Montana Slugs It Out In 2025 State Championship

The 2025 Montana high school baseball season ended with a thrilling State Tournament in Hamilton, where eight top teams battled for the championship. From walk-off homers to pitchers’ duels, the weekend delivered unforgettable moments. Here’s a recap of the action-packed results.

Thursday

The State Tournament kicked off with the eastern play-in team, #3 Billings Central, taking on the north's top seed #1 Columbia Falls. Central took the win 6-2 with help from Matteo Harris, who went 3-for-4 at the plate, raking in three RBIs on a pair of singles and a double.

Game two featured Eastern #2 Billings West facing off against the South’s #1 Frenchtown. West surged early with three runs scored on two hits in the first inning on their way to six unanswered runs through the top of the fifth. Frenchtown rallied to score two in the bottom of the fifth, but it wasn’t enough as they fell 11-4.

It was a pitchers’ duel in Game three between the Northern #1 Billings Skyview and Southern #2 Hamilton. Cash Lawrence threw a complete game for Hamilton, striking out nine with only two walks and allowing only a single hit. Boedy Tadvick was the deciding run, crossing the plate in the fourth off a Hunter Harrness double to give the Broncs the 1-0 victory.

The final game of the day was a comeback story after the Southern #3 Big Sky Missoula had four unanswered runs over Central’s #1 Belgrade through four innings. Belgrade got the bats moving in the bottom of the fifth (with help from some crucial Eagles errors), with a trio of singles to score three runs and set up the walk-off hit-by-pitch in the seventh for the Panthers’ 4-5 victory over the Eagles.

Friday

Two #1 seeds faced off in the first loser-out match of the tournament, with Columbia Falls advancing over Frenchtown 7-5. Frenchtown led 4-0 after two innings, but after a series of multi-run innings the script was flipped and the Wildcats held a 7-4 lead through five. Frenchtown had an opportunity in the sixth with baserunners in scoring position, but Cooper Ross came into the game in relief and earned the save, keeping Frenchtown held to just one more run on two innings pitched for the 7-5 victory.

Skyview’s second-round matchup started much differently from their first of the tournament, with both the Falcons and Big Sky scoring two in their first innings at the plate. Despite a lull in the second, the Falcons kept the bats rolling, scoring five runs in three innings. Paxton Fitch and Camden Wilson both went 3-for-4, with Fitch notching three RBIs to help Skyview win 4-7.

With three Billings teams in the tournament, it was only a matter of time until we had an intra-city matchup. That came in Game seven, with Billings West taking on Billings Central in the first semifinal match. The game was scoreless until Chase Wise sent out a two-run shot in the top of the fifth. After seven they were tied 2-2, and the pressure was on in the eighth after a single by Central’s Matteo Harris, who stole second at the first opportunity. After an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt from the Rams and a pitching change from West, Oliver Prill saw a single pitch before walking it off with a two-run homer and sending Central to the championship with the 4-2 victory.

Belgrade handled business under the lights with help from a seven-run fourth inning, ending it in five innings as they beat Hamilton 12-2. Hamilton was the first to score with a pair of singles, but couldn’t keep the door open as they were shut out from then on with only one hit. The Panthers scored their 12 runs from 12 RBIs on only seven hits, with eight walks and six strikeouts.

Saturday

Championship day started with the second cross-city matchup, Billings Skyview facing Billings West. It was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams pushing across runs throughout the game. Heading into the seventh it was Skyview ahead 4-3, and the lead increased to three as Conner Smith hit a two-run homer for the Falcons. West responded with a single and a walk, building momentum for the Bears as they pushed across two runs. With runners on the corners with two outs, Skyview reliever Luke Slyker managed to earn the save and put the Bears away for the 6-5 victory.

With only 11 hits between the two teams, game ten between Columbia Falls and Hamilton was tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the seventh. On their third pitcher of the game, Columbia Falls got a flyout for the first out of the inning before the next two Hamilton batters walked, moving to second and third on a passed ball before a strikeout made it two outs. A four-pitch walk loaded the bases, and Brady DeMoss showed great discipline as he managed to draw a seven-pitch walk-off walk for a 3-4 victory.

The third-place game was a doubleheader for both Skyview and Hamilton and a rematch of the two teams’ first-round clash. Hamilton opened the game by scoring two runs on three singles, but Skyview exploded in the second for nine runs of their own on six walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a cluster of singles. Hamilton chipped away, managing to narrow the gap to 9-7. Luke Slyker got back-to-back outs for the Falcons before giving up a single. With the tying run at the plate, Slyker got his final out of the season on a six-pitch strikeout.

The championship game started with a bang as Billings Central scored four runs on Belgrade in the first with the help of a Panthers error and a string of RBI singles. It was quiet from the second through the sixth, with only three hits between the two teams. With Belgrade on offense for their final time of the game, they needed to push to close the 4-0 gap to the Rams. After a five-pitch walk to start the inning, Belgrade singled and then hit into a fielder's choice to give them runners on second and third. An RBI groundout moved the runner to third, and Howie Martin’s back-to-back walks loaded the bases. A line-drive single to center scored the runners from second and third, but the luck stopped there as the runner from first was thrown out at third trying to take the extra base. Final Score: Belgrade 3, Central 4.