DILLON — No seniors, no problem for Billings Central's first-year baseball team.
Sophomore pitcher Paxton Prill fanned eight batters and Brennan Harlan hit a two-run homer in the top of the second inning to give the Rams a quick 3-0 lead as Central downed Dillon 8-1 in a state tournament play-in game on Saturday afternoon at Ray Lynch Field.
"I inherited a lot of talented kids," said Central head coach Mike Martinson of his team, most of whom have developed their game playing American Legion baseball. "We've gotten better over the year. We're a young team, we don't have a senior. But that doesn't matter.
"It's a testament to Billings and Legion baseball and the travel teams. I have a lot of respect for all those guys."
Central piled up three more runs in the top of the fourth to extend its lead to 6-0. Dillon scored its lone run of the game in the bottom of the fourth off an RBI from Taylor Handlos.
The Rams then tacked on runs in the fifth and seventh innings to ice the game. Matteo Harris had two RBIs for Central and Howie Martin and Porter Dahlberg each batted in a runner.
The Rams are headed to state in its first year as a program while the Beavers — one of the original Montana high school baseball teams to make its debut in 2023 — are still searching for their first state berth.
The state tournament begins on Thursday in Hamilton.
