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

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