Cats have tough go at state tourney, go 1-2
The Columbia Falls baseball team went 1-2 at the state A tournament in Hamilton. The Wildcats had a tough time getting the bats going in the opener Thursday against Billings Central as they lost 6-2.
In the consolation bracket they came back to beat Frenchtown, 7-5, on Friday but on Saturday they lost in nine innings to Hamilton, 4-3.
The tourney was a tough one for the Wildcats, who came into the fray on a 12-game winning streak.
In the opener sophomore pitcher Jett Pitts threw a nice game, striking out 10 batters, while giving up four hits with just one earned run over 5 1/3 innings.
But the Cats left too many runners on base and couldn’t take advantage of the Rams’ errors, while the Rams got their chances across the plate.
Against Frenchtown, the Cats spotted the Broncs four runs after two innings, but battled with two in the top of third and two in the top of the fourth to tie it. They then put up three more in the top of the fifth after Noah Upton hit a double to drive in three runs with the bases loaded.
The Cats then held on for the win. Nico Young started on the bump and allowed three hits and struck out two. Cooper Ross pitched the save, giving up two hits and one run over two innings.
Against Hamilton, the Cats were down 3-1 at the top of the sixth as Reggie Sapa had a triple. Pitts would drive him in a ground out RBI and then Jace Hill drove in Brady Matson who was at second to tie it.
In the sixth the Cats had the potential winning run on third, but couldn’t get it across, and the game went into extra innings after no one scored in the seventh. In the eighth the Cats also had two runners on, but couldn’t muster a score. Sapa was pitching his third inning of relief by the ninth and walked in the winning run to end the game.
The Cats had a great season otherwise, winning the conference for the second year in a row. They finish at 18-3.
Billings Central would go on to win the title, with a 4-3 win over Belgrade in the championship.
The future looks bright for the Cats, as they have some good young arms and returning talent that should have them right in the mix next season.