HELENA — Twenty-four hours prior to the conclusion of the 2022 Keith Sell Tournament Championship Game – in which the Helena Senators beat Butte 9-1 to repeat as champions – the fate of Monday’s contest was in question.
Heavy rains moved through the area Sunday afternoon, dumping heavy amounts of rain on the field and ultimately canceling the remainder of tournament pool play.
During the rain shower, large amounts of water covered portions of the field. Roughly 12 inches of water spilled into the third base dugout and about half that much into the first base dugout.
Players, coaches and parents flew into cleaning up the mess, with some parents staying well past midnight into Monday morning working to get the field and facilities right.
Senators head coach Jon Burnett spent the night at the field so games could be played Monday.
“When I was laying under the tarp last night in that downpour, I was thinking, ‘we may not play [on this field] for another week,’” Burnett said. “It was pretty amazing the parents, the players, the volunteers stepping in. We had the field ready by 9 a.m. Just amazing the support from our program and the community to get it ready.”
That work – which included a player-led bucket brigade at one point Sunday night – was paid off with a first place tournament trophy.
“Super proud,” Burnett said of his team. “They were here all week putting the tarp on, taking it off. Then to have the focus coming in here and to sharpen up for this game – they played awesome. [Luke] Dowdy was great on the mound. We took good at-bats. Very excited for how they played today.”
Dowdy had a no-hitter working into the fifth and the Senators hung a six-spot on the Butte Miners in the fifth inning.
Trysten Mooney lined a ball over the right fielder’s head, scoring Eric Cockhill, and securing Helena’s seventh Keith Sell Tournament Championship in the event’s 27-year history.
Butte – a Class A American Legion program – beat two double-A teams to reach the championship.
Zach Tierney mashed a go-ahead three-run home run over the left field wall in the sixth inning of a 6-4 victory against Bozeman in the third-place game. The Miners advanced to face Helena with a 20-game win streak on the line and held serve with the Senators until the fifth.
“Calling pitches against [Helena] was one of the toughest [games] I’ve had all year,” Miners head coach Jim LeProwse said. “They’ve got some great hitters. Coach Burnett does a great job with their program and it was a great challenge for us today, without a doubt. We played right with them for four innings.”
Dowdy shoved in the game’s early-going.
He struck Tierney out looking to end the second and sat down Butte in order in the third. His defense helped him go 1-2-3 in the fourth.
Tierney broke up the no-hitter with one out in the fifth with a single into right. Quinn Cox reached and Cayde Stajcar scored on an error one batter later, cutting Helena’s advantage to 3-1.
Hunter Bratcher kept a second run from scoring later in the inning, cutting the runner down at home with a strong throw from left field.
Little more than a week after tossing a complete game shutout against the Millard Sox at a tournament in Nebraska, Dowdy struck out five and walked just one in five complete innings.
He gave up just two hits and one unearned run and needed just 62 pitches to go the distance.
“He’s always had the stuff, it’s just the confidence,” Burnett said of Dowdy. “He’s starting to figure out just how good he is and he’s pitching with that confidence. You can see the results in his last few outings.”
“I’ve been starting to figure out my off-speeds,” Dowdy said. “They’ve been getting a lot better. I’m more consistent with them now…I wanted to throw in the championship and that’s what I did.”
Hunter Wallis sparked the offense with a solo blast to lead-off the second.
An inning later, the Senators loaded the bases with one out and Mike Hurlbert took two close pitches to pick up an RBI on a free pass. Walker Bennett drove in a run with a single soon thereafter.
“When one guy hits, we tend to follow it up with more hits and more runs,” Wallis said. “It’s good to get that energy going to start the game off and set the tone.”
Helena’s first six batters of the fifth reached base. Cockhill plated two with a single, and three batters later, the Senators were celebrating their tournament victory.
Bratcher collected two hits from atop the Senators’ lineup and Cockhill did the same from the eight-hole. Seven different Senators picked up hits in the win.
The victory improved Helena’s win streak to 11 games and represented win No. 32 on the season.
Yes, winning a home tournament is special, but doing so through numerous weather delays, a flash flood, and some uncertainty surrounding the event’s final day adds something to the accomplishment.
“Everyone on the team – parents, coaches – that helped. We all worked really hard throughout the weekend,” Wallis said. “It was long, for sure, and there was a chance we weren’t gonna be able to play today, but I think it’s great we got to take home that trophy. Parents, family members, friends, everyone that’s here to see [this] who worked hard gets to kinda soak that in with us.”