BILLINGS — Montana's representatives at the Class AA American Legion Northwest Regional saw very different outcomes on Day 1 of the tournament Wednesday at Dehler Park.
The Missoula Mavericks rolled to a 9-0 victory in the first round over Fort Collins, Colo., while the Royals, the host team for the tourney, fell 10-0 to Idaho Falls, Idaho.
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The Mavericks advanced to play Gillette, Wyo., in the winner's bracket Thursday at 4 p.m. The Royals slipped into loser-out action against Portland, Ore., at approximately 12:30 p.m.
Missoula, fresh off winning its second straight Montana/Alberta state championship, benefited from timely hitting and a pitching gem from starter Easton Reimers to defeat Fort Collins.
Related: 2025 Class AA Legion baseball Northwest Regional tournament scores and pairings
Reimers allowed two hits while striking out four in 5 1/3 innings to earn the victory. He didn't allow a walk, as 42 of his 59 total pitches went for strikes.
Offensively, Carter Taylor, Rylan Davis and Stellan Ridley each had two hits while Bryce Ostrum scored three runs.
Taylor and Colter Nicolarsen each delivered two-run doubles in the bottom of the fourth that ultimately gave the Mavericks a 7-0 advantage. Nicolarsen drove in three runs total. Davis had two RBIs.
The Royals, meanwhile, couldn't solve Idaho Falls pitchers Carter Bowen and Brock Bowman, who each threw three shutout innings to help the Bandits invoke the 10-run rule.
Bowen struck out five and allowed one hit through 60 pitches before giving way to Bowman, who fanned three in relief while allowing two hits. Kooper Beard had two hits for the Royals and Camden Wilson had one.
Colten Spagnuolo had three RBIs for Idaho Falls, including the game-ending single that scored teammate Tyson Christensen in the sixth.
Idaho Falls Post 56, which won the Legion World Series in both 2019 and 2021, advanced to play Yakima Valley, Wash., in a second-round game Thursday at 7 p.m.
