By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
A complete game pitched by Lone Peak High School junior Brady Johnson wasn’t enough to propel the Big Horns over the Butte Central Catholic Maroons on Friday, May 9, as the Big Horns played their final home game of the season at Medina Field in Belgrade.
Johnson pitched seven complete innings, allowing five hits, three walks and five runs—only one run was earned, as the defense made a handful of costly errors. He struck out seven Maroons.
Head coach Matt Morris said Johnson was great.
“Sometimes he rushes out there. But he picked up our errors, he calmed himself down, and, you know, threw a complete game,” Morris said. “Which, for not pitching a ton this year, is awesome.”
Johnson also walked and scored the Big Horns’ first run in the second inning and later knocked an RBI double to left-center field in the third inning, tying the score at 2-2. He singled in the fifth.
“Big double. Got a hanging breaking ball up and smacked it,” Morris said.
Tied 3-3 in the top half of the fifth inning, the Maroons jumped on a few errors and played small ball to score a pair of runs, taking a 5-3 lead and playing strong enough defense to hold their lead.
The Big Horns lost their slim chance of a state tournament berth as the Maroons celebrated a 5-3 win. With just one make-up game remaining, on the road against a tough Butte High School team, Morris reflected positively on the 2025 season.
He said since the high school program began in 2023, they’ve been building toward 2026—the year when Big Sky’s founding players with the Royals youth program will have grown to maturity, from seven- and eight-year-olds to high school juniors and seniors.
A few of those players are the current team “warriors” and leaders: Johnson, juniors Ebe Grabow and Oliver McGuire, and sophomore Sid Morris; not to mention other developing players like sophomore Calder Dunn, who made “leaps and bounds” this season to become a varsity contributor, and freshman Steen Mitchell, has been putting in the work and “battling every game,” Morris explained.
He said the 2025 team has had “nothing but a blast” and every player deserves recognition for their efforts this season. The program loses six seniors, with only two of them being regular varsity starters.
One of them is Jack Laxson, who has been playing since tee ball. He was emotional after being recognized alongside his parents for his final home baseball game.
“It’s been awesome,” Laxson said. “I’m a little sad it’s over, but it’s been awesome.”
Laxson said the camaraderie of Lone Peak’s developing baseball program will stick in his memory. Another special moment came on April 26, when Eli Gale smacked the team’s first-ever home run for a 5-4, walk-off victory against Park High School. Laxson will certainly remember May 11, 2024, when the Big Horns surprised a tough Hamilton High School team, losing 2-1 in a playoff game but finishing their season on the verge of a monumental upset.
“Just those high emotion moments is what I’ll remember most,” Laxson said. He was proud of his fellow seniors, some of whom picked up baseball in just the past two years.
Looking ahead, Laxson said the talent is promising: he highlighted Steen Mitchell as fundamentally sound and hardworking player whose ability will improve as he gains strength; he noted Sid Morris has matured a lot with two seasons left; and applauded Ebe Grabow for his improvement and ability to play positions all around the diamond.
As youth baseball continues to bring more young talent into the high school ranks, coach Morris is full of optimism and gratitude to the school and participating families for supporting the program.
With next year’s continued growth, and the possibility of the Montana High School Association splitting teams into divisions based on school size, Morris is confident that the 2026y season will end with a return to playoff baseball.
“We’d give it a real fair chance, and give it a run next year,” Morris said.
