Baseball returns to Seeley Lake

SEELEY LAKE – Despite temperatures barely reaching 50 degrees, the stands were packed April 28 for the kickoff scrimmage of the Seeley Lake Baseball Club. More than 85 children, three-years-old through eighth grade, registered to play for the season and the Club swept the 2022 Blackfoot Little League Tournament June 11.

"For the first year we were just trying to get as much interest as possible, as much participation as possible for the most amount of kids possible," said Organizer Nathan Miller. "Now that Montana has sanctioned baseball as a school sport, personally I would love to see it where Seeley Lake would have a baseball program in the schools down the road."

Miller grew up playing baseball and his father Mike is the Head Coach for the Girls Fast Pitch team at Capital High School in Helena, Montana. He came up with the idea to restart the baseball program in Seeley Lake so he did not have to drive his sons to Missoula to play and to provide an opportunity to other children in the community.

"I knew that Seeley Lake had a baseball program in the past and I thought if I could get that door opened back up I thought we could get a great turn out," Miller said.

Miller started talking with surrounding communities, working with Seeley Lake Elementary School Superintendent Josh Gibbs and sponsors back in December. Representatives from teams in Lincoln, Drummond/Philipsburg and Helmville met with Miller once or twice a month to set the rules, discuss logistics and set a schedule. They modeled the Little League after the Blackfoot Fast Pitch League.

When Miller reached out to the community, Alex Chapman, Jona Bartlett, Saxton Hinchey, Greg Neudecker, Brendan Kurack and Trace Stone agreed to coach.

"Without our volunteer coaches, there was no way this was going to happen," Miller said.

A month before meeting Miller, Chapman posted on a few of the community social media pages to see if anyone was interested in putting together a t-ball team. She played fast pitch softball in high school and through college and wanted to see the opportunity for her children. While she gathered a list of emails and interest, it was all different ages.

"I was bummed because there wasn't enough for a t-ball team," Chapman said.

When she saw the information from Miller, she immediately reached out and shared the list of interested families with him.

Bartlett heard about the baseball program from Miller's son Chone, one of her fifth grade students

"I jumped on it because I want my kids to be able to play," Bartlett said. "They are too young now but having something extracurricular for [children] to do here is really important."

The Club was free for participants this year and sponsor donations purchased the jerseys.

"I knew the least amount we could charge, the more we could get to participate," Miller said. "To end up with 86 kids at signup time was way more than I ever could have imagined and I'm just so thankful to all the parents, sponsors and coaches. Without all of those people combined this never would have happened."

Players were split into three levels: Player Pitch for the sixth – eighth graders coached by Kurack and Stone; Coach Pitch for third – fifth graders coached by Hinchey and Neudecker; and T-ball for second grade and younger coached by Chapman and Bartlett.

"I didn't set a [lower] age limit," Miller said. "I said if they can come, follow along and be an asset rather than a hindrance to what we were trying to accomplish, then we would take anybody that wanted to be there."

The teams practiced one – two days a week and played games at least once a week either at home or traveling to Lincoln, Helmville or Drummond to play.

"That is a lot, especially being a volunteer coach," Miller said. "That is a lot to ask out of all of them and they all stepped up, have been there from the start and they deserve a lot of credit."

Even though Chapman and Bartlett each had a 16-player T-ball team, they liked practicing together so they could work on different skills and appreciated the parents' help.

"The parent involvement is what is going to keep this running and change the culture of Seeley Lake sports," Chapman said. "It was the first year but I think it went awesome. If you ask the kids it was amazing and that is all that really counts."

"It was amazing. All the kids were so excited to be playing baseball and involved with the whole thing," Kurack said. "Their willingness to learn the game, show up and play and be excited. They didn't care what position they were playing, they just wanted to go out and play and have fun. That was the best part."

Although Kurack played from the time he was four-years-old through high school, this was his first year coaching and the majority of his team had never played organized baseball before. They focused on the fundamentals, learning the rules and playing as a team.

"As a team they all were really respectful and played really well with each other and they all just had a really good time," Kurack said. "They picked up on the game really well and each game we just got better and better."

The two coach pitch teams combined for the final tournament in Lincoln June 11. Despite the "coach pitch" title, players pitched the entire season. They played a double-header against Lincoln, losing the first 5-10 and won the second 11-9.

In the tiebreaker Championship Game, Seeley Lake and Lincoln were tied 8-8 and went into an extra inning. Seeley kept Lincoln from scoring. With two outs, Seeley scored, winning and game 9-8 and claiming the 2022 Blackfoot Little League trophy.

The Player Pitch met Helmville in their first game of the tournament. They were tied 0-0 going into the final inning. They had the bases loaded with two outs and were able to get a hit and bring Kolten Zurmuehlen in for the run. They won 1-0.

While Zurmuehlen pitched a no-hitter in the first game, Lincoln proved to be more of a challenge in the Championship game. Seeley still pulled out the win with a final score 9-6. Kurack felt Zurmuehlen was the Most Valuable Player for the tournament. He felt Zurmuehlen and catcher Blake Irwin were the team leaders.

"The season was extremely fun. Taking some of these kids who have never actually played baseball and watching them learn and grow has been a wonderful experience," Hinchey said.

Miller agreed the first season was a huge success. He was impressed with how much everyone improved their skills, learned the game and learned how to work together as a team.

"It just reaffirmed everything we wanted to accomplish," Miller said.

In addition to the coaches, players and parents, Miller said the program would not have been possible without the support of the sponsors and businesses: Building 4 Wayne Cahoon, Cory's Valley Market, Nature Scapes, Charlie's Helping Hands, West Slope Excavation, Poor Henry's, Optimal Fitness, Exact Image and equipment donations from Capital High School Fast Pitch.

Miller is hopeful that the momentum will continue next year. Even though he will not be involved, Chapman, Bartlett, Jen Bennett and the other coaches are excited to see the program continue and grow.

"Baseball was my life for so long. I'm just so excited that my kids and the kids of the community get to make it a part of their life too," Chapman said. "Team sports...and just being on a team does so much for child development. It is really important."

There will be an end of the year barbecue and fundraiser for Seeley Lake Baseball Club July 3 from 12 – 4 p.m. at the fields. The public is encouraged to join the players and their families for hamburgers, hot dogs and other activities. Watch for more details soon.

For more information follow the "Seeley Lake Baseball Club" Facebook page or reach out to Chapman by emailing alexandra.hughes2@yahoo.com