State Bound: Outlaws finish second at district tourney

With a second-place finish at last week's Southern A District Tournament in Three Forks, the Gallatin Valley Outlaws are headed to the State Tournament this week in Lewistown.

The Outlaws will open play Thursday, August 6 at 4 p.m. against one seed Glacier. The winner of the game is scheduled to play Friday at 7 p.m. and the loser will play Friday at 1 p.m.

Playing as the third seed, Gallatin Valley went 3-2 at last week's district tourney picking up a 7-6 win in their opening game last Thursday against Helena. The Outlaws were also successful Friday with a 12-2 win over second-seeded Butte. After falling 15-2 Saturday to top-seeded Belgrade, Gallatin Valley bounced back Sunday morning with an 8-0 win over Helena.

They were defeated in the championship round 2-1 by Belgrade.

Assistant Coach Ryan Murphy lauded the team for their performance over four days at the tournament.

"I'm super proud of this squad! They came to play over the weekend and I honestly think they proved they are one of the best teams in the State. The southern A is always competitive at state and I believe Belgrade and the Gallatin Valley Outlaws have a chance to meet up again in the undefeated semifinal on Saturday." he said.

Looking back at the season, Murphy feels the team has improved and grown, adding having Bo Hays moving back from Arizona to play gave them a top arm and big middle of the order bat.

"We also got Trevor Doud our starting third baseman halfway through the year and once those two came it was the glue the team was missing. We have a deep pitching staff heading into state and I expect as always for us to compete for a state championship," he said.

The tournament can be followed at https://www.montanalegionbaseball.org/state-a