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Bulldog baseball, softball open tournaments at 4 p.m. Thursday
Butte High’s baseball and softball teams will both open their Class AA State tournaments at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The baseball tournament will be held at 3 Legends Stadium in Butte, while the softball tournament will be played at Forth Missoula Regional Park in Missoula. Saturday’s softball championship game will be played at the University of Montana stadium.
In the softball tournament, the Bulldogs will open against Billings West, the No. 1 seed from the Eastern AA. Butte High is the No. 4 seed from the Western AA. (Bracket)
In the baseball tournament, the Bulldogs open against Eastern AA top seed Gallatin. Butte High is No. 4 seed from the Western AA. (Bracket)
Note that the baseball bracket has been flipped so the hometown Bulldogs will play later in the day on Thursday. Other media outlets have not recognized that change.
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Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week: Chase Lubick and Brea Henderson
Butte High pitchers Chase Lubick and Brea Henderson are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
The honors come after the hurlers came up big when the Bulldog seasons were on the line, pitching Butte High to their respective Class AA State tournaments. Both receive the honor for the second time this spring.
Lubick, a senior, takes home the boys’ honor after pitching 6 and a third innings in Butte High’s 5-4 walk-off playoff win over Kalispell Flathead Friday at 3 Legends Stadium. The win sends the Bulldogs to the state baseball tournament, which starts Thursday in Butte.
With Eli Coopman dealing on the other side, Lubick pitched as long as the pitch count limit would let him. The righty struck seven batters and walked three. He scattered four hits and surrendered three earned runs, two of which scored after he left the game. Lubick did not officially get the win, but he clearly came up big when his team needed him the most.
Lubick has been the Bulldog ace all season. He pitched 38 and 2 thirds innings over eight starts, striking out 35 batters.
Henderson, a freshman, takes the girls’ award after her lights-out performance in Butte High’s 7-0 playoff win over Helena Capital Thursday at Stodden Park. That victory sends the Bulldogs to the state softball tournament in Missoula.
Henderson pitched all seven innings, striking out nine Bruins in a dominating performance. She scattered three hits and issued just one walk in the victory. Only one Capital baserunner advanced as far as second base, and she reached on a fielding error.
Henderson started all 18 games for the Bulldogs this season, throwing 113 innings. She went 11-7 with a 3.2 ERA. On the season, Henderson racked up 107 strike outs compared to 41 walks while leading the Bulldogs to their first Class AA State tournament appearance in four years.
At the plate, Henderson also smashed three home runs and two doubles for the Bulldogs on the season.
For the fourth year, Leskovar Honda, home of the non-commission sales staff that always has your back, is teaming up with the ButteCast to honor the finest student-athletes from the Mining City to encourage more children to get up, get out and try all kinds of sports and activities.
Photos of Lubick and Henderson courtesy Alycia Holland Photography.
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BC baseball season ends in Colombus
COLUMBUS — Butte Central’s baseball season came to an end Friday with a 6-1 loss to Columbus in an A/B play-in game. (Boxscore)
The Cougars scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and never trailed in the win that sends Columbus to the Class A/B State tournament, which is next week in Polson.
Ryan Cunningham pitched into the seventh inning, striking out seven batters to get the win.
Jake Cook doubled for Columbus, while Ethan West, Koleman Gairrett and Graycen Waltner each hit a pair of singles. Gairrett drove in two runs.
Gunnar O’Brien, who pitched well after the tough start, went 3 for 4 with an RBI to lead the Maroons at the dish. Jack Nagle doubled, while Trapper Stajcar, Colt Hassler, Kelton Berger and Treigh Hollow singled.
Beau McGree worked a pair of walks, and Stajcar scored the lone run on an O’Brien hit.
The loss closes the book on the prep baseball career for BC seniors Berger, Nagle, Trapper Stajcar, Tony Stajcar and Kelton Keene. Keene missed the entire season after suffering a knee injury in the first football game of the season.
The Maroons close the season at 7-7.
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Bulldogs walk off to state
A season of some improbable wins continued for the Butte High baseball team.
Troy Samson scored from third base on a wild pitch this afternoon, and the Bulldogs walked off with a 5-4 win over Kalispell Flathead in a Western AA play-in game at 3 Legends Stadium. (Boxscore)
The win sends the Bulldogs to the Class AA State tournament. They will play Gallatin, the top seed from the Eastern AA, Thursday in Butte. A bracket for that tournament is not yet available.
To say this win was a little strange would be an understatement. Butte High won despite getting just one hit on the day. The Bulldogs scored four runs on wild pitches and one on a three-base error.
The win also came after the Braves rallied for three runs to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning.
Samson entered the game as a courtesy runner for Cole Solomon, who drew a leadoff walk after moving from designated hitter to pitcher in the top of the seventh.
Chase Nasheim struck out on a bunt attempt, and Samson raced to second and then third, where he appeared to be tagged out. However, obstruction was ruled on the play, and Samson was called safe.
Samson raced home as the next pitch went to the backstop, and the Bulldogs celebrated another walk-off win. It was beat only by their balk-off win over Sentinel in the unlikely category.
Butte High took a 2-0 lead in the first inning Cayde Stajcar and Teagan Duffy both scored on the same wild pitch. The Dogs extended the lead to 3-0 in third when Koyde Kjersten walked and scored from first base when a pickoff attempt went down the fence line behind first base.
Courtesy runner Wyatt Asher scored on an error to cut the lead to sixth, but the Bulldogs got a run back when Stajcar again scored on a wild pitch.
Flathead cut the lead to 4-2 when Dillon Wink doubled in Miles Arrowsmith. Moments later, Hunter Fann doubled to score Jacobe Sullenger and Wink to knot the game at 4.
It looked like the Braves would take the lead when Eli Coopman, the starting pitcher who threw into the seventh, hit a hard shot to shortstop. Stajcar, though, dove to knock down the ball and made a great throw to Duffy at first to get Coopman by an eyelash.
While the Bulldogs managed just one hit — a single by Logan Carden — Butte batters did work eight walks. Gunner Bushman and Evan McEwen each walked twice, while Carden, Kjersten, Solomon and Nasheim each walked once.
Chase Lubick pitched six and a third innings, striking out seven. Colson got the last two outs of the seventh, picking up the “vulture win.”
Butte High only needed to win one game of the play-in to advance to state. The Braves would have had to beat the Bulldogs twice to move on.
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Butte High softball team punches ticket
Schad, Jonart, Becker hit bombs as Bulldogs rout Capital, 7-0
The “if-necessary” game was not necessary.
Butte High’s softball team left little doubt this afternoon, routing Helena Capital 7-0 in a Western AA play-in game at Stodden Park. (Boxscore)
The win sends the Bulldogs, winners of six straight and seven out of their last eight, to the Class AA State tournament, which is next week in Missoula. It will be Butte High’s first appearance in the Class AA State tournament since 2022.
Kendallyn Schad and Gracie Jonart hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. Schad’s blast was a two-run shot, scoring Brittyn Klima.
Allie Becker hit a three-run bomb in the third inning, scoring Schad and Jonart. Moments later, Cliry Conway singled in Reese Johnson to cap the scoring.
That was more than enough run support for freshman ace Brea Henderson, who was lights out in the biggest game of her career. Henderson scattered three hits, struck out nine batters and walked one in the win.
Becker went 3 for 3 on the day, while Schad went 3 for 4. Jonart added a single, as did Johnson.
Klima walked twice, while Jonart, Becker, Johnson and Henderson walked once.
Madi Emmert, Addi Allen and Selley Schwenk singled for the Bruins.
Butte High, which entered the playoff with the higher seed, only needed to win once. Capital would have had to beat the Bulldogs twice to advance to state.
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Bulldogs set flag football minicamp
The Butte High flag football team will hold a minicamp May 26-28 at Naranche Stadium.
The camp will run from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The camp is open to girls who are currently in the seventh and eighth grade.
Butte High’s fifth season of flag football will be held in the fall.
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Episode No. 349: Eric Dunmire
Eric Dunmire is a Butte wrestling legend.
The 1998 Butte High graduate became the first Bulldog — and just the 10th wrestler in Montana history — to win four individual state titles. He compiled a high school record of 152-2, and he never lost to a Montana wrestler in his prep career.
Eric won his first title at 105 pounds in 1995, helping the Bulldogs win the team title for the first time since 1992. He won again at 112 pounds as a sophomore, 119 pounds as a junior and 125 pounds as a senior. The Bulldogs won the team title again in 1997.
After beginning his college career at Northern Iowa, Eric transferred to MSU-Northern. He placed third at 141 pounds at the 2002 NAIA National Championships, earning All-American honors while competing for the Lights.
Eric was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
While Eric has not wrestled competitively in more than 20 years, wrestling never left him. He put in countless hours coaching with the Butte Wrestling Club. He also served as an assistant coach at Butte High under multiple head coaches.
Earlier this month, Eric was named head coach of Butte Central’s wrestling team, and he is eager to get going even though the season is more than 6 months away.
Yesterday, I met with Eric at the Knights of Columbus for a fun conversation. Listen in as Eric talks about his wrestling career that began when he was 5 years old. Listen as he describes the impact his parents, Pearl and Terry, had on his career.
Listen as he talks about the coaches who helped him along the way. Listen as he describes why Jim Street was such an incredible coach. Listen in to hear how Eric is ready to take his love of the sport to Butte Central.
Today’s episode is presented by Casagranda’s Steakhouse. Eat where the locals eat.
Eric Dunmire is shown in his newspaper mugshots, from left, as a senior, junior, sophomore and freshman. -
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Bulldogs, Maroons eye trip to state
Butte High’s softball team and the Bulldog and Butte Central baseball teams will be looking for trips to their state tournaments this week.
The Butte High teams will be playing at home, while the Maroons hit the road.
That comes as the Butte High and BC track and tennis teams head to their respective divisional tournaments. We will take a look at those upcoming events and more as we take a trip around this week in Mining City sports. That includes a basketball star who decided where she will continue her career at the college level.
Red-hot Bulldogs host Bruins
Butte High rides a five-game winning streak into Thursday’s Western AA play-in softball game against Helena Capital at Stodden Park.
First pitch is 3 p.m., and Butte High needs to win once to book its first trip to the Class AA State tournament since 2022. Capital must win twice to move on. The second game, if necessary, would be right after Game 1.
The Bulldogs (10-7) have won six out of their last seven games after dumping Helena High at home Thursday before battling back for an exciting win at Missoula Big Sky on Saturday.
Butte High and Capital split their regular-season series. The Bulldogs edged the Bruins 5-4 last Tuesday at Stodden Park. Capital won 7-4 April 14 in Helena.
Butte High enters the postseason after Saturday’s thrilling 8-7 win in eight innings at Big Sky. (Bosxcore) The Bulldogs fell behind 5-0 in the first inning, but battled back for the victory.
Allie Becker scored one a dropped third strike to take the lead for good in the top of the eighth inning.
The game went extra innings because freshman pitcher Brea Henderson blasted a game-tying home run over the centerfield fence to knot the game at 6 in the sixth inning.
Henderson overcame the rough start in the wet, cold weather to go the distance in the win. She hit the team’s only extra-base hit.
Brittyn Klima belted two singles, while Mattie Stepan and Cliry Conway each hit one. Logan
Latrielle homered for the Eagles. Briella Wilson, Peyton Walters and Sara Bjornson doubled.
That win came two days after the Bulldogs beat Helena High 8-1 at Stodden. (Boxscore) Henderson pitched the distance, fanning 11, in that victory.
She and Stepan each hit a double and a single in the win. Gracie Jonart hit two singles, while Klima, and Becker each hit one. Jonart and Savannah Stosich each drove in a pair of runs. Stosich also scored twice.
Note: this story was corrected to note the Bulldogs last appearance in the Class AA State tournament was 2022.
Maroons close season
Butte Central’s softball season came to an end Thursday with an 8-7 loss to Dillon at Stodden Park. (Boxscore)
Reese Jensen singled in Kaitlyn Konen in the top of the seventh inning to give the Beavers an 8-6 lead. BC got back on the board when Arika Stajcar hit a sacrifice fly to score Ryan Olson in the bottom of the inning.
That, though, is where the rally ended for the Maroons, who needed to win — and win big — to qualify for a play-in game.
Leadoff hitter Tymber Barnes went 4 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBIs to lead the Beavers in the win. Barnes also doubled, wand Maisy Hutchinson belted a home run. Hutchinson was joined by Ashlyn Burk with a two-hit game.
Braelynn Schelin and Zayonna Otherbull doubled for the Maroons. Kenzie McQueary, Luci Fantini, Jordyn Samson, Olson and Stajcar singled.
Schelin struck out 10 batters in the season-ending loss, which came after the Maroons saw half of the Laverne Combo Invitational wiped out by rain and snow on Saturday.
Central opened the tournament Friday with a 5-2 win over Sidney. (Boxscore) Then they fell 21-0 to Frenchtown. (Boxscore)
Schelin pitched the distance and struck out seven against Sidney. That game was called by the time limit after five innings.
McQueary was a single shy of the cycle. The shortstop went 3 for 3 with a homer, double and triple. She drove in three runs and scored twice. Blake Smith also singled in the win.
Against Frenchtown, Dizzle Smith held the Maroons to three hits. Natalie Osterman doubled, while Kodee Badovinac and Marly Mansanti singled.
The Maroons close the season at 7-10 and with the arrow clearly pointing up.
Bulldog baseball hosts Braves
Butte High’s baseball team is one win away from playing in the inaugural Class AA State tournament, which is set for May 28-30 at 3 Legends Stadium.
The Bulldogs will play host to Kalispell Flathead in a play-in game at 3 p.m. Friday on their home field. Well, the Bulldogs are hoping it is only one game, anyway.
Butte High needs to win one game to advance. Flathead needs to win twice, and a possible second game would start right after the first game if it is necessary.
The Bulldogs (7-9) would be the No. 4 seed from the Western AA if they win.
Butte High and Flathead split in the regular season. The Bulldogs won 21-5 April 3 in Kalispell. The Braves, though, came to Butte for an 11-6 win May 1.
Butte High closed the season last week by splitting with the Great Falls schools. CMR put a damper on Butte High’s Senior Night celebration with an 11-1 victory in five innings. (Boxscore)
The next day, the Bulldogs went to the Electric City to beat Great Falls High 6-4. (Boxscore)
Roehrich Soldano and Kayden Neil each went 3 for 3 with three RBIs to lead the Rustlers, who held the Bulldog bats at bay with three left-handed pitchers. A single by Logan Carden was the lone hit for the Bulldogs, who honored Carden and fellow seniors Cayde Stajcar, Gunner Bushman, Grady Foley, Brooks Vincent and Chase Lubick before the game.
Duece Nichols, Maks Van Miert, Madden Jensen and the right-handed Soldano combined to strike out 12 in the win.
Less than 24 hours later, Stajcar tripled and Carden doubled to lead Butte High in a win over the Bison. Bushman hit a single for Butte High, which took advantage of three Great Falls errors in the win.
Kody Kjersten and Vincent each pitched three innings in the win. Cole Solomon got the save.
BC boys head to Columbus
The Maroons will put their season on the line Friday when they travel to Columbus for a play-in game.
The winner moves on to the next week’s Class A/B State tournament in Polson. The loser goes home. Unlike in the Class AA, this comes down to just one game.
The Maroons (7-6) booked their trip to Columbus with Thursday’s 9-4 win at Livingston. (Boxscore) Two days later, BC traveled the other direction to close the regular season with an 11-4 loss at Florence. (Boxscore)
Gunnar “Goo” O’Brien pitched the distance, and Jack Nagle, Cohen Stajcar and Hugh O’Brien each drove in two runs to lead the Maroons in the win. Beau McGree tripled and drove in a run.
Stajcar, Hugh O’Brien and Treigh Hollow each poked two hits. Trapper Stajcar, Gunnar Obrien and Kelton Berger each hit one in the win.
Goo allowed just four hits, and all were singles. Hansford Tewell, Weston Vincent, Liam Edwards and Carter Nelson poked hits for the Rangers.
Calan Rocco went 4 for 4 with a double and two RBIs to lead Florence in Saturday’s win. The Falcons took advantage of seven BC errors in the win.
Hollow hit two doubles, and Trapper Stajcar hit a double and a single to lead BC. Trapper also drove in two runs. Berger also singled for BC.
Colt Hassler started on the bump and went four innings. He gave up just one earned run.
Dogs roll at home meet
Butte High’s track & field teams cruised to victory on their last appearance this season on the Charlie Merrifield Track.
The Bulldogs easily won a meet with Dillon and Butte Central. (Results)
Butte High’s boys racked up 131 team points in the win. Dillon placed second at 28, while BC scored eight points. On the girls’ side, Butte High won with 86 points. Dillon scored 61, and BC notched 11.
The Bulldog boys chalked up 13 individual victories, with several posting qualifying times for the state meet. Cayde Stajcar and Chase Nasheim took a break from baseball to run to titles.
Stajcar won the 100-meter race with a qualifying time of 11.25 seconds, while Nasheim won the 400-meter race with a time of 53.40 seconds.
Senior Ryan Hanson had another huge day for the Bulldogs. He won the long jump at 6 feet, 2 inches, once again reaching the qualifying mark. He won the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 43-5. That eclipsed the qualifying standard. Hanson also placed second in the long jump.
Jacob Galle again won both hurdles races, and he again reached qualifying times in both. He won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.45, and he finished the 300 hurdles with a personal-best time of 40.21 seconds.
Miner Lee ran to victory in the 200 with a personal-best time of 22.90 seconds. Camden Houchin won the 800 meters with a season-best time of 2:02.52.
Levi Wiltsie, who placed third in the 800, won the 1,600 with a time of 5:06.45.
Colt Stenson won the shot put with a personal-best mark of 44-9. He took third in the discus.
Jaeger Hansen, who placed second in the javelin at state last year, hit a qualifying mark while winning the event. He threw a season-best 169-10. Gannon Sullivan won the discus with a mark of 129-11.
Bradey Doyle won the pole vault, clearing 11 feet, 6 inches, and Preston Jensen placed second in the 200 and third in the 100.
Other Bulldog boys with top-three performances were Charles Killebrew (second in the 400), Lincoln Zell (second in the 800), Raeder Grey (second in the 300 hurdles), Cooper Carter (second in the shot put), Paxton Anderson (second in the discus), Sawyer Casey (second in the javelin), Taylor Olson (second in the pole vault), Chase Choquette (third in the 200), Bridger Luebke (third in the 400), Jason Real (third in the 1,600), Landon Day Purcell (third in the 110 hurdles)and Cohen Andrews (third in the long jump).
The Bulldog boys also swept the relay titles.
Palmer Kellicut led the Maroons, placing second in the 110 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles. Teammate Danny McCarthy ran to second in the 100.
Butte High’s girls picked up six individual titles on the way to the team win.
Kate DeShaw was the lone double winner for the Bulldogs. She won the long jump with a personal-best jump of 17 feet, 1 ¾ inches. That was good for a qualifying mark. DeShaw also won the triple jump with a season-best mark of 30-8 ¼.
Saege Grey won the 100 meters with a time of 13.39 seconds, and Sophia Houchin claimed the 400 title with a time of 1:01.80. Milee Stillwagon won the 800 in 2:34.43.
Eighth grader Peyton Poole won the javelin with a qualifying mark of 113 feet.
Rylee Erickson placed second in the javelin and third in the 100 hurdles, and Emma Johnson finished second in the discus and third in the shot put. Kloe Dickinson took second in the long jump and third in the triple jump.
Other Bulldogs with top-three places were Wakely Burelson (second in the 200), Penelope Luebke (second in the 400), Lainee Walsh-Hill (second in the 1,600), Valerie Travbert (second in the pole vault), Millie Guay (second in the triple jump), Clara Sigler (third in the long jump), Berkli Salusso (third in the javelin), Katie Breitmeyer (third in the 800), Autumn Clary (third in the 200) and Franki Salusso (third in the 100).
Evyn Tippett was the lone BC girl with a top-three finish. She placed second in the 200.
The Bulldogs will compete at the Western AA Divisional Friday in Helena. BC, meanwhile, will head to the Western A Divisional, which is Friday and Saturday in Frenchtown.
Maroons host tennis divisional
Stodden Park will set the scene Thursday and Friday as Butte Central plays host to the Central A Divisional tennis tournament.
Butte High’s tennis teams will head to their divisional tournament, which is Thursday and Friday in Missoula.
The Class AA State meet will be held next week in Kalispell. The Class A meet will be in Hardin.
Recent results from Butte High and Butte Central’s tennis teams have not been submitted for publication.
Graham signing with Tech
Cadence Graham still has a full school year left in her remarkable career at Butte High.
Here decision as to where she will play college ball, however, has already been made. Graham will head to Montana Tech to play for the Orediggers, who are coached by her father, Jeff Graham.
She will officially sign an NAIA National Letter of Intent to play for the reigning Frontier Conference champion Orediggers during a ceremony at 8 a.m. Thursday at Butte High.
This past season, Cadence Graham became just the second Butte High girl to score 1,000 points in her career. She earned All-State honors after leading the Bulldogs to their second straight appearance in the Class AA State tournament this past season.
Graham finished third in the Class AA with 19.7 points per game. Through four seasons, including a reserve role as an eighth grader, Graham has scored 1,351 career points. She trails only Lexie Nelson (1,696) on the Butte High girls’ all-time list.
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Episode No. 348: Will McGree
Will McGree is just finishing up his education at Butte Central.
The future Montana Tech golfer is graduating near the top of his class — but not high enough that they will make him give a speech. That is just how he likes it.
Will was a three-sport athlete for the Maroons. In addition to playing four years of golf, he competed in basketball for three seasons and track for four seasons. He will be competing in the Western A Divisional track meet this Friday and Saturday in Frenchtown. Since he is a McGree, Will competes in the long jump and triple jump. He also throws the javelin and has run the 100- and 400-meter races as well as the 1,600-meter relay this season.
In early October, Will tied with his younger brother Beau for 13th place at the Class A State golf tournament in Sidney. That was good for All-State honors for the McGree boys. A week earlier, the two tied for seventh place at the Western A Divisional tournament in Hamilton.
The boys’ sister Mya also qualified for State as an eighth grader last fall.
On Thursday night, Will is set to be honored as one of the 18 recipients of the 2026 Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship. That award goes to graduating seniors who have lived by the ideals of Mariah’s Challenge.
That means they got through high school without drinking alcohol or getting into a car with a driver who has been drinking.
I have known Will since he was very young, and I always really enjoyed talking to him. Even as a young boy, talking to Will was like talking to an adult. So, I was extremely proud to see him among the names of the newest Mariah’s Messengers.
The 18th Annual Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship Ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at Montana Tech’s library auditorium. If you have never been to one of those ceremonies, I highly recommend that you do. You will get a first-hand look at how remarkable these 18 scholarship winners are.
Earlier today, I met with Will inside the vault at the Metals Sports Bar & Grill to talk about the Mariah’s Challenge scholarship and much more.
Listen as he talks about growing up a McGree and his years playing sports for the Maroons. Listen as he talks about his plans at Montana Tech, where he will at least start in civil engineering.
Listen as he talks about how living up to the ideals of Mariah’s Challenge is just something that came naturally to him.
Today’s episode is presented by Thriftway Super Stops. Download the TLC app and start saving today.
