EBS STAFF
On Saturday, May 11, the Lone Peak High School baseball team played their first-ever playoff game. They visited the Bitterroot Valley to face the Hamilton High School Broncs.
The Broncs, ranked No. 2 in their southwest division, had a strong record including wins against the Belgrade High School Panthers, ranked atop Lone Peak’s division, and the Polson High School Pirates, defending state champions.
Even against a strong opponent, the Big Horns held their own, falling 2-1 in a playoff showdown. Tied in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Broncs sealed the victory on a walk-off single by Hamilton’s Toby DeMoss.
Coaches John McGuire and Matt Morris wrote statements to EBS recapping the playoff loss and the successful 2024 season.
“It was a big step in our baseball journey that ended in heartbreak,” coach Morris wrote. “I know we will be stronger because of the experience. Mostly we realized we can play with any team in the state as long as we play the brand of baseball we are capable of.”
Sophomore Ebe Grabow “pitched an incredible game, holding down a very strong Hamilton team and giving us a chance for the upset,” McGuire wrote. He pitched all seven innings, allowing three hits and zero earned runs. He struck out four and walked four.
Grabow, sophomore Eli Gale and freshman Sid Morris each had hits in the loss.
McGuire wrote that the coaches are incredibly proud of the team’s performance in their first-ever playoff appearance, and they look forward to continued growth and success.
