11U All-Stars show grit in season start

Despite seasonably cool temperatures and spring snow on the peaks of Northwest Montana’s mountains, the Whitefish 11U All-Star Baseball team is starting to heat up.

We last heard from this group of talented young ball players as they departed the Northwest Regional Tournament last summer with a disappointing 1-3 record. A bitter taste lingered knowing that more grit would be necessary to truly compete at a Regional level.

The team set forth an aggressive practice regimen that began in January in addition to a longer and more challenging schedule of tournaments for the spring and early summer.

That tournament schedule started with a 3-2 record in the Cinco De Mayo Tournament in Spokane, Wash. While an uncharacteristic and pedestrian performance for this team, the caliber of competition was high and the boys saw first-hand the mental outlook they will need to adopt to be successful on a larger stage.

“We want these boys to understand what it means to have to gut out wins,” said manager Brad Ridgeway. “These young men won a lot of games last year, but were largely untested in many of those games. They need to be pushed to grow.”

The team stepped up swinging at the Helena Slugfest May 13-15. Undaunted by blustery conditions, the Whitefish bats began a steady warm up leading to a 5-0 tournament record, capped off by a championship game 7-2 victory over the Helena 11U All Stars.

“A few of our boys really hit the ball hard in Helena,” said Ridgeway. “Hot hitting has defined this group in the past and it’s exciting to see them moving in that direction again.”

In perhaps the most encouraging effort, the team rolled into Missoula on May 20 for the annual Grand Slam Tournament bolstered by their performance in Helena. As the baseball Gods often dictate, the opening game of the Missoula Tournament saw these boys lined up across the diamond from the same Helena 11U team they had beaten in that championship game just six days prior.

Whitefish managed a 4-3 victory marked by four lead changes. Three solid games that were defined by timely hitting would follow to setup a Sunday afternoon championship against Butte’s Dirty Water Baseball Club. The final was a pitcher’s duel until the top of the sixth when Butte put four runs on the board to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead. Perhaps portending performances to come and paying off their hard work so far, Whitefish did not fold their tents but instead rallied as a team to tie the game and then win 7-5 with a two-run, walk-off double in the bottom of the sixth.

“This team is showing the grit and fight that we were hoping for, I’m really proud of their never give up attitudes,” Ridgeway gushed.

Up next for this team is the Best Of The Northwest Tournament in Spokane, June 3-5.