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Winning big brings a Little League state tournament to Frenchtown

Posted at 9:20 PM, Jul 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-30 13:51:37-04

FRENCHTOWN – Even the 11-12-year-old Little League stars had to start somewhere. The KPAX Youth Sports Spotlight shines on some of the youngest baseball players in Montana.

The 8-10-year-old Little League state championship played in Frenchtown this week. Most of the state tournaments for Little League are played in bigger cities around Montana, but Frenchtown’s all-stars earned the right to host the six-team bracket by winning the district championship in Great Falls. So teams from Billings, Laurel, Dillon and Butte all made the trip west.

“It’s huge. It’s a great opportunity for a little town like us in Frenchtown to host a big tournament like this,” said Frenchtown head coach Chris Mitchell. “Get teams from Billings and all around the state here, kind of show them our facilities. And all the parents, and the sponsors, and the volunteers that pitched in to help, it’s unreal the support that we’ve had. We’re hoping to keep building the program and keep building these kids up, keep the numbers big, and keep them having fun — that’s the biggest part.”

The combined team from Laurel and Columbus defeated the Billings Heights in the championship Sunday afternoon, but Frenchtown won with the experience of the weekend. Getting that opportunity now means they can bid to host future Little League tournaments.