BOZEMAN — The reigning back-to-back Class AA American Legion Baseball state champions had a tough night on the diamond Thursday, succumbing to a doubleheader sweep against the Helena Senators. The Senators notched 11-2 and 17-7 wins.
The Senators jumped to a 2-0 lead early in the first game, but the Bucks were able to even things up in the bottom of the first highlighted by Preston Fliehman's RBI double.
However, the Senators tacked on three more runs in the second inning and pulled away for good, winning 11-2 with 15 hits tallied.
Helena's Tyler Tenney pitched seven innings for the Senators, surrendering two runs on six hits and striking out two.
Dillon Coleman led things off on the hill for the Bucks and went 4.1 innings. He gave up eight runs on 13 hits and struck out one.
The Senators' bats stayed hot for the second game, tallying 14 hits for a lopsided 17-7 victory.
Bozeman will hit the road next week for a four-game series against the Missoula Mavericks. Doubleheaders will be played on June 14 and June 15.
Helena returns to its home field this weekend for a four-game series as well, hosting the Billings Scarlets on Saturday and Sunday.
