HELENA — Come mid-May, East Helena expects to be playing postseason baseball for the first time in school history.
The Vigilantes are set to enter their fourth season as a varsity program — all under head coach Ethan Hoffman. They have come up shy of postseason baseball in each of their first three seasons.
“And I think the next step for this program is to compete for a spot at that state tournament,” said Hoffman at a team practice in Helena on Wednesday. “We’ve been just on the outside looking in the last couple years. And I think that’s motivation for a lot of these guys in the work they put in in the offseason.”
East Helena features three seniors this year, and Hoffman said he expects that trio to lead the team.
“Yeah, us three seniors, we’re pretty close,” senior outfielder Cole Jones said. “Over the last four years, we’ve gotten to build it together. And it’s been really cool, really special to do that — and with two of my closest friends.”
And for the Vigilantes’ seniors especially, making the program’s first state tournament would mean the most.
“The past three years, we’ve been close every time,” senior outfielder Xavier Nunn said. “It’s been a matter of a few games. So, making it this year is a big goal. It would mean so much to me. And I’m going to work hard to achieve that.”
East Helena’s season officially starts 2 p.m. on Thursday at Kalispell Flathead.
