Game Delays And Double Plays: Eastern Montana’s Midseason Recap

Mother Nature has been bipolar this spring, but that hasn’t stopped high school baseball from thriving in its first year in Billings. As we approach the April 14th mark (see why that’s relevant here), here’s where the teams stand as of Thursday, April 10th.

Billings Skyview 4-2 (4-0)

1st in East

Billings Skyview’s season got off to a rocky start with two straight losses to cross-town rivals West (11-14) and Senior (3-8). Since then, they’ve rebounded and are currently on a four-game winning streak, including a revenge game win over West and a dominant performance against Central. They’ll look to continue the momentum this weekend as they face Senior on Thursday at Pirtz, and then head to Sidney to face the Eagles.

Billings West 3-1 (4-1)

2nd in East

Billings West has started their season almost perfectly, going on a 3-game winning streak with a +35 run difference against their opponents during that stretch. Though they dropped a game to Skyview, they’ve continued the dominant performance with an 11-1 win over Senior and a 14-6 win over Central, pushing their difference on the season to +49. They’ll welcome Huntley Project into Pirtz on Friday.

Billings Central 2-2 (2-2)

3rd in East

While Class A isn’t too far of a stretch from AA, the Central Rams will have their work cut out for them as they carry the pride of Class A alongside Laurel this year. Currently 2-2, the Rams are tied with Laurel in the #3 spot, the first ones out for the State Championship in May. Coming off a pair of disappointing losses to the bullies of AA, they’ll look to turn things around as they welcome in the rival Locomotives on Saturday

Laurel 3-2 (3-2)

4th in East

The season snuck up on the Locomotives as they started off the season with a disappointing 0-15 loss to Skyview. Since then, they’ve gone 3-1 with their sole loss being a close 1-3 loss in Columbus. Despite the success of the Legion team the Dodgers, only three will hop over to their high school counterparts. Carrying only seven upperclassmen on the roster, Laurel will be looking to build solid foundations as we move into the mid-season stretch. Butte Central Catholic will travel in on Thursday before the rivalry game in Billings on Saturday.

Billings Senior 2-3 (2-2)

5th in East

Tuesday was a heartbreaker for Senior, as they entered the 7th inning tied 7-7 in Columbus. A solo homer put them up 8-7, until Columbus was able to load the bases and push across the winning run in the bottom half of the inning. The third of a 3-game slide, the Broncs will look to turn things around as they host Skyview on Thursday in their second meeting of the season.

Columbus-Red Lodge-Absarokee Co-op 3-2 (3-2)

6th in East

The great part of the all-class, 35-team league this year is getting to see David vs Goliath matchups across the state, and David has been performing thus far. The Cougars are 3-2, with their two losses coming to West and Central to start the season. Since then they’ve been 3-0, including a 10-6 win over East Helena and the previously mentioned 9-8 thriller over Senior. They’ll head to Sidney on Friday to try and keep the streak going, and then on to Watford City, North Dakota for a non-conference game on Sunday.

Huntley Project 1-3 (1-3)

7th in East

Huntley Project has a young team this year, boasting only a handful of upperclassmen on the roster. Kade Hickey is enjoying his time in Huntley however, commenting on how the team is looking to build into the next few years and build the program. Their sole win of the year came against the Sidney Eagles at home, 3-4. They’ll travel into town to take on Billings West on Friday.

Sidney 0-5 (0-5)

8th in East

The Sidney Eagles haven’t had a good go of it here in the first weeks of the season, putting up a run difference of -44 in their first five games. They got a rough draw on the schedule, facing off against the top of the East in Central, West, and Laurel in their first three games.They’ll look to turn things around as they welcome in Columbus on Friday before hosting a jamboree against Watford City and Skyview on Saturday.