HELENA — Seven fields. Fifty-four teams. Seven hundred players.
Those are the numbers for USA Softball of Montana’s adult slowpitch state tournament in Helena this weekend.
“It is our end-of-the-year-tournament, state tournament,” said state softball commissioner Jim Pellegrini. “And they come to play ball, meet people that they’ve met all year long and get together again and celebrate the end of the year — and also to play some ball so they can call themselves state champions.”
One team has claimed that state champion title each of the last three years: The Mill.
The Mill, led by player-coach Ronnie Anderson, has been playing slowpitch together since 2017.
“We have a good, solid group of 15 guys that we’re like a family out there,” said Anderson. “It’s more than just a game. We’re out here with our families. We take time out of our lives to come here and play because we love the game. You know we all love softball. We can’t play baseball anymore, so we rely on this now. This is our home.”
And by playing slowpitch, The Mill’s players keep alive the legacy of Tommy Charette, one of their slowpitch brothers who passed away during COVID. The team plays with commemorative bats and gear to honor Charette.
“Each and every tournament we always remember where we’re at and who we play for and stuff like that,” said Charette’s brother and The Mill pitcher OShon OldMouse. “So, it’s a big deal for us.”
Anderson said that the community aspect of slow pitch often outweighs the competitve aspect.
“Nobody wants to lose, but it’s all fun and games,” said Anderson. “After the games, we usually go have a beer and talk about, ‘Oh, what’s Johnny doing? What’s Ty doing? How’s your boy doing? Or your girls?’ We don’t get many chances because we all live in different towns. So, it’s a chance for us to come together and hang out in one spot for a weekend and be family man. Just be together — that’s what it’s about, man.”
The winners of state tournament play advance to their respective national championships in late August or early September.
