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Boulder Arrowhead Little League of Billings slams way to state championship

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MISSOULA – The edge in a growing rivalry series belongs to the boys from Billings for now. For a reward, they get to take on the Northwest Region.

Boulder Arrowhead Little League bashed its way past Missoula’s Mt. Sentinel Little League in the state championship game, 13-1, on Sunday. Xavier Breckerdige put the cherry on top of the rout with a three-run homer to left in the bottom of the fifth, ending the game due to the 10-run rule.

Mt. Sentinel took a brief lead after leadoff batter Evan Hafliger scored in the top of the first, but Billings pitcher Caleb Anderson gave up nothing after that, and his team kept scoring.

Boulder Arrowhead plated two runs in the first, two more in the second, and one in both the third and fourth innings to take a 6-1 lead into the fifth. Then the Billings boys exploded for seven runs in the fifth, ending with Breckerdige’s bomb.

The two teams have collided in the 11-12-year-old state championship series five years in a row. Boulder Arrowhead won the title in 2014 and 2015. Mt. Sentinel won in 2016 and 2017. The two were also tied in this year’s best-of-three series. Missoula came back late to steal Game 1 on Friday night, 6-4. Billings responded with a 15-5 win on Saturday night.

Boulder Arrowhead now advances to the Northwest Regional Tournament in San Bernardino, California. They’ll meet fellow state champions from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Alaska starting on Aug. 5. The winner of the Regional advances to the Little League World Series.