By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
For years, the Lone Peak High School baseball program had 2026 circled.
It seemed possible that a home baseball field would allow the Big Horns to host games in Big Sky—instead, that field will likely be ready in 2027, so the Big Horns are still playing “home” games in Belgrade. But more importantly, 2026 is the season in which the founding players would reach full maturity, with many core players like Brady Johnson, Ebe Grabow and Oliver McGuire growing from freshmen in the team’s 2023 debut, to seniors today. Coaches believed this team might contend for a state championship.
Instead, the team is off to a 1-5 start, with its lone win being a 17-2 onslaught against Broadwater High School (Townsend), followed by an extra-innings loss against Butte Central Catholic High School. Overall, the Big Horns have been outscored 59-42.
In Lone Peak’s home opener on May 1, the Big Horns played frustrating ball: the Big Horn offense stranded the bases loaded three times; senior starting pitcher Oliver McGuire worked overtime to compensate for defensive errors; in the fourth inning, Park High School scored two runs on a single passed ball; and the Big Horns blew a one-run lead in the sixth as the Rangers plated 12 runs, enough for a comeback-turned-mercy-rule victory, with the Rangers winning 18-7.
Despite a rough finish, there were positives: McGuire smoked an opposite field, two-RBI triple in the second inning, and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth thanks to outfield support from junior Ryan Malinowski and senior Will Helms; freshman Jens Biggerstaff roped a line drive double; and senior Ian Pecunies blasted a two-out double to the left field warning track to give Lone Peak a 7-6 lead in the fifth.
The Big Horns’ lopsided schedule began with five games on the road, and will continue with a string of three more home games before finishing on the road on May 19.
“It’s been a tough start to the season in terms of wins and losses, but I think our guys are growing as human beings,” assistant coach Ryan Rothing told EBS. “And I think a lot of our guys are ready for the next phase in life, too, which is going off to colleges.”
Rothing noted that the coaches are continuing to focus on teaching fundamentals and giving opportunities to young players.
Defensively, Rothing said some of the blame can be chalked up to bad hops. The team practices on smooth artificial turf at LPHS, where bouncing balls are deceptively consistent compared to lumpy Montana spring grass. In prior years, the team was still able to practice at Big Sky Community Park’s softball field, but this year those fields are closed for construction. In fairness, Park’s defense also made a handful of errors.
“Defense did let us down a little bit today, but our offense was competing. Putting balls in play hard today,” Rothing said. As for the offense letting the Rangers off the hook with bases loaded three times, he added the importance of productive outs and putting the ball in play.
Broadly speaking, Rothing said players are having fun with their friends, even with tough outcomes on the scoreboard.
“They’re growing up, and there’s a lot of life priorities that are happening other than just baseball. And I know these guys are succeeding in the classroom, and are getting ready to go off to really prestigious colleges,” Rothing said. “… Even though the season’s not going the way we wanted to with wins and losses, they’re still A-1 human beings and they’re passing down a good legacy to our younger guys.”
Oliver McGuire discussed the team’s perspective moving forward, with four games left to play. He said the team needs to work on fielding, and depth with key players missing time: junior Sid Morris for disciplinary reasons, and senior Ebe Grabow with hamstring tightness.
“I sure hope it improves. I definitely think we could be playing better,” McGuire said after the game. “We’ve been better in the past, and we haven’t changed a ton as far as personnel goes. But yeah, we definitely have to make some changes.”
McGuire said the program will be fine in future seasons if athletes who lack a baseball background continue to join and learn the game at the high school level, which has been helpful in Lone Peak’s first four seasons. But he didn’t sugarcoat the standard set by his graduating class.
“I mean, we’re setting a low bar this year. So I hope they’re able to improve,” McGuire said.
