BUTTE — When asked what it takes to build a baseball team from the ground up, Gallatin High School coach Johnny Graham put it like this:
"It's crossing Ts and dotting Is and it seems like there's a new T to cross each day and an I to dot right after that," he said. "Fortunately I've got a good coaching staff and I've got a great group of young men."
All that legwork paid off for the Raptors, who played their first varsity game Friday at Butte High where they reeled off seven unanswered runs in the final two innings to earn a convincing 11-4 victory.
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"Excited for these guys, they've been working, they've been excited for a long time," said Graham, who was formerly the head coach of the Belgrade Bandits American Legion team. "To come out and get the win in that first game is fantastic."
High school baseball in Montana is now in its fourth season and, after three seasons of all teams playing under one classification, the Raptors are now part of a standalone Class AA division.
The sport continues to grow, and Gallatin is just glad to be getting in on the fun.
"It's great to finally wear GHS across our chest," said senior Luis Musial who scored the Raptors first run in the first inning against Butte.
And the Raptors one-inning-at-a-time mentality that they brought against Butte is the same one they'll bring over the next two months.
"We're more so just playing the game," said senior Sam Talbot. "It doesn't really matter what opponent we're facing. We're just ready to play the game of baseball."
All eight Eastern AA schools are fielding baseball teams this season with the first Class AA state tournament set to take place in Butte at the end of May. Four of the Eastern AA teams will qualify for state and the Raptors now begin the journey of trying to lock up a return trip to the Mining City.
"Very determined, but that's a long ways down the road," said Graham. "We'll stay on the 200 feet in front of us and take care of today, tomorrow do our best to take care of tomorrow and go from there."
