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Central’s ‘Never Give Up’ hoops camp will be June 24-25
The 2026 Lady Maroons “Never Give Up” Basketball Camp will be held June 24-25 at the Maroon Activities Center.
The camp is put on by the Lady Maroons coaching staff and is available to athletes entering grades kindergarten through 12th grade for the 2026 school year. The camp will focus on fundamentals, shooting, dribbling, passing, and competition.
Camp for boys and girls entering kindergarten through fourth grade will be from 8:30 to 10 a.m., and the price is $35.
Camp for girls entering fifth through 12th grade will go from 4 to 6:30 p.m., and cost is $55.
Register early by June 22, 2026. For more information, contact Quinn Peoples at quinnpeoples@gmail.com or 406-498-8246.
Click here to register online.
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Butte High’s Bullpup Volleyball Camp accepting registration
Registration for the Bullpup Volleyball Camp is now open.
The camp, which will be conducted by the Butte High coaching staff, will run June 29-30 at Butte High’s Richardson Gym. It will be open to girls entering second through ninth grade next school year.
A camp for girls’ entering second through fifth grade will run from 9:30 to 11 a.m. each day. The advanced skills camp for girls entering sixth through eighth grade will go from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The freshman skills camp for girls entering the ninth grade will go from 1 to 3 p.m.
Cost is $50 if registered before June 1. The cost goes to $60 after that.
Click here for more information and to register.
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Headframe Hoops girls’ basketball camp set for June 22-24
The Headframe Hoops girls’ basketball camp will be held June 22-24 at Butte High’s Richardson Gym.
The camp, which will be conducted by the Butte High girls’ basketball coaching staff, will include fundamental instruction on ballhandling, shooting, passing, scoring and more. It will include fun competitions, such as 1 vs. 1, 3 vs. 3, 5 vs. 5 and individual contests.
Two camps will be held. The camp for girls entering fifth through eighth grade next school year will go from 9 a.m. to noon each day, and cost is $50 before June 17 or $60 after.
The camp for girls entering first through fourth grades will go from 1 to 3 p.m. Cost of that camp is $30 before June 17 or $40 after.
Click here for more information and to register.
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Think about the great ‘Tony C’ before you tell a kid to ‘wear a pitch’
The great Tony Conigliaro saw his baseball career basically come to an end before I was born, but he is still a player whose story I know well.
To this day, Conigliaro is affectionately known as “Tony C” throughout New England and beyond, even though it has been more than 36 years since his untimely death at the age of 45.
If you say “Tony C” in any of the 50 states, there is a good chance that someone will know that you mean Conigliaro.
By the time the 1967 Boston Red Sox “Impossible Dream” season came around, the native of Revere, Massachusetts was already on the trajectory to be a Hall of Fame player. That season, Conigliaro, who began his Major League career at the age of 19 in 1964, became the youngest player to hit 100 home runs in his career.
Cooperstown was going to come calling for “Tony C.”
On the night of Aug. 18, 1967, however, everything changed. Conigliaro was hit in the face by a pitch from California Angles pitcher Jack Hamilton. Fans in Fenway Park that night are still haunted by the “very sick sound” the ball made as it smacked the young superstar in the face.
The outfielder was carried off the field on a stretcher. He sustained a linear fracture of the left cheekbone, a dislocated jaw and severe damage to his left retina. He was left with 20-300 vision and stabbing headaches.
Conigliaro missed the rest of the 1967 season and all the 1968 campaign. He came back and hit 20 home runs in 1969 before hitting 36 bombs in 1970. But he was never the same. He retired after a rough season with the Angels in 1971, and he saw a brief comeback with the Red Sox in 1975 last just 21 games.
That beanball effectively ended his career.
Even though I never watched Conigliaro play, I think about him every time I hear someone in the crowd at a baseball game yell “wear it” to a player who ducks out of the way of a pitch.
Coaches teach their players to get hit by pitches because they think it helps them win games. Teammates tease players when they duck out of getting hit by a pitch. Moms and dads tell their kids to toughen up and “take one for the team.”
This season, I even saw a coach pull a player from the game during his at bat because he ducked away from two pitches. The count was 3 balls, 2 strikes when the player was removed from the game in humiliating fashion.
That was wrong on like 9,000 levels.
So many coaches just do not seem to get it when it comes to beanballs. Getting on base is a good thing. It is one of the most important things in the game. But you should do it the right way.
This has been a fight I have been having with coaches for as long as I have been writing about sports. It bugs me more than another driver waiving for me to go at a four-way stop when it is his turn to go.
You are not a traffic cop, just drive.
We should not be asking anyone to get hit by a fast-moving baseball. In addition to fracturing cheekbones, they can break hands, fingers and shoulder blades.
Plus, leaning into pitches is bush league, and it does not make the player or team better.
Even Morris Buttermaker knew it was wrong when he told Rudi Stein to lean into the pitch when the Bears were playing the Yankees in the championship game. He did it because he momentarily lost his moral compass while coaching kids.
Luckily, Buttermaker came to his senses, and the movie “The Bad News Bears” had a much better ending because of it.
I have been wary of the beanball since I played Pee Wee baseball for Jim Kraut Chevrolet in 1981. I was 7 years old, and opposing pitcher Billy Dunmire hit me in the head during what I believe was my very first at bat in organized baseball.
Now, I was already afraid of getting hit by the ball before Billy knocked my helmet off with a pitch. I already would have been one of the worst players on the Chico Bail Bonds Bears. After taking a pitch off the helmet, I was petrified of the ball, and that killed my baseball career before I let my lack of coordination and athletic ability ruin it first.
A healthy fear of getting hit by the ball is a good thing, but I was scarred for life from that hit that probably didn’t hurt as much as it scared me.
Granted, Billy didn’t throw as hard as Jack Hamilton. Neither do the pitchers in high school and American Legion baseball. But some of them throw pretty darn fast.
Many high school pitchers throw in the range of 80 mph, and that is more than enough to ruin your eyesight forever. Or worse.
Yes, there is a difference in turning your shoulder into a pitch and taking one off the face. But with a ball moving that fast, the difference between a shoulder and an eye socket can be a millisecond judgement.
That is not a chance that is worth taking to win a youth baseball game. It’s not a chance worth taking to win a World Series game.
And to state the obvious here, coaches should be teaching the players to get hits, not to get hit.
Yes, a high on-base percentage is great. But slugging percentage is important, too, and you cannot hit a double, triple or home run by leaning into a pitch.
It reminds me of when I coached my son’s age 7-8 baseball team. I knew that winning was not the most important thing. I figured if everyone has fun and the kids sign up to play baseball the next year, then I did a pretty good job.
I was always guided by the five rules of Little League: Have fun, have fun, have fun, have fun and get a treat.
I would tell the boys, “Your grandma didn’t come here to watch you walk. She wants to honk her horn because you got a hit, so swing the bat.”
One time I heard an opposing coach repeatedly yell to his kids to not swing. That is because he knew walking would lead to a team victory, and it did.
In 7-8 baseball, you could quite literally win a game without ever swinging the bat. That is because most pitchers that age are going to repeatedly throw four balls before they throw three strikes.
But what fun would that be? What are they players learning?
The same could be said for older players leaning into pitches. Sure, it is great to win. But it is much, much better to win the right way.
Everyone remembers the big hit. Nobody remembers the player who helped his team by taking the Ernie Pantusso approach and leaning into a pitch.
I don’t want to tell any coaches how to coach, and I am sure none would ever listen to me anyway. But I would be nice if some coaches started to think a little bit about the great Tony Conigliaro before they tell one of their players to “wear” a pitch.
We do not want to see another Hall of Fame career ended before it really began.
— Bill Foley, who can still hear the sound of that ball bouncing off his helmet in 1981, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74 or Bluesky at @foles74.bsky.social. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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Frazee perfect in Week 5
Stephen Frazee broke all 50 targets to lead Week 5 shooting of the Butte Trap Club’s Spring League. (Results)
Rayelynn Brandl, Chad Fellows, Ty Harney and Carson Quam each shot a 49. Jon Lerum, Alex Schneider, Anthony Moritz, Cory Farsteet and Walt McIntosh came in at 48.
Brandl’s 49 led women’s standings. Jen Hislop was next at 46. She was followed by Mindy McClernan at 45 and Anna Ledden at 42. Gus Bolton and Timmy Schrapps led wobble shooting at 45.
Through five weeks, Triple S Construction leads team scratch standings at 926. WET 1 is second at 912, and Arc Electric and Cooney’s Locksmith are tied for third at 899, which is one better than Pro Repair.
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Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week: Jaeger Hansen and Peyton Poole
Butte High javelin throwers Jaeger Hansen and Peyton Poole are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
The honors come after the Bulldogs reached qualifying marks to participate in the Class AA State meet as Butte High competed with Dillon and Butte Central Thursday at Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
Hansen, a junior, receives the boys’ award after uncorking his best throw of the year, winning the javelin with a season-best mark of 169 feet, 10 inches. That throw beat his previous best throw of the year by more than 10 feet.
A year ago, Hansen placed second at State with a throw of 172-1. After his winning throw Saturday, Hansen threw the javelin past the 180-foot mark, but he scratched on the throw.
Hansen, who is a standout on defense for the Butte High football team, has also competed in the 100- and 200-meter races, as well as both relays for the Bulldogs.
Poole receives the girls’ honor after winning the javelin competition by matching the qualifying mark of 113 feet. Here’s the clincher: Poole is just an eighth grader.
Her previous best mark was a throw of 111-5, which came May 5 in a meet with Butte Central and Missoula Big Sky. Poole also placed fifth in the discus with a personal-best mark of 102-2.
Poole, who was previously named Athlete of the Week for her prowess on the softball diamond, had a big season competing for East Middle School, too. Her events include the 400-meter relay, discus, javelin and long jump.
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.
Photo of Hansen courtesy Alycia Holland Photography. The photo of Poole was taken at school and provided by her family.
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KC basketball schedule
Following is every team’s first-round game for the season-ending tournament of the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s four-man basketball league.
The rest of the schedule will be posted at the gym.
Monday
7 p.m. — Crib Crew vs. Rosary Rattlers
8 p.m. — Poi Time vs. Someday Starters
9 p.m. — Hoopballas vs. Washington GeneralsTuesday
7 p.m. — ButteSports vs. Parish
8 p.m. — Moof’s Dawgs vs. Winner Monday 9
9 p.m. — Loser Monday 8 vs. Loser Monday 9
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Episode No. 347: Bernie Brophy
Bernie Brophy is heading into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame. Again.
He was already inducted four times with championship teams — once as a player and three times as a coach.
This July, Bernie will finally go in as an individual, and it is a long-overdue honor.
Bernie was a three-sport standout for Butte Central in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He started at tight end for the 1969 state champion Maroons football team. A year later, he was a captain who started at tight end and safety. He earned first-team offensive and defensive All-Conference honors that season. For some strange reason, however, an All-State team was not selected that year.
He was selected to play in the 25th annual Montana East-West Shrine Game in 1971.
During his senior season, Bernie started all 18 games for the Butte Central basketball team. He excelled in track, winning the city championship in the 100-yard dash. He also ran the anchor leg on BC’s third-place team in the 800-yard relay at the Class A state track meet.
Bernie concluded his athletic career playing safety on the Montana State University football team under the legendary Sonny Holland.
Bernie was an assistant coach for the 1981 and 1982 Butte Central girls’ and boys track teams. The girls’ team won the state championship in 1981 and 1982. The boys won the state title in 1982. Bernie was also an assistant coach on the 1981 BC football team that advanced to the state championship game.
After a brief career as a teacher, Bernie went into the granite business. He owned and operated Butte Granite Works for three decades, and his incredible work helped honor the lives of so many.
He has also long been known for being one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.
Yesterday, I met with Bernie at the Knights of Columbus for a fun conversation. Listen in as he talks about some of the incredible athletes that he competed with and some of the legendary coaches he played for.
Listen as he talks about growing up in Butte and how the Mining City was just full of incredible athletes. Listen as he talks about coaching great players like Brian Morris.
Listen in to hear as he talks about the honor of being called to the Butte Sports Hall of Fame.
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Hornets run to Grade School track title
Yates, Cullen, Graham overall MVPs
The Hillcrest Hornets defended their team title Wednesday at the annual Butte Grade School Track Meet at Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
The Hornets racked up 437 points to take home the overall title once again. West Elementary placed second at 319.75, while Whittier took third at 233.75. Butte Central finished fourth at 178.
Hillcrest sixth grader Anna Yates took home the overall MVP award, as well as the girls’ MVP honor. She scored 48 points. Hillcrest fourth grader Kesten Osborne and BC fifth grader Oakley Stajcar tied for second at 30 on the girls’ side.
Whittier sixth grader Landon Cullen and Hillcrest fifth grader Jace Graham tied for the boys’ MVP honor with 30 points. Hillcrest fifth grader Kobin Kujawa finished third at 28.
Cullen and Yates were the sixth-grade MVPs, while Graham and Stajcar secured the fifth-grade honors. Whittier’s Logan Regan won the fourth-grade male MVP honor. Hillcrest’s Kesten Osborne won the fourth-grade female honors.
Click on the following links for complete results. (Results; Team scores; MVP report)
Bulldogs hit high marks
Butte High’s track & field teams saw lots of personal-best marks while reaching qualifying standards Saturday at a triangular with Billings West and Belgrade at West’s track in Billings.
West won the team title sin both. The Golden Bears scored 60 points to win the boys’ title. Butte High took second at 52, and Belgrade placed third at 32. (Results)
On the girls’ side, West ran away with the title with 81 points. Belgrade was second at 46, followed by Butte High at 26.
Jacob Galle, Camden Houchin, Raeder Grey, Jaeger Hansen, Ryan Hanson, Cadence Graham and Rylee Erickson posted individual wins for the Bulldogs, but that only begins to tell the story.
Galle won the 110-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 15.17 seconds. He also placed second in the 200-meter race with a PB of 22.65. Both times eclipsed qualifying standards for the Class AA State meet.
Houchin won the 3,200 with a season-best time of 9:52.37, beating the qualifying standard by more than 7 seconds.
Grey won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 43.65, and Hansen took the top spot in the javelin with a throw of 152-6.
Hanson won the long jump with a mark of 21-3, and he took second in the high jump at 6-2. Both again reached qualifying standards for the senior. He also took third in the triple jump with a mark of 40-8.
Brady Hanson took third in the high jump on jumps after a personal-best mark of 6-2. That qualifies the sophomore for State.
Freshman Landon Day Purcell had a nice day, placing third in the 110-hurdles and fifth in the triple jump. He posted personal-best marks in both. Colt Stenson took third in the shot put and sixth in the discus.
Other Bulldog boys to place were Bradey Doyle (second in the pole vault), Cohen Andrews (second in the long jump), Gannon Sullivan (third in the discus), Cooper Carter (fourth in the shot put), Levi Wiltsie (fourth in the 3,200), Bridger Luebke (fourth in the 800), Miner Lee (fifth in the 200), Mason Swanson (fifth in the shot put), Colbey Doyle (fifth in the pole vault), Brian Moen (sixth in the high jump) and Isaac Zell (sixth in the 1,600).
The Bulldogs also ran to victory in the 1,600 relay.
Graham led the Bulldog girls. She ran to victory in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 47.39 seconds. She placed second in the 100 hurdles with a personal-best time of 15.59 seconds.
Both times again eclipsed the qualifying standard for the Class AA State meet. She beat both qualifying standards three teams earlier in the season.
Erickson, a freshman, won the javelin with a personal-best throw of 105 feet.
Milee Stillwagon took second in the 1,600 with a personal-best time, and Sophia Houchin ran to second in the 800.
Saege Grey, a freshman, placed third in the 200-meter race with a personal-best time of 26.50 seconds. That beat the qualifying standard.
Other Butte High girls to place were Evelyn Smith (fourth in the 800), Emma Johnson (fourth in the discus), Kate DeShaw (fourth in the long jump), Adalie Grochowski (fifth in the pole vault), Kynslee Wrampe (fifth in the high jump), Allie Ballensky (fifth in the discus), Ellie Yates (sixth in the javelin) and Wakely Burelson (sixth in the 400).
The Bulldogs will host a meet with Butte Central and Dillon Thursday at Bulldog Memorial Stadium. That meet, which is the final tune up for the Bulldogs before the Western AA Divisional meet starts May 22 in Helena, begins at 3 p.m.
Maroons post wins in Dillon
Danny McCarthy, Palmer Kellicut and Evyn Tippett grabbed individual victories Saturday at the Dillon Invitational. (Results)
McCarthy and Kellicut were double winners, while Tippett placed in three events.
McCarhty, a junior, won the 100- and 200-meter races. He finished the 100 in 11.53 seconds, while winning the 200 with a personal-best time of 23.41 seconds.
Kellicut, a sophomore, won both hurdles races for the Maroons, who placed third in the 10-team event. He reached a qualifying standard with a time of 15.72 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. He won the 300 hurdles with a personal-best time of 43.34.
Central’s boys also placed third in the 400-meter relay. Henly Mansanti, Grady Button, Kellicut and McCarthy each ran a leg.
Central scored 56 team points. Anaconda won with 157.5, and the host Beavers placed second at 152.5.
Mansanti placed in tow events, taking fourth in the long jump and fifth in the high jump. Grady Boyer took fourth in the shot put with a personal-best mark, and Will McGree took sixth in the javelin.
On the girls’ side, Dillon ran away with the title with 199.67 points. Manhattan Christian took second at 90, and Anaconda placed third at 88 points. Central scored 39.17 points for fifth place.
Tippett scored a large percentage of those points for the Maroons. The freshman won the high jump with a personal-best mark of 4 feet, 6 inches. She also took third in the 100 and 200. Her 100 time of 13.41 seconds was a personal best.
Caden Tippett placed third in the shot put and sixth in the discus with a personal best. Ashley White ran to fourth place in the 800, and Lexa Thompson ran to sixth in the 100.
The Maroons also placed third in the 400 relay and fourth in the 1,600 relay. Harper McGree, Thompson, White and Evyn Tippett ran for BC in both events.
After Thursday’s meet with Butte High and Dillon, the Marrons will head to the Western AA Divisional, which is May 22-23 in Frenchtown.
Bulldog softball heats up
Don’t look now, but the Butte High softball team seems to be peaking at the right time.
The Bulldogs won three games over the last week, and they’ve have won four wins in their last five games.
Butte High started its three-game winning streak last Thursday with a thrilling 4-2 Senior Day win over Missoula Sentinel at Stodden Park. They followed with a 19-0 thumping of Missoula Hellgate Saturday at the University of Montana’s softball field, and the Bulldogs picked up a huge 5-4 win over Helena Capital Tuesday in Helena.
Freshman pitcher Brea Henderson pitched a gem to lead the Bulldogs to their Senior Day win over the Spartans. (Boxscore)
She struck out six batters in the win. Mattie Stepan, Reese Johnson and Allie Becker each smacked two hits in the win. Johnson’s day included a double and a pair of RBIs.
Kendallyn Schad, Gracie Jonart and Henderson added hits in the win that came after the Bulldogs honored their seniors and parents. Those seniors are Stepan, Jonart and Ally Godbout.
Henderson struck out five and gave up just one hit on the Griz stadium turf. The Bulldogs ended the game by the run rule after just three innings. (Boxscore)
Butte High still did plenty of damage, smacking 18 hits in Griz country.
Schad went 4 for 4 with four RBIs and three runs scored to lead the way. Stepan went 3 for 3, while Johnson, Becker and Cliry Conway each poked two hits. Conway’s day included a triple.
Brittyn Klima, Lilly Sandoval, Jonart, Godbout and Henderson also had a hit. Savannah Stosich scored three runs, while Taylor Reagan and Ellison Graham each scored one as the Bulldog lineup contributed from top to bottom — and then some.
Henderson singled in Becker and Johnson to cap a four-run sixth inning Tuesday as the Bulldogs edged the Bruins in Helena. (Boxscore)
She also pitched the distance, striking out seven and walking none in the win.
Stepan Homered, Klima doubled, and Becker hit three singles for the Bulldogs. Godbout and Henderson also singled in the win.
The Bulldogs will play their final home game Thursday when Helena High comes to town for a 3 p.m. game at Stodden Park. Butte High will close the regular season Saturday at Missoula Big Sky.
Maroons ready for Combo
Friday and Saturday will be “softball central” as Butte Central hosts the annual Laverne Combo Invitational at Stodden Park and the Longfellow Complex.
In all, 50 games will be played over the two days of the tournament. (Schedule)
The Maroons will play all four of their games on their home field at Stodden Park. They’ll take on Sidney at 3:30 p.m. Friday before playing a Southwestern A contest against Frenchtown at 7.
On Saturday, BC will play Whitefish at 12:30 p.m. before closing against Glendive at 4.
The tournament comes after the Maroons dropped a 12-10 Southwestern A game Saturday at Corvallis. (Boxscore)
Brooklyn Cary hit a two-run home run to walk off the victory for the Blue Devils.
Blake Smith had herself a day in the leadoff spot. She went 4 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI. Her day included a triple and two doubles.
Kenzie McQueary hit three singles, while Natalie Osterman and Braelynn Schelin each had a two-hit day. McQueary and Ryan Olson doubled for the Maroons. Luci Fantini, Kodee Badovinac and Zayonna Otherbull also singled for the Maroons.
The Maroons will close out the regular season Tuesday at home against Dillon.
BC baseball grabs two wins
The Maroons won a pair of baseball games since last report.
Central celebrated Senior Day with a 4-3 win over Florence Tuesday at 3 Legends Stadium. Then BC went on the road to beat Lone Peak 11-7.
Colt Hassler pitched the distance Thursday as the Maroons held on for an emotional Senior Day win over Florence. (Boxscore)
That was the last home game in BC uniforms for Hassler and fellow seniors Kelton Berger, Jack Nagle, Kelton Keene, Trapper Stajcar and Tony Stajcar.
Hassler gave up just one earned run in the victory. Gunnar “Goo” O’Brien hit a double and a single, while Trapper Stajcar hit two singles to lead the BC offense. Beau McGree and Berger each hit a single.
Treigh Hollow worked a pair of walks, while Nagle, Cohen Stajcar, Tony Stajcar and Hassler worked one.
The Maroons rallied late for the win over Lone Peak. (Boxscore)
BC scored 10 runs over the last three innings of the win. That includes four runs in the fifth and five in the sixth.
Trapper Stajcar tripled, and O’Brien and Hassler each hit two singles in the win. McGree, Nagle and Cohen Stajcar singled. Nagle drove in three runs, while O’Brien knocked in two.
Berger started and went three innings before Cohen Stajcar got the win with four innings of relief.
BC hits the road Thursday looking to secure a playoff game when they take on Livingston at 2 p.m. BC coach Richie O’Brien said a win Thursday — or a loss by less than 3 runs — would give the Maroons a playoff game.
Central will close the season Saturday at noon in Florence.
Bulldog baseball eyes playoff
Butte High’s baseball team will close out the regular season this week against the Great Falls schools.
The Bulldogs will take on CMR at 5 p.m. Friday. The team will celebrate Senior Day, an event that was moved back three days.
Butte High will honor seniors Cayde Stajcar, Gunnar Bushman, Brooks Vincent, Chase Lubick, Logan Carden and Grady Foley. Senior Jaxon Williamson is missing his entire senior campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November.
Butte High wrapped up the Western AA schedule, going 1-3 against the Missoula schools over the last week.
Butte High fell 10-4 Thursday at Sentinel, beat Hellgate 12-11 in an 11-inning thriller Saturday at home and fell 7-5 Tuesday to Big Sky at home.
The Bulldogs will likely host a playoff game next week. If so, the Bulldogs would have to win one game, while their lower-seeded opponent would need to beat the Bulldogs twice to advance to the inaugural Class AA State tournament, which is May 28-30 at 3 Legends Stadium.
Lefty Stellan Ridley pitched into the sixth inning Thursday to lead the Spartans past the Bulldogs. (Boxscore)
Kaden Thennis, Marek Hall and Trevor Johnson each had a multi-hit game to lead the Sentinel offense. Johnson drove in three runs.
Stajcar hit a double and a single, while Calvin Cunningham hit two singles and drove in three runs to lead the Bulldog offense. Cunningham, though, left the game with an injury, and did not play in Butte High’s last two games.
Carden, Kodye Kjersten and Bushman singled for Butte High.
Kjersten bunted and Chase Nasheim scored on an error to give the Bulldogs a thrilling 12-11 win over Hellgate Saturday. (Boxscore)
The game went four extra innings, leaving fans of both teams on the edge of their seats. The game saw a combined 27 hits and 13 errors.
Cole Solomon entered the game to pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning. The game was tied. Solomon got the final out of the frame and pitched all four extra innings in the win.
He also hit an RBI single to tie the game at 11 with two out in the bottom of the 10th.
Stajcar hit a home run to tie the game at 9 in the bottom of the sixth.
Owen Felton went 3 for 4 with a double and three walks — including two of the intentional variety — to lead the Knights. Daniel Fagen hit a double and a single, while Connor Larson, Lincoln Chamberlain and Tor Cooper each hit two singles.
Stajcar added a double for the Bulldogs. Teagan Duffy hit a double and a single, and Kjersten hit three singles. Bushman hit two singles, while Evan McEwen and Nasheim joined Solomon with one.
Ethan Paugh pitched six and two thirds innings to get the win for Big Sky Tuesday. (Boxscore)
The hard-throwing righty also hit a home run for Big Sky. Colter Nicolarsen tripled and made a couple of spectacular defensive plays at second base. That includes a running catch to rob Troy Samson of a game-tying hit to end the game.
Rowan Miculka doubled in the win. Duffy homered in a 3-for-4 effort to lead the Bulldog offense. He drove in three runs. Stajcar and McEwen doubled, while Kjersten hit two singles. Carden added a single.
Lubick pitched into the sixth inning to take the hard-luck loss.
BC tennis plays at home
Butte Central’s tennis teams are in the middle of quite the home stretch.
BC played Stevensville and East Helena at home on Thursday.
The Maroons will take on Ronan at 3 p.m. Thursday in Butte. That is the last action before BC hosts the Central A Divisional May 21-22.
Central’s only potential road action in May would be at the Class A State tournament, which is May 28-29 in Hardin.
Tessa Ganzenmuller went 2-0 to lead the Maroons against East Helena and Stevi. She beat her East Helena opponent 6-2, 6-3 and won by injury default over her Stevi opponent. She was up 4-3 at the time of the injury.
Joe Bradshaw, Maurice West, Roman Taylor and Hayden Salmonsen won singles matches for the BC boys against Stevi. Jaylee Williams added a singles win for the Central girls.
Ganzenmuller and Presli Smith won a doubles match against the Yellowjackets, too. So did Sofia Doto and Williams.
Connor Hardy and Emmett Foley teamed for a doubles win over Stevi on the boys’ side.
Butte High played Helena Capital and Helena High at home on Friday before taking on Missoula Hellgate on Tuesday. Results from that action was not submitted for publication.
Butte High will play Thursday at Belgrade before heading to Helena on Friday.
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BC boys set hoops camp
Butte Central’s Boys’ Basketball Camp will be held June 15-18 at the Maroon Activities Center.
The camp, which is for boys entering third through eighth grades next school year, will be led by Butte Central’s coaching staff and players. It will focus on fundamentals and competition, with awards presented to competition winners. The camp will run from noon until 3 p.m. each day.
Cost is $95 per camper, and players are asked to register by June 10 so the staff can plan camp competitions. Registration on the first day of camp is $100
Click here for a registration form and more information.
