Glacier Prep captures Babe Ruth state title

By DAVID ERICKSON / For the Hungry Horse News

The Glacier Prep All-Stars are Montana Babe Ruth state champions after rallying back from the losers' bracket to defeat Bozeman 8-5 in extra innings on Sunday afternoon at Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial Field in Columbia Falls.

It is not often that the stars align for a team to win it all while hosting a state tournament on their home turf, but that is exactly what the local Glacier Prep (age 13) All-Star team accomplished over the weekend. Winning a state trophy looked extremely unlikely for the team by Friday, as they were down to the wire against Bitterroot, with the loser packing their bags.

"It was unbelievable," Babe Ruth league president Ray Queen said. "They were down to the last out, with two down, and nobody on base against Bitterroot. To come back and win that game is amazing. Keep an eye out for this team, they know how to win."

Glacier won that game, 8-7, and followed it up with a 9-4 victory over Kalispell to advance to Sunday's championship game.

Because Bozeman was undefeated coming into Sunday, Glacier would have to beat them twice to win the state title.

"I just told the kids before the first game that if we play like we know we can, we can force that state title game," head coach Eric May said. "Just take it one game at a time."

With everything on the line, Glacier won the first championship game, 5-3, to force another. Jace Kalbfleisch pitched a fantastic five innings for Glacier, holding Bozeman to only three runs.

"He just held them at bay, he had a great game," May said of Kalbfliesch.

In the second game, with the state championship trophy waiting for the victors, a huge crowd showed up at Sapa-Johnsrud Field.

Glacier fell into an early 3-0 hole, but the local all-stars showed the same heart and resiliency that got them out of the losers' bracket.

"We got down right away, but we just never hung our heads," May said. "We just kept up the pressure."

Glacier tied the game in the fourth inning, then took a lead. Bozeman came back and tied the game in the top of the sixth inning. The game was tied at the end of the regulation seven innings.

"We pushed a couple more runs across the plate to force extra innings," May said. "Then in the eighth inning, we got a guy on base, stole second, and had a big double. We got another base hit and got three runs across, and we were state champions."

Dyllon Parker and Cooper Olson had key hits in Glacier's three-run eighth. Then the defense turned a double play in the bottom half and Glacier had the state title.

MAY SAID THAT IT was a complete team effort that allowed his squad to take home the state hardware.

"Every single kid on that team contributed," he said. "They were excited. After we won the championship, everybody just went wild. I couldn't believe it."

The weekend was full of drama for the Glacier Prep All-Stars. They got off to a hot start, winning pool play games over North Bitterroot Valley, 5-4, and Helena, 12-1. That gave them a bye in the double-elimination bracket.

In bracket play Friday, Glacier Prep suffered a tough 3-2 loss to rival Kalispell to put them into the loser-out bracket. After falling behind 3-0, Glacier scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, but the game ended when Kalispell third baseman Bryant Plypton made a nice catch on a pop foul.

"That's the nice thing about a double-elimination tournament," May explained. "It allows you to slip up once and still come back."

Glacier was able to win their next five games. The streak started with wins over Mission and North Bitterroot, followed by a 9-4 revenge victory over Kalispell to put them into Sunday's championship games.

"It was really nice being able to host the tournament because we were sleeping in our own beds," May said. "The fans were just awesome, too."

Queen said this was the first time anyone has hosted a state tournament for both the 13-year-olds and the 14-15-year-olds.

"We pulled it off with a bang," he said. "The whole community came together. We brought a lot of people to the valley, and we are really happy with how everything went. It was awesome."

Glacier Prep pitcher Peter Seymour, of Columbia Falls, was named MVP of the tournament.

GLACIER'S 14-15-YEAR-OLD all-star team started out hot but fizzled later in the state tournament. The team earned wins over Helena, Glendive, Havre and Hi Line East in round-robin play. Going into single-elimination bracket play undefeated, Glacier won its first game, beating Southern Mountain 9-3 as Mac Roche and Jake Walp combined to pitch a three-hitter. Glacier had 10 hits, with Zach Maassen, Chris King and Roche each hitting a double.

Glacier was eliminated by Mission Valley 9-6 in the semifinals Sunday. The all-stars ended up taking third place in the tournament.

"It's disappointing, because they were easily the most talented team in the tournament," Queen said. "But hopefully they learn something from this."

Glendive routed Mission Valley 14-3 in the 14-15-year-old championship game Sunday.

The Glacier Prep team will be heading to Kelso, Wash., to play in the regional Babe Ruth tournament July 27-Aug. 2. The winner of that tournament will head to the Babe Ruth World Series in Jamestown, N.Y.

"Anything can happen with 13-year-olds," May said. "This group of kids won the state tournament when they were 11, so we know what regionals is like. Nothing is going to be a shock or an eye-opener for us. If we play our game, we have a good shot."