BUTTE — The championship game of the first-ever high school state baseball tournament is set.
Polson, which entered the tourney as the No. 1 seed out of the West division, will clash with Whitefish — the No. 1 seed out of the Northwest — in the title game at 3 Legends Stadium at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The Pirates fended off Florence-Carlton in the first semifinal before Whitefish rolled through Hamilton in the second semi.
Polson 5, Florence-Carlton 4
The Pirates built a sizable lead and then fended off a Falcons rally to sew up the first championship berth.
Pitcher Dawson Dumont batted in a pair of runners on two hits and scored two runs while also earning the win in six innings as Polson took a 5-1 lead after four innings and then held on for the win.
"It's a surreal experience, honestly," said Dumont, who piled up nine strikouts, of his team being the first to reach the inaugural championship. "I'm kind of at a loss for words right now, but it feels good. It means more than anything."
Espn Fisher also notched an RBI for Polson and Jarrett Wilson led all players with three hits. Cason Graham relieved DuMont in the top of the seventh inning and preserved the win, allowing just one Florence run.
The Falcons were led by RBIs from Patrick Duchien, Chase Wagner and Tyler Abbott.
Whitefish 14, Hamilton 3 (5 innings)
After surrendering three runs to the Broncs in bottom of the second innings, senior Whitefish pitcher Ty Schwaiger knew he was going to have to up his game to give his Bulldogs a shot at meeting Polson in the championship.
"Got a little complacent there," said Schwaiger, a Washington State commit. "I couldn't find the zone for a few batters and then I got up and striked the next guy out. Then I came back the dugout and my boys put up eight."
After leading the Broncs 5-3 after two innings, the Bulldogs erupted for an eight-run third inning and Schwaiger didn't allow another run as Whitefish stormed to a five-inning win.
For Schwaiger, advancing to the title game was never in doubt for his team.
"We kind of knew we were going to do it from the start," he said. "We know what we can do, we've just gotta stay composed with our game. We just played a team game and we're in the chipper."
Logan Kunz led Whitefish's offense with four RBIs on two hits, and Schwaiger and Maddox Muller each batted in two runners.
Hamilton got RBIs from Andrew Ricklefs, Toby Demoss and Tyce O'Connell.
