BILLINGS — After a rousing win in their tournament opener a day earlier, the Missoula Mavericks slipped into the loser-out bracket with a second-round defeat to Gillette, Wyo., on Thursday at the Class AA American Legion Northwest Regional at Dehler Park.
Missoula, Montana's back-to-back state champion, fell behind early and couldn't reach all the way back in a 4-3 loss, which means the Mavericks will be playing for their tournament lives going forward.
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The Mavs fell behind by three runs after the first inning, as Gillette capitalized on a throwing error and as Ethan Hecker and Riley Hawk delivered RBI singles.
Missoula countered with a run in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly from Rylan Davis, but Gillette tacked on a run in their half of the inning to make it a 4-1 game.
Bryce Ostrom scored for the Mavericks on a Gillette fielding error in the fifth, and Missoula added another run later in the inning as Davis singled in Carter Taylor to close the gap to 4-3.
Related: 2025 Class AA Legion baseball Northwest Regional tournament scores and pairings
Missoula had some momentum, but a storm delayed the game in the top of the sixth. Play soon resumed, but the Mavericks were unable to generate any runs in the final two innings.
The Mavs slipped into loser-out action Friday at 9:30 a.m., when they'll take on Portland, Ore.
Portland eliminated Montana's other tournament representatives, the Billings Royals, by a 14-11 score earlier Thursday.
The Royals jumped out to a two-run lead thanks to a four-run outburst in the top of the second, highlighted by Cooper Ballew's two-run triple. But the lead was short lived.
Portland answered with two in the bottom half of the second on a two-run home run by Connor Parry, then tacked on six runs in the third as Kainoa Santiago came through with a two-run double in the inning.
Gabe Coltman added a three-run home run for Portland in the fifth.
The Royals loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh and pushed four runs across, as Camden Wilson and Brady Baker knocked in runs. But it wasn't enough for Billings to extend its season.
