Former BC great scores 21 off bench
In Butte, we have long known that Dougie Peoples is a big-game player.
Tuesday night in Kansas City, he cemented that legacy on the national stage.
Peoples, whose 27-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted Butte Central to the 2022 Class A State championship in Missoula, came off the bench to score 21 points as the College of Idaho beat Oklahoma Wesleyan 93-65 in the NAIA National Championship Game at the historic Municipal Auditorium.
The 2023 Montana Gatorade Player of the year sank his first five 3-point attempts and scored 17 points in the first half to help the Yotes 49-29 lead at the break.
Samaje Morgan scored 28 points to lead all scorers. Peoples led the team in scoring much of the game, and the sophomore finished as the No. 2 scorer in the contest.
The Yotes finished the season at 35-2, winning their second national title in three years.
After cruising to the Cascade Collegiate Conference title, the Yotes beat the University of California, Merced and Friends University (Kansas) on their home court in Caldwell, Idaho to open the NAIA tournament. They then went to Kansas City and beat Langston and Georgetown College (Kentucky) before thumping Arizona Christian 72-45 in Monday’s semifinals.
The national title comes after Peoples’ legendary career at Butte Central. While he did not score a varsity point as a freshman, he finished his varsity career with 1,683 points. No boy at Butte Central or Butte High has scored more career points that Peoples, who also owns Butte’s prep single-game record with 44 points.
Peoples scored 33 total points in the previous five tournament games before really going off when the spotlight was the brightest.
Bulldog bats break out in Game 2
It took them two games into the season, but the Butte High bats came to life in a big way Monday as the Bulldogs doubled up Missoula Big Sky for a 12-6 victory in Florence.
The Bulldogs, who opened their third baseball season with a 6-4 loss Friday at Missoula Big Sky, pounded 13 hits in a wire-to-wire victory that was played through on-and-off rain.
Sophomore Brayden Giop made a sparkling varsity debut in the victory. Playing third base, Giop went 3 for 4 with four RBIs to highlight the win that saw Butte High lead 4-1, 6-2 and 10-2.
That came after Giop hit his first home run in a 10-6 junior varsity win on Friday.
Cayde Stajcar, Karsen McEwen and Logan Carden each poked a pair of hits in the win. Stajcar hit a triple, while Carden doubled. Will Stepan added a double, while Tocher Lee, Lucas Harris-Huerta and Brooks Vincent singled.
Chase Lubick started on the bump and pitched four strong innings for the win. Freshman Kodye Kjersten closed it out with three innings of work.
Wes Potter hit a double and a single, while driving in three runs, to lead Florence. Levi Winters added two singles.
In Friday’s opener, the Bulldogs surrendered two runs in the first inning and never caught back up. Mathew Doty homered to highlight the Big Sky offense, which used six hits and took advantage of six Bulldog errors.
Butte High had not practiced on a baseball field leading up to the game.
Matthew Donaldson hit a two-run home run — the first of his Butte High career — to lead the Bulldogs. Stajcar, McEwen and Gunner Bushman hit singles.
Harris-Huerta started and pitched better than the stat line might suggest. Books Vincent relieved and gave the Bulldogs a solid three and a third innings of work.
Butte High is back on the road Friday and Saturday when they travel to Belgrade and Townsend.
The Bulldogs are schedule to take on Butte Central next Tuesday at 3 Legends Stadium.
Big inning costs Butte High in loss to Gallatin
Butte High’s softball team could not overcome an eight-run second inning by Gallatin Tuesday, and the Bulldogs fell 11-7 to the Raptors at Stodden Park.
Addison Bleile picked up the victory in the pitchers’ circle and drove in five runs to lead the Raptors. She went 2 for 5 with a three-run home run.
Madison Coleman doubled, while Parker Stevens, Olivia Klemann and Zoe Bassham each poked two singles.
The game was the opener for the powerful Raptors.
Despite the loss, Butte High coach Ryan Stosich said his team showed improvement from Friday’s games against Billings West and Billings Senior in Missoula.
The Bulldogs matched the Raptors with 11 hits. Shortstop Allie Becker provided three of those hits to lead Butte in the game. Madisyn Swanson doubled, while Ashlinn Mullaney and Mattie Stepan each added a pair of singles.
Mullaney drove in two runs, and Gracie Jonart, Ally Godbout and Hailey Skeel each added a single.
Friday in Missoula, the Bulldogs fell 11-1 to West and 16-1 to Senior. Stosich, though, said those games were closer than the score might indicate. He used some young pitchers, and the Bulldogs were seeing their first extensive action outside.
Mullaney and Becker doubled, and Godbout singled in the game against Senior. Swanson, Jonart, Skeel and Reese Johnson singled against West.
The Bulldogs are back in action Thursday when they travel to Belgrade to take on the Panthers.
Cleveland, Swanson take talents to college
Last week was a big one for the girls at Butte High School.
One day after the Dawson Community College softball team announced the commitment of Butte first baseman Madisyn Swanson, Bulldog Jaycee Cleveland officially signed her NAIA National Letter of Intent to play volleyball at Dickinson State.
Cleveland’s teammates crowded around as she signed the letter in a ceremony outside Butte High’s Richardson Gym Friday morning.
Cleveland, the daughter of Raena and Josh Cleveland, was a four-year varsity player for the Bulldogs. This past season, she led the Bulldogs with a .234 hitting percentage, 59 aces, .7 aces per set and 566 assists.
The Bulldogs went 11-15 overall on the season. That includes a 9-5 record in the Western AA. That was the best league mark posted by the Bulldogs in many years, according to Bulldog coach Shane Jorgenson.
Dickinson State is a member of the North Star Athletic Association. Under first-year head coach Stormy Siemion, the Blue Hawks went 5-21 overall and 1-9 in league play last season.
Swanson will join the Buccaneers in Glendive in the fall.
Swans, the daughter of Melissa and Mike Swanson, batted .333 for the Bulldogs in 17 games last season. She reached base at a .400 clip. She also was a standout for the Copper City Softball All-Star Team, which captured a state championship last summer.
A press release from Dawson also pointed out that Swanson is very involved in the little league program in Butte, where she helps to coach the younger softball girls and umps for their games.
“I loved the environment, energy, and the support that I saw while on my visit,” Swanson said of her decision to sign with the Buccaneers.
Dawson head coach Casey-May Huff said she likes the pop Swanson will bring to the Buccaneer offense.
“We are excited to add Madisyn’s power to our lineup,” Huff said. “I believe that she will be a great addition to our campus and community as well with her experience in volunteering and lending a helping hand.”
Weather weighs in on first week of spring
It did not take long for weather to play a factor in the spring schedule for Butte High and Butte Central.
The Maroons were scheduled to compete in the Gene-Hughes Invitational track meet Saturday in Corvallis, but a snow storm wiped that out. Central is now set to open the track season this Saturday at the Frenchtown Invitational.
BC’s tennis teams also had their opener pushed back because of weather. Their first action will now be next Tuesday in Livingston, where the Maroons will compete against Livingston, Dillon and Hardin. The Maroons first home tennis action is set for April 4 against Stevensville.
Central’s softball team is set to open the season Saturday in Livingston. The BC baseball team will play at home Thursday against East Helena before heading to Livingston on Friday.
Butte High’s tennis teams are set to begin the season against Belgrade and Missoula Big Sky Friday in Missoula. The Bulldogs have home action scheduled against Billings Skyview and Billings Senior on April 5.
The Bulldog track teams are still on track to open the season next Tuesday in Missoula, and Butte High has a busy first week on tap. They will go to Billings on Friday before hosting Capital and Butte Central on April 8.
Click the links below to view the Butte High and BC schedules. Remember, however, they are subject to change on short notice.
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 