Friday, August 15, 2025
55.0°F

Lake County athletes shine at state fastpitch tournament

by BRANDON HANSEN For the Leader
| July 17, 2025 12:00 AM

Polson, Mission, and Arlee fastpitch players brought home hardware this past weekend at the 2025 Montana Junior Olympic Fastpitch State Tournament, held July 11–13 at the Bozeman and Belgrade softball complexes.

Two Avalanche squads took home state titles in the 18U and 12U divisions, while the 10U C-Town Rebels – featuring a mix of Polson, Arlee, and Columbia Falls players – earned a third-place finish.

The 18U Avalanche-Goudette team went undefeated in route to the championship, winning four straight games at Gallatin High School Fields. Their tournament run included victories over the Emeralds-Allen squad twice, including an 8-6 win in the title game.

Polson standouts Sam Rensvold and Olivia Jore, along with Jada Domebo from Mission, were key contributors for the Avalanche-Goudette championship team.

The Avalanche earned earlier wins against MT Riot (9-8), Emeralds-Allen (7-5), and Emeralds-Galle (9-2) before clinching the championship. 

The Montana Avalanche-Latrielle team secured the 16U title. The team defeated Emeralds-Grady 8-0 in the undefeated semifinal and featured Polson’s Logan McCrea on the roster. 

Avalanche-Latrielle also posted wins over Belgrade (5-1), MT Freedom (12-1), and opened their tournament with a commanding performance. Emeralds-Grady beat Belgrade in the third-place matchup to advance to the title game.

The Avalanche-Ries squad dominated the 12U bracket, finishing with a perfect 5-0 record. Polson’s Harlow Caye was among the local athletes helping hoist the championship trophy.

Their wins included a 14-2 title game rout over Emeralds-VanBroeke and an 8-1 semifinal victory over the same team. Other tournament wins came against Belgrade (7-5), MV Thunder (16-1), and the 12U Bozeman Stealers (13-5).

The 10U C-Town Rebels, featuring a roster split between Polson, Arlee, and Columbia Falls players, battled their way to a third-place finish. Their tournament run was highlighted by wins over the Dillon Dirtbags (15-4), Emeralds (9-1), and Hamilton Hotshots (9-5).

In the third-place game, the Rebels fell to the Billings Blaze 13-2, following a previous 5-1 loss to eventual champion Belgrade in the quarterfinals.

The Rebels' roster featured Polson’s Elorie Nash and Emma Wadsworth, as well as Arlee’s Soli Mesteth and Bianca O’Neill, among others.