Whitefish's baseball team is on a roll, and Tait Orme is leading the charge. The Bulldogs' ace struck out 11 batters and threw a complete game Thursday, powering Whitefish to a dominant 10-2 victory over Columbia Falls in Northwest A action.
From the second inning on, it was all Whitefish. The Bulldogs exploded for four runs in that frame, thanks to a patient Drew Queen drawing an RBI walk, a costly Columbia Falls error that plated two runs, and an Orme sacrifice fly. Gavin Knapp kept the momentum going with an RBI single in the third inning, building a lead that the Bulldogs never looked back from.
Carter Godsey was a force at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs. But he wasn't alone—Reyd Hobart, Knapp, and Reed Boyer each collected multiple hits as Whitefish racked up 15 hits and swiped four bases. The Bulldogs improved to 10-5 with the win, while Columbia Falls dropped to 10-4, despite two hits from Wyatt Dodson and RBIs from Jory Hill and Nico Young.
Elsewhere in Northwest A, Polson's pitching duo of Cody Haggard and Liam Jackson was nearly untouchable, combining for a four-hit shutout in a win over Libby. Holden Emerson set the tone early with a solo home run in the first inning, and Parker Shoemake added an RBI triple in the second. Cole Wadsworth chipped in a sacrifice fly as the Pirates steadily built their lead. Haggard struck out eight over six scoreless innings before Jackson closed it out in the seventh. Hunter Luedtke, Jackson, and Emerson each had two hits for Polson (9-6), while Hunter Rooney led Libby (5-8) with two hits.
In Corvallis, it was a game of comebacks and clutch hitting. The Blue Devils trailed Ronan 3-1 in the first after Blaine Dupuis' two-run single, and again in the fourth when Caiden Pierre doubled home a run. But Maurice Craun changed everything with a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning, sparking a late rally that saw Corvallis erupt for six runs in the sixth. Ryan Bourassa delivered a two-run double, and Jake Leavitt added a two-run single during the outburst. Leavitt finished a perfect 4-for-4 to lead Corvallis (5-10), while Craun drove in three runs. Dupuis had two RBIs for Ronan (1-14) in the losing effort.