Vikings conquer State A baseball

LUKE SCHMIT | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 hours, 55 minutes AGO

Bigfork celebrates with the Class A State Championship trophy after a 7-2 victory over Dillon at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork teammates celebrate after defeating Dillon 7-2 in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork's Grady Campbell (3) and Holland Jantzen (25) celebrate after the Vikings defeated Dillon 7-2 in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork's Hayden Mayer (8) gets a hug from a family member after the Vikings defeated Dillon 7-2 in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork pitcher Hayden Mayer (8) delivers against Dillon in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork's Wyatt Hickey (9), Rye Rodriguez (23) and Ryder Hamilton (21) celebrate after scoring on Hayden Mayer's three-run double in the third inning against Dillon in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork's Max Schara (4) slides into home ahead of the tag on a two-run single by Mason Lewis in the seventh inning against Dillon in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork shortstop Grady Campbell (3) makes a diving catch on a line drive against Dillon in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork centerfielder Cavin Wiest (12) tracks down a line drive against Dillon in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork's Hayden Mayer (8) connects on a bases-loaded, three-run double in the third inning against Dillon in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork second baseman Rye Rodriguez (23) puts the tag on Dillon's Sawyer Tackett (3) trying to steal second base in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork's Mason Lewis (22) drives home Hayden Mayer with an RBI single in the third inning against Dillon in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

POLSON — Everybody kept doubting Bigfork. The Vikings kept answering.

Two days after arriving at the Class A-B state tournament as the West’s No. 2 seed, Bigfork finished off a statement postseason run Saturday afternoon, defeating previously unbeaten Dillon 7-2 at O’Malley Park to secure the program’s first state baseball championship.

“We’ve been underestimated all year,” pitcher Hayden Mayer said. “People seem to underestimate us, but we just kept playing our game.”

Mayer delivered the biggest performance of Bigfork’s season on the biggest stage.

The senior tossed a complete game while driving in four runs, helping the Vikings erase an early deficit before gradually pulling away from the Beavers.

“We had nothing to lose,” Mayer said. “There’s no pressure on us. We were just having fun and playing our game.”

Dillon (19-1-1) struck first in the second inning, when Levi Stonebraker lined an RBI single into center field for a 1-0 lead. The Beavers then appeared poised to put down a Bigfork rally in the third when starting pitcher Cohen Hartman struck out Max Schara with the bases loaded for the second out of the inning.

Moments later, the entire game shifted.

Hartman exited with an elbow injury and Dillon turned to Garrett Tackett out of the bullpen. Bigfork immediately capitalized.

Mayer ripped a three-run double into the gap in right-center field to put the Vikings ahead before Mason Lewis followed with an RBI single to make it 4-1.

“I trusted Hayden the whole time,” Bigfork assistant coach Hunter Johnson said. “This was his moment. He’s been a senior captain for us and he delivered dang well today.”

Bigfork (17-5) stayed in control from there, though Dillon continued applying pressure. The Beavers stole four bases, collected six hits and benefited from four Bigfork errors, but Mayer repeatedly worked through traffic and stranded runners.

“It was a little frustrating because there were a couple errors behind me,” Mayer said. “But I just had to stay composed, throw strikes and do my part.”

Dillon trimmed the lead to 4-2 in the fourth inning when Kanin Engelhardt scored during a passed-ball sequence, but Bigfork’s defense delivered one of the defining moments of the game an inning later.

First, catcher Wyatt Hickey threw out a Dillon baserunner attempting to steal second. Moments later, Grady Campbell made a diving catch at shortstop to end the inning and preserve the two-run lead.

“It’s kind of hard not to be 100 percentfocused in a game like this,” Campbell said. “I just saw the ball and went and grabbed it.”

Bigfork added insurance in the seventh inning when Mayer delivered another RBI single before Schara stole home during a rundown between first and second base. Mayer later scored on a Dillon throwing error by the second baseman as the Vikings stretched the lead to 7-2.

Mayer finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored, while Lewis added two hits and an RBI. Hickey crossed the plate twice despite not recording a hit.

The championship run became even sweeter considering the teams standing in Bigfork’s way.

After upsetting defending champion Billings Central in Thursday’s opener, Bigfork heard celebration coming from Frenchtown’s side of the bracket.

One day later, the Vikings beat the Broncs before taking down Dillon in Saturday’s championship game.

“There’s a lot of people that said we were getting lucky and doubted us,” Johnson said. “But our boys knew the whole time. We didn’t let the noise affect us one bit.”

Johnson, a Dillon graduate himself, called the Vikings the most resilient group he’s coached.

“They’re legit over there,” Johnson said of Dillon. “They call themselves Title Town for a reason. But our boys believed in themselves all tournament long and it showed tonight.”

For head coach Dave Romano, the championship represented the payoff from a season built around chemistry and trust.

“Our goal was to be playing our best baseball at the end of the year,” Romano said. “We had our ups and downs during the year, but we peaked at the right time.”

Romano said the memories surrounding the team may ultimately matter more than the trophy itself.

“Honestly, just the bus rides, the kids’ personalities, the goofing off, the having fun,” Romano said. “That’s the part that sticks with you forever.”

“This isn’t just a group of guys,” Campbell said. “This is family. When one person makes an error, the next person steps up and does their job.”

Bigfork 004 000 3 - 7 5 4

Dillon 010 100 0 2 - 4 6 2

Hayden Mayer and Wyatt Hickey. Cohen Hartman, Garrett Tackett (3), and Andrew Bartlome.

BIGFORK — Rye Rodriguez 0-3, Max Schara 0-3, Mayer 2-4, Mason Lewis 2-4, Cavin Wiest 0-4, Grady Campbell 0-3, Holland Jantzen 0-2, Hickey 0-2, Ryder Hamilton 1-3.

DILLON — Sawyer Tackett 1-4, Hartman 0-1, Logan Fox 0-2, Bartlome 0-3, Trenton Moreni 1-3, Jase Alvarez 1-3, K Engel 1-3, Levi Stonebraker 2-3, Gage Curnow 0-2, Garrett Tackett 0-3.

2B — Mayer. RBIs — Mayer 4, Lewis. Stonebraker.

Whitefish 8, Frenchtown 3

Whitefish stayed alive in the consolation bracket after its game against Frenchtown was suspended Friday night and resumed Saturday morning. The Bulldogs eventually pulled away behind a strong relief outing from Cullen Wallace.

Whitefish broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the third inning and later added insurance while swiping six bases. Wallace finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and also pitched 6 2-3 innings in relief, allowing two hits and two runs. Luke Dalen added two stolen bases for the Bulldogs.

Whitefish later faced Billings Central in the third-place game Saturday, but the game was canceled during play because of weather.

Billings Central 12, Columbia Falls 2

Columbia Falls saw its postseason run end with a 12-2 loss to Billings Central after the consolation matchup was suspended Friday night because of weather.

Jett Pitts gave the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first inning, but the Rams answered with four runs in the bottom half before breaking the game open with a six-run third inning.

Pitts, Nico Young, Jory Hill and Zeke Dunn each recorded hits for Columbia Falls, while Billings Central was led by a 3-for-3 performance from Matteo Harris.

Bigfork teammates celebrate after defeating Dillon 7-2 in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Bigfork pitcher Hayden Mayer (8) delivers against Dillon in the Class A State Championship at O'Malley Park in Polson on Saturday, May 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider