COLUMBIA FALLS — Last season, the Columbia Falls baseball team was the top seed in the North Conference, and this year, the Wildcats are hoping to go further as the team's foundation was set four years ago.
The Wildcats began their season playing close matchups with their opponents but have recently begun scoring a lot of runs in their wins.
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Shortstop Nico Young believes the team has been excelling at the hardest part of the game.
“I think our biggest strength right now is putting the ball in play,” Young said. “We don't have very many strikeouts. We have a lot of guys making stuff happen. We make the other team make plays. We can work on our defense, but we strive in putting the ball in play, hitting the ball a lot.”
A unique factor for this team is the length of time it has had to build a rapport, as it was one of the 21 schools that formed a baseball team when the sport became sanctioned in 2023.
“Not a lot of teams in Montana had a first-year team, so this being the fourth year of the program, we got guys that were freshmen that are now seniors, like myself and a bunch of other guys, that can lead the team very well,” Young said. “I think our young guys are stepping up, and they believe our seniors, and juniors even, are helping lead the team very well.”
However, like any baseball team, there will inevitably be struggles. Pitcher Jett Pitts believes they have the chemistry to instill confidence in their teammates.
“If one of us gets down, we've got to pick each other up,” Pitts said. “Baseball's 90% mental, and if you're not there all the way mental, then it's a pretty hard game to play, and I think our biggest strength is for sure our brotherhood inside the games."
While there is still a lot of season left to play, this year’s Columbia Falls squad is confident it will keep that top spot.
“We'll definitely be in the state tournament this year,” Pitts said. “We're going to make a good run. Our goal is always to make the state championship, and this year we got a good brotherhood going on. We're always having fun.”
