HAMILTON — Despite being in its first year as a varsity baseball team, Billings Central wasted no time arriving on the statewide stage.
But it didn't come without a huge dose of suspense.
Related: Final 2025 state baseball tournament scores and pairings
Paxton Prill's cutoff of a throw from center field in the top of the seventh inning led to the final out, and Central sealed a tense 4-3 victory over Belgrade to win the state championship Saturday night at Vester Wilson Field.
Day 3 scores:
- Billings Skyview 6, Billings West 5, loser out
- Hamilton 4, Columbia Falls 3, 9 innings, loser out
- Billings Skyview 9, Hamilton 7, third place
- Billings Central 4, Belgrade 3, championship
In the final state event of the 2024-25 high school year, the Rams put a cap on their first season on the diamond the same way many of their other programs did before — by winning a championship.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:
"We're a new team, and not a lot of people expected us to win," said sophomore Howie Martin, who was on the mound for the Rams in the final innings. "We have a lot of younger players; we don't have any seniors. But we believed in ourselves and we were confident we could get it done."
But it took, among other things, a heads-up play from Prill to stop Belgrade's late-inning push for the tying — or even go-ahead — run.
With Central ahead 4-1 in the top of the seventh and with two outs and the bases loaded, Belgrade's Sawyer Olson singled to center field to bring in Andrew Hazen and Gage Banks, cutting the score to 4-3.
The ensuing throw from the outfield was headed for no-man's land in the infield, but Prill, knowing where he's supposed to be in that situation, cut it off and flicked the ball to third baseman Zach McDonald, who tagged Cade Thomas for the final out.
That set off a jubilant celebration for Central. It was the ninth state title won by the Rams this athletic year, following those in girls golf, boys soccer, girls soccer, football, volleyball, boys swimming, girls swimming and girls basketball.
Baseball can break your heart, and Belgrade learned that on this night. Stymied all game by the pitching duo of starter Oliver Prill and Martin, the Panthers didn't get their first hit until Caleb Seaman singled in the seventh, and they broke through with their first run when Max Dunning later scored on Andrew Hazen's fielder's choice RBI.
Dunning, Olson, Banks and Thomas all drew walks against Martin in the seventh, as the right-hander labored to find the final out. Central got the play it needed at just the right moment.
"Paxton knows the game of baseball," Central coach Mike Martinson said of Prill's game-ending play. "I can put him anywhere, and he just knows the game and his head is in the game. He's an athlete, and he just reacted the right way."
The Rams went scurrying around the bases for four runs in the bottom of the first. The inning included four singles, including an RBI base hit by freshman Brendan Warn. Central also took advantage of two wild pitches, a passed ball and two errors in the inning.
In a weird quirk, Warn not only had the game's first RBI but he was also involved in the Rams' first six defensive outs at third base, catching two foul pops and throwing out four hitters on ground balls.
After the first inning, Belgrade starter Brayton Van Dyken settled in and kept Central off the board for the next five frames.
"It just took us too long to get going offensively," explained Belgrade coach Joel Barnett, who guided the Panthers to their third straight state tourney appearance. "That first inning kind of blew up on us and we spotted them four runs right away. We showed a lot of fight. You saw it. This is a special bunch. You saw the fight all the way to the end."
Belgrade had another chance to make a dent in the deficit in the fifth, as Oliver Prill surrendered a walk to Dunning and hit Seaman with a pitch to open the frame. Prill exited without giving up a hit. Working exclusively from the stretch, Prill walked four and hit two batters in four-plus shutout innings.
Prill was the hero the day before, when his towering walk-off home run beat Billings West and sent the Rams to the championship game. But Saturday represented a total team effort. And Central left the Bitterroot Valley with yet another state title.
"That speaks volumes about our culture at Central," Martin said. "Our culture is second to none, and that's a credit to our leadership there. Everybody bleeds green. It's awesome."
Earlier Saturday, Billings Skyview won the third-place trophy with a 9-7 victory over Hamilton. The Falcons scored nine times in the second inning and held on as the Broncs continued to chip away. Brady Baker went 2 for 2 with four RBIs for Skyview. Hunter Harness and Atticus Southwell each drove in two runs for the Broncs.
