Conference win over Eureka highlights big week for Bulldog baseball
Bulldog Clayton Godsey gets a hit in a game against Butte at Memorial Field in Whitefish Thursday. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish pitcher Jacob Polumbus throws the ball to first base in an attempt to get out a runner against Butte at Memorial field on Thursday. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Bulldog Josiah Ruther makes a throw in a game against Butte at Memorial Field in Whitefish Thursday. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish baseball’s first conference game of the year featured stellar pitching by senior Ty Schwaiger that resulted in the Bulldog’s first no-hitter. The Bulldogs put up a stellar 3-0 score for the W.
“We ended up winning 3-0 on the shoulders of Ty Schwaiger — he threw six innings with no runs and no hits. And we closed the game with Jake McIntyre who also didn’t give up a hit, so it was our first no-hitter in program history,” Whitefish head coach Kyler Blades said.
Schwaiger struck out 14 and walked three Lions in his six innings. In addition to his pitching, he also broke the game loose in the sixth inning, knocking in the Bulldogs’ first run. Whitefish added two more runs later on to win the game. Blades said in addition to Schwaiger and McIntyre, he thought first baseman Josiah Ruther played exceptionally well and made some clutch plays.
The conference win in Eureka will help when it comes time to qualify for the state tournament next month.
Blades added that the Eureka game was the biggest game of the week for Whitefish, and it was great to see both teams do well.
“The atmosphere there was great,” he recalled. “I think everybody on both sides played well and felt like it was a solid, well-played high school game.”
On Thursday, Whitefish hosted its first-ever home game at Memorial Field against Butte. The score stayed close at first, with the score favoring Butte 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning. In the top of the sixth, Butte broke open the game, scoring four runs. Whitefish posted another run late, but couldn’t come back. Butte took the victory, 10-2.
“We ended up losing to Butte, but it was definitely a lot closer than the score indicated,” Blades said. “It was awesome to see the community come out and support this new project that is Whitefish Bulldog baseball.”
He added that Butte will likely be at the top of Class A and he hopes Whitefish gets to play them again later in the season.
Whitefish also played in Troy on Saturday, recording another no-hitter with a big 18-0 win. Last week the JV program went 3-0, showing a lot of promise for the future of Whitefish baseball.
The Bulldogs have a big schedule coming up. Whitefish will play Corvallis and Hamilton on the road Thursday and Friday. Then the following week the Bulldogs have four games.
“Six games in a 10-day span is a lot so we’re looking forward to it and looking forward to the season ramping up,” Blades said.
