampson of Helena, in a
time of 43:19.1, and Louis Begger was the first male walker
to finish in a time of 44:07.4.
The Badlands Bowl Fun Run will held again in Miles City
on Saturday, June 20, 2009, in conjunction with the 16th
Annual Badlands Bowl Football Game.
Wednesday,
June 25
Scarlets sweep double
header, Mavs improve in second game
By Josh Samuelson
What a difference half an hour can make.
After getting blown out 14-0 in the first half of the
double header last night at Denton Field, the Miles City
Mavericks played countless times better against the Billings
Scarlets in the second half.
The second game ended in a 6-2 loss for the Mavs, but
they played as well as they have all year long. The Mavs
are now 2-19 overall on the season and 0-8 in the Eastern
AA. They have lost 18 straight at this point.
“I thought we came out well,” Mavs Head Coach
Kyle Pryor said. “We had Seth (Crawford) on the
mound, and he shut them down for a few innings and gave
us some confidencee. We got them on their heels, and they
were getting worried.”
The Mavs took the lead in the bottom of the first in game
two, thanks to an unfortunate event.
Alex Bushman, one of the premier pitchers in the state,
had the start for the Scarlets. But after throwing just
three pitches to Mavs leadoff hitter Jordan Bryant, he
pulled himself out of the game with shoulder issues.
Bryant eventually walked when Lucas Blehm came into the
game. Without much time for preparation, Blehm walked
three more batters, giving the Mavs a slight 1-0 lead.
The Scarlets tied the score at one in the third on a double
from Joel Reitz and a sacrifice fly from Jordan Roberts.
But rather than folding in the tents, the Mavs stayed
in the ball game. In the bottom of the third, Jared Thomason
led off the inning with a sharp single.
Thomason stole second base and went to third on a wild
pitch. Two batters later, Crawford drilled a single to
score Thomason.
Crawford continued to keep the Scarlets off balance, even
getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth.
But in the fifth, disaster nearly struck.
With one out in the inning, Crawford faced Roberts with
nobody on base. Roberts drilled a line drive back at Crawford
and the ball smacked into his shoulder. Roberts stood
on first base and Crawford was clearly in pain.
After a few moments, Crawford regained himself and got
back on the mound. With his shoulder sore to begin the
inning, being hit didn’t help anything.
Crawford stayed in the game, actually throwing a bit harder
than before. The next batter was Jesse Finley, and Crawford
got an 0-2 count on Finley before he smacked an RBI single.
That would be the end of the night for Crawford, who gave
way to hard-throwing Kasey Tharp.
Tharp had control issues to start his outing, walking
the first two batters he faced. Tharp then gave up an
RBI single to Ty Gilmore, giving the Scarlets the lead,
but then the Mavs played some heads-up defense.
Eric Nell was retired in a run-down on Gilmore’s
single and then Gilmore was picked off at first base by
Tharp.
The fifth inning looked like an inning in which the Scarlets
would blow the game open, but the Mavs hung in there.
Offensively, the Mavs continued to get runners on base,
but could not come through with a timely base hit.
“I think we were doubting ourselves in that we could
compete with these better teams,” Pryor said. “Now
we know we can compete with any team in any day.”
The Scarlets added two in the sixth and one in the seventh
to put the game out of reach.
In the first game, the Scarlets showed why they are at
the top of the Eastern AA standings.
The Billings team smacked 14 hits and scored 14 runs.
The game was tight for a few innings as the Scarlets scored
single runs in each of the first and second innings.
The Mavs were on the verge of breaking through in those
innings, having runners in scoring position. But again,
the Mavs couldn’t get the timely hits when they
were needed, and then the Scarlets’ offense exploded
for 11 runs in the third and fourth innings.
“They (Scarlets) hit the ball really well,”
Pryor said. “But we had a lot of runners on; we
just couldn’t get that big hit and get it done.”
The Mavs will look to end their slide this weekend when
they travel to the Terry Jablonsky Wood Bat Tournament
in Dickinson, N.D. The tournament runs Thursday through
Sunday, and then the Mavs will host the 28th Annual Bill
Newhouse Invitational July 1-6 at Denton Field.
Scarlets 14, Mavericks 0
1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Scarlets 1 1 6 5 1 - 14 14 0
Mavericks 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 6 2
Batting
Mavericks (2-18, 0-7)- Jordan Bryant 1-2; Jared Thomason
0-1; Chris Bogner 0-2; Seth Crawford 2-3; Shawn Elliott
1-3; Trey Shipman 1-3; Garrett Askin 0-2; Isaiah Bergman
1-1; Kasey Tharp 0-2; Team 6-19.
2B- Crawford, Bergman. 3B- none. HR- none.
Scarlets (26-10, 6-1)- Jordan Heringer 0-4; Joel Reitz
1-3, run, 2 RBI; Mike Tevlin 1-2, 2 runs; Alex Bushman
3-4, 2 runs; Jordan Roberts 3-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Tyson
Shriver 1-4, 2 runs; Jesse Finley 2-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI;
Tyler Tabbert 2-2, 3 runs; Ty Gilmore 1-2, 2 RBI; Team
14-29, 14 runs, 9 RBI.
2B- Bushman, Roberts, Gilmore. 3B- none. HR- Reitz.
Pitching
Mavericks- Shawn Elliott (L) 5 IP, 14 runs, 11 earned,
14 hits, 1 strike out, 2 walks, 2 hit batters.
Scarlets- Riley Corcoran (W) 5 IP, 0 runs, 6 hits, 7 strike
outs, 2 walks, 2 hit batters.
Scarlets 6, Mavericks 2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Scarlets 0 0 1 0 2 2 1 - 6 9 0
Mavericks 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 3
Batting
Mavericks (2-19, 0-7)- Jordan Bryant 0-3, run; Jared Thomason
2-3, run; Chris Bogner 0-3; Seth Crawford 1-3, RBI; Shawn
Elliott 1-2, RBI; Trey Shipman 2-3; Isaiah Bergman 0-3;
Garrett Askin 0-3; Tate Wickham 0-2; Kasey Tharp 0-1;
Team 6-26, 2 runs, 2 RBI.
2B- Thomason. 3B- none. HR- none.
Scarlets (27-10, 7-1)- Jordan Heringer 2-4, run, RBI;
Aleksei Grosulak 0-5, run; Joel Reitz 1-5, run; Mike Tevlin
1-3; Jordan Roberts 2-2, run, 2 RBI; Jesse Finley 1-3,
run, RBI; Joey Werner 0-1; Tyson Shriver 0-1; Eric Nell
1-3, run; Ty Gilmore 1-2, RBI; Team 9-29, 6 runs, 5 RBI.
2B- Reitz. 3B- Heringer. HR- none.
Pitching
Mavericks- Seth Crawford (L) 4.1 IP, 3 runs, 3 earned,
4 hits, 1 strike out, 4 walks, 1 hit batter; Kasey Tharp
2.2 IP, 3 runs, 2 earned, 5 hits, 2 strike outs, 3 walks.
Scarlets- Alex Bushman 1 batter, 1 run, 1 walk; Lucas
Blehm 7 IP, 1 run, 1 earned, 6 hits, 10 strike outs, 4
walks, 1 hit batter.
First Barrell Daze
event a success
Pleasant weather and excellent ground conditions last
weekend at the Eastern Montana Fairgrounds helped make
the first Riverside Marine & Cycle Barrel Daze event
a success, organizer Lana Tibbetts said.
The weekend featured Women’s Professional Rodeo
Association (WPRA) and Northwest Barrel Racing Association
(NWBRA) barrel races. There were 188 runs on Saturday
and 170 runs on Sunday
Past National Finals Rodeo qualifier Shelly Anzick of
Forsyth and 13-year-old Amelia Anderson of Livingston
were the high money earners on the weekend. Anzick won
$1,100, while Anderson earned $825. In total, $23,000
was paid out. Over 140 checks were paid to the placing
entrants of the events.
Anzick and Anderson joined Montana NFR qualifiers Terri
Kaye Kirkland and Rayna Rice among the field of entrants.
Out-of-state contestants came from N.D., S.D. and Wyo.
to compete in the event.
“Most of them arrived on Friday evening, leaving
Sunday afternoon, Tibbetts said in a press release. “They
all enjoyed the event and were very excited and happy
to be in the “Cowtown.”’
One of the attendants, Carla Olson of Sheridan, Wyo.,
thoroughly enjoyed the event, writing, in an e-mail to
Tibbetts, “Thanks so much for putting on such a
great barrel race. The ground was great, the announcer
was awesome, and everything ran smooth. People who care
a lot about us barrel racers are hard to find, but you
are definitely one of a few.”
Tibbetts expressed thanks to Barrell Daze’s 17 sponsors,
namely title sponsor Roger Lothspeich, owner of Riverside
Marine & Cycle.
“That’s the bottom line. Without the sponsors,
we couldn’t have the event,” she said.
Tuesday,
June 25
Cahill leads Montana
to sweep
By Josh Samuelson
Former Custer County District High School Cowgirl star
Torrie Cahill helped lead the Montana All-Stars to a two-game
sweep of the Wyoming All-Stars in the Annual Montana-Wyoming
All-Star Series.
In the first game, played in Sheridan, Wyoming, Cahill
led the Montana team with 19 points, 11 coming from the
free throw line. Montana girls won 79-70 in the first
game.
In that game, Montana held a 14 point lead and led through
the first 37 minutes of the game.
But Wyoming took a slight lead and held a 67-65 lead with
17 seconds to play in the game.
But former Bozeman star Kirsten Tilleman tied the score
in the final seconds, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, Montana outscored Wyoming 12-5, finally pulling
away in the final three minutes.
In Billings on Saturday night, played at Billings West
High School, Montana came back from a huge defecit.
At one point, Wyoming held a 44-18 lead in the second
quarter, but Montana rallied for the 84-74 win.
Malta’s Laramie Schwenke hit a three-pointer to
tie the score at 57 then gave the Montana girls their
first lead of the night with a three-point play to give
them a 60-57 lead late in the third quarter.
Montana hit 10 of 11 free throws in the fourth to hold
Wyoming at bay.
Anaconda’s Ali Hurley led Montana with 16 points.
Cahill finished with eight in the win.
The Montana girls now lead the series 15-9.
The Montana boys also earned a sweep of the Wyoming All-Stars.
They won 93-88 in Sheridan and followed that with a 102-90
win on Saturday. Montana now leads the series 42-24.
Horse show circuit
to be held at fairgounds
For the Star
The Eastern Montana Horse Show Circuit will be held in
Miles City for two days, June 28 and 29, at the Eastern
Montana Fairgrounds. The Cow Country Quarter Horse Association
will host the show. The circuit is a series of shows in
eastern Montana from Wibaux to Broadus and Baker to Miles
City. The shows for this season started in June and will
wind up in July. All local horsemen are eligible to show.
In order for points to be counted for year-end awards,
contestants must belong to the circuit, but it is not
necessary to join the circuit to enter each local show.
Each show starts at 8 a.m.
There are classes for the very young, six and under, up
to Jack Benny classes (over 39). Halter classes consist
of a pony class, Jr. amd Sr. Geldings, Jr. and Sr. Mares,
and Jr. and Sr. Stallions, with grand and reserve ribbons
for each class.
There is a full slate of English Pleasure, English equitation,
western Pleasure, Western Equitation, and Trail for ages
Youth, Novice, and Adult. There are also classes for Jr.
Horse in English Pleasure, Western Pleasure and Trail.
A class that has been recieved very well on the circuit
is a Men’s Cowboy Pleasure for all ages.
In addition, there are the speed events of Barrels, Flag
Race and Poles for youth, novice and adult.
Youth riders are 14 and under, adult riders are 15 and
over, novice contestants cannot have won in that class
in previous years and Jack Benny participants must be
over 39.
Some novelty classes are Costume Class, Bareback Equitation,
Driving Class and Ranch Horse for all ages.
Cowboy state champions
head to All-Star event
Derick Singleton, Casey Makor and Kylan Zumpf, who each
won state wrestling titles this past February for the
Custer County District High School Cowboys, are on their
way with the Team Montana All-Stars for the Disney National
Wrestling Duals in Orlando, Fla.
The trio attended an intensive training camp in Sidney
last week, where they had wrestle-offs for team positioning.
All three won their matches, earning the top spot at their
weights.
Last Friday they wrestled in a dual against Casselton,
N.D., where Singleton and Zumpf won their matches and
Makor lost a tight decision.
The Team Montana All-Stars are in Orlando this week where
they began wrestling today at the Disney All-Star Sports
Complex. They will wrestle throughout the week and return
to Miles City on Saturday.
Also attending the Sidney wrestling camp was Shane and
Jace Cooley.
Mavs drop five more
The Miles City Mavericks have hit a rough patch of the
season. Currently the Mavericks are in the midst of a
16 game losing streak. The Mavs are sitting at 2-17 on
the year, they are 0-6 in the Eastern AA.
This has been a brutal stretch that had the Mavs playing
eight games in six days. Following losses to Helena and
Great Falls last week, they traveled to Butte where they
fell 6-0 and 10-7.
Then on Saturday, the Mavs traveled to Dickinson where
they were beat 16-0. On Sunday the Mavs were in Billings
to take on the Lobos and fell 8-0 and 5-4.
The Mavs will host the Eastern AA leading Billings Scarlets
in a double header tonight at 5 p.m., at Denton Field
and will be in Dickinson this weekend for the Terry Jablonsky
Wood Bat Tournament. Then they will host the Bill Newhouse
Tournament July 1-6.
Pioneers sign four players
Miles Community College baseball coach Rob Bishop has
announced the signing of four players from Riverton (Utah)
High School. Alex Newman, Connor Woodward, Vance Howard,
and Nic Johnston will join former teammates Matt Newbold
and Andrew Sanchez as members of the Pioneer baseball
team.
Both Newman and Woodward played the outfield and pitched
for the Silverwolves this past season. “Alex and
Connor are both solid defensively in the outfield and
have good athletic ability. Connor will also work on the
mound for us. We expect both of these players to develop
into great college players,” said Coach Bishop.
Newman joins the Pioneers after finishing third in batting
average, hitting .418 as well as near the top in almost
every offensive category. He finished the season with
39 hits, 34 RBI’s, 10 walks, seven doubles, and
a pair of homeruns.
Woodward led the team in stolen bases (nine) and hit .348
this past season. Besides having the speed, he also added
some power, with three homeruns knocking in 40 RBI’s
this past season. As a junior, he hit .357 and scored
21 runs. On the mound, he went 3-0 in eight appearances
for the Silverwolves this past season. In 21.33 innings
pitched, he struck out 34 batters and gave up just over
one hit per inning with 23 hits allowed.
Howard joins the team after hitting .300 in 80 at bats
this past season at Riverton High School. He had 24 hits
knocked in 17 runs for the Silverwolves. He comes to MCC
with three letters in baseball, including an Honorable
Mention on the All-Region team as a sophomore and Second
Team both as a junior and senior. “Vance is a very
versatile player that can play anywhere in the infield.
He has a great glove and will make our program better
with what he brings defensively. He brings a great attitude
to the park every day,” said Coach Bishop. As a
senior, Vance was named Academic All-Region, he also has
lettered in golf his junior and senior season.
Johnston, missed his senior season due to a torn ACL,
however had solid numbers as an underclassman. His junior
season he hit .306 and was named second team all-region.
He was even better as a sophomore, hitting .423 and a
member of the first team all-region. “Nic is a guy
that we expect to be a physical presence in lineup right
away. He is a big strong kid with a mature approach to
hitting,” Bishop added, “he is also a great
personality to add to our program.”
Riverton High School finished the season with a 22-5 overall
record, including being ranked number one most of the
season in Utah’s Class 5A. They fell in the state
tournament in the semifinals, losing 2-1. Newman, Woodward,
and Howard played in all 27 games this past season.
Miles Community College finished the season 39-18-1 and
winning the Region IX Championship.
Local motocross holds
races
The Signal Butte Motocross Track in Miles City hosted
races last weekend with many local riders earning wins
and placing in the all-day event.
Rick Dittus came away with three victories. He won in
the 250 Expert, 125 Expert and Open Expert.
Torrey Watts place in three events, including a win in
the 85 7-11 year old; second in the 65 10-12 and fifth
in the 85 Open.
Doug Schneider also placed in three events, he was second
in the 250 Intermediate, third in the veteran and seventh
in Open Intermediate.
Colby Gergen led four Miles City riders in the 51 pee
wee Jr. Class. He was second and was followed by Cooper
Munroe in third, Treyton Boager was fourth and Jacksen
Watts in sixth. Gergen was also second in the 51 pee wee
Sr., class and Munroe was third.
Casey Gergen won the 65 6-9 year old class. Dylan Munroe
was second and Conagher Barrows was third.
Ethan Iverson was second in the 125 Novice and third in
the Open Novice. Jesse Dittus was eight in the Open Intermediate
and 10th in the 125 Intermediate.
Jaylene Tennant won the women’s division, while
Sami Schneider was second in the womens and 12th in the
Open Novice.
Trevor Watts was third in the 65 10-12 and Doug Monroe
was sixth in the veterans division.
Cowboy Camp starts
soon
The Custer County District High School Basketball team
will host the Cowboy Basketball Camp that starts next
Monday.
The Camp, under the direction of new head coach Paul Yoakam,
will run Monday June 30, through July 3.
Grades eight and nine will run from 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Grades 5-8 will go 1-4 p.m., and high school will go from
5:30-8:30 p.m.
The cost is $35 and for more information contact Yoakum
at 234-0541 or at paulyoakam@hotmail.com.
MCC to honor former
coach Connors with scholarship
For the Star
Miles Community College has announced the forming of the
Dan Connors Scholarship to honor the former head coach
who passed away in 2005. This scholarship will be given
to a men’s basketball player annually to continue
their playing career at MCC to honor the late coach.
Coach Connors served as the Pioneers’ head coach
for 18 years (1974 – 1993) where he used his unique
gifts in contributing to young people’s development,
not only on the basketball court, but also off the court
and in the classroom as a teacher.
Prior to coming to MCC, Dan served a 15 year stint at
Miles City’s Sacred Heart School as both the football
and basketball coach. His success is legendary, where
he earned several district, divisional, and state championships.
As a result of his success, he was elected to the Montana
Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1984.
“Coach Connors was a valuable asset to many people
during his tenure at Miles Community College giving many
young men the opportunity to play college basketball and
begin their college education. Coach Connors left a lasting
impression and touched many lives in such a positive way,”
said current MCC coach Shawn Neary (who played for Coach
Connors in the late 80’s).
Miles Community College is looking for annual donations
to the Dan Connors Scholarship fund. Any member of Coach
Connor’s teams, MCC alumni, friends, family, as
well as anyone else who wishes to contribute are encouraged
to help the Pioneers remember our late coach. For more
information on the scholarship or how to give contact
Coach Neary at (406) 874-6213 or nearys@milescc.edu.
Monday,
June 23
Montana blows out
North Dakota 54-14
By Josh Samuelson
All-star football games can be a tough proposition. You
only have a week of practice to prepare, you really don’t
know what you’re getting from your opponent, and
there are all the rules changes.
Well, apparently those weren’t problems for the
Montana All-Stars at the 15th Annual Knights of Columbus
Badlands Bowl played on Denton Field Saturday.
The Montana coaching staff, led by head coach Jim Stanton
of Billings Central, put together a flawless game plan,
and the Montana all-stars executed that game plan nearly
perfectly. The end result was a 54-14 whitewashing of
North Dakota.
“The kids were ready to go, and that’s a credit
to them,” Stanton said. “And it’s a
really a credit to our coaches for getting them prepared.
We just wanted to get enough offense in, to have kids
make plays.
“We had a slow start, but we really rallied. The
offense scored three and the defense scored two. You always
want your offense to outscore your defense.”
After the sluggish start, in which the first drive ended
with a fumble, Montana started to roll.
The offense scored on two out of the next three possessions.
Chance Demerais, from Malta, scored the first of his three
touchdowns, and Beau Donaldson caught a screen pass and
took it 34 yards for another score.
“We were clicking on all cylinders,” Donaldson
said. “The passing game, running game, everything
came together. The offensive line was opening huge holes
for us, like they always do, and they gave the quarterbacks
plenty of time.”
Then the Montana defense got in on the action.
On back-to-back North Dakota drives, a Montana defensive
back took an interception into the end zone. First it
was Billings Central’s Jordan Herringer, who also
had a punt return for a touchdown, but was called back.
Herringer intercepted Tommy Zinke’s pass and took
it 28 yards for a score.
Then Billings West’s Russell Schey intercepted a
pass from Zach Wentz and took it 56 yards for another
score.
Not to be outdone, the offense scored on its next possession
on Demerais’ second score of the night.
That gave Montana a commanding 34-0 lead going into halftime.
“It was a relief,” Donaldson said of the big
lead. “But with the 15-minute quarters, we knew
there was a lot of time for them to come back. They came
out a little harder than us in the second half, but then
we got our legs back and put it on them.”
North Dakota made some good adjustments at halftime, coming
out hot in the second half. Wentz threw a 50-yard touchdown
to Tyler Steffan, and then Michael McAttee scored from
two yards out, cutting the lead to 34-14 by the end of
the third.
In the fourth, the Montana offense got back into the groove,
getting two touchdown passes from Billings Senior’s
A.J. Paine.
Paine’s teammate at Senior, Sam Gratton, made a
beatiful jumping catch in the end zone for a 15-yard score,
and Paine hooked up with Kalispell Flathead’s Mike
Gallagher for a six-yard score.
The scoring ended with Demerais’ third score of
the night, this coming from five yards out.
The Montana offense poured on 384 yards of offense, and
overcame three turnovers.
Donaldson, who was named the Montana Offensive MVP, rushed
for 89 yards on 16 carries. He finished with 123 yards
of total offense and scored a touchdown.
Demerais’ three touchdowns equaled the Badlands
Bowl record. He finished with 27 yards on the game.
Hunt and Paine were efficient at quarterback, Paine was
12 of 15 for 112 yards and two touchdowns, while Hunt
was 6 of 9 for 107 yards and a touchdown.
While the offense received plenty of glory in the win,
the defense deserved just as much.
The Montana defense held North Dakota to 284 total yards,
and only 11 first downs in the game. In the first half,
North Dakota had just 78 total yards and three first downs.
“The defense was just great,” Stanton said.
“They did a helluva job. It was really a fun group
to watch.”
Herringer won the Defensive MVP award for his touchdown
and other great plays in the secondary.
The 40-point win marks the fourth time that Montana has
won by at least 40 points. In 1999 Montana won 42-0. They
followed that with a 51-6 win in 2000, and in 2004, Montana
won 55-7.
In the 15-year series, Montana now holds an 11-4 record.
Coming into this game, North Dakota had won two of the
last three games.
It’s one of those things, you always want a closer
game,” Stanton said. “But we have a lot of
talent out here, and we put the kids in the right position,
and it worked out well.”
“It feels really good, especially by a margin like
that,” Donaldson said. “I have a lot of respect
for a