Excitement Builds for Missoula Impact Baseball Club’s Second Season
Looking ahead to the 2023 season, it’s worth a quick look back at the evolution of the Missoula Impact Baseball Club. The club was founded on some simple principles captured in the club’s mission statement.
Provide expanded opportunity for high school kids in Missoula to play competitive baseball by encouraging and working with schedules of multi-sport athletes; developing baseball skills and showcasing talent in ways that may lead to opportunities to play at the next level; and, foremost, helping players grow as young men through a positive environment in which hard work, commitment, team-based values, and joy of the game are encouraged, rewarded, and define the club’s culture.
The Board Members and coaching staff have worked relentlessly over the past 18 months to implement that vision. As with any worthwhile endeavor, we’ve encountered some challenges and everything hasn’t always run perfectly smooth, but there’s widespread recognition that Missoula Impact Baseball Club has made tremendous progress in filling a key niche in high school-aged baseball in Missoula. This series of articles that we’ll run over the next seven weeks prior to Opening Day will overview the substantial and tangible progress being made in accordance with the club’s far-reaching mission.
Missoula Impact completed a very successful first campaign in 2022 with a 24-17 record that included victories over the Bitterroot Red Sox, Libby Loggers, Dillon Cubs, Glacier Twins, and many other western Montana American Legion teams. However, the signature of that initial campaign was a strong showing in the GSL Carson Styron Memorial 18U Tournament in Puyallup, Washington last July. Impact thumped Prospect U, a nationally recognized baseball club, 8-2, in the opening round; took the Olympia Baseball Club to the wire in a 2-1 loss; and dropped close games to elite New Level Baseball and the Spokane Expos. To put that in perspective, a first-year Montana club team nearly knocked off the summer club team of the Washington 4A State Champion, Olympia High School Bears!
In terms of getting players to the next level, the Impact coaching staff has ignited a fire for Impact players to play college baseball and provided invaluable support that resulted in a former Impact player moving on to the junior college ranks and three others participating in major showcases. Luke Kunz, the 6’2” right-handed pitcher that was an anchor in Impact’s 2022 rotation, is now on the pitching staff for the Western Technical College Cavaliers in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Likewise, Impact catcher Dillon Gunlock was selected by USA Baseball as a member of its National Team Identification Series Northwest 16U team and competed at the prestigious USA Baseball Champions Cup event in Cary, North Carolina last August. Cole Smith, Impact’s leading hitter in 2022, was invited to and played in Baseball Factory’s Recruiting Classic in December in Mesa, Arizona. Finally, Brennan Labbe, Impact’s talented outfielder/pitcher, received an invitation and played in Perfect Game’s 2023 National Underclass West Showcase in January in Mesa.
Looking back, Michael Hutcherson, Missoula Impact Baseball Club Manager, says he’s extremely proud of what the 2022 team accomplished in its inaugural season, noting that the players all took a chance with their baseball careers by joining a start-up independent team that would not be afforded, by rule, the opportunity to compete in Montana-Alberta American Legion conference baseball, the long-time hallmark and essentially only option for high school kids to play baseball in Montana.
“Last season proved that we have built a culture in which high school kids can be successful and have fun playing baseball,” said Hutcherson. “That resulted in kids that were on the brink of giving up the game now having a rejuvenated outlook on baseball. Yes, we had a winning record and won some games against good competition, but nothing matters more to me as a coach than seeing these kids loving the game again. A couple years ago most of these kids weren’t even sure they would play baseball through high school. Today we have a whole team of kids that expect to play in college.”
Looking ahead, he zeroes in on two main elements of the Impact Baseball mission – hard work and joy of the game. Hutcherson explains that the 16 players that make up the 2023 Impact roster have been hard at work since November, working out in the Lady Griz winter facility weekly and spending time on their own playing other high school sports, conditioning, weight training, and hitting another day a week as part of voluntary hitting sessions.
“The guys showed up this winter with great attitudes and ready to go to work,” said Hutcherson. “Our winter workouts have been well attended, but what has impressed me the most is how hard the kids are working, without being pushed at all, getting their reps and improving their skills. Nobody wants to leave the facility when our time is up. Give me three more swings, that’s what I hear the most. Best yet, the kids are helping each other. It’s been a great environment.”
And it’s not just grinding. The vibe in the winter facility is lively and energized, says Hutcherson. The returning seven players and nine new players are rapidly developing solid bonds and team chemistry. The energy has been accentuated by excellent instruction provided by new Assistant Coaches Conor Ryan and Matt Gange, former American Legion players from Anaconda and Great Falls, respectively. Hutcherson likes that they are Montana guys that can relate to what the Impact kids face in developing as baseball players in short-season Montana.
The splashy add to the coaching staff has been Mark Simon, the 2021 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year with the Missoula Paddleheads. Hutcherson and Simon struck up a friendship last fall and Simon agreed to serve as Impact Pitching Coach in the off-months around his own professional baseball career. Simon signed last spring with the Toronto Blue Jays and played the 2022 campaign with the Blue Jays High-A minor league affiliate, Vancouver Canadians. Back in Missoula prepping for the 2023 season with the Paddleheads, Simon, the epitome of a blue-collar minor league baseball player, has graciously volunteered his time, knowledge, and energy to bullpen work with the Impact pitchers and throwing mechanics drills with position players.
“It means a lot to our kids to have a guy like Mark that is right in the middle of trying to live out his own professional baseball dream being willing to help our players,” said Hutcherson. “He relates well to the kids and has so much to offer. This is also helping us build a fantastic relationship with the Paddleheads, which could lead to opportunities for our kids down the road.”
The next few articles will hit on the off-season accomplishments of Impact players and we’ll culminate this series with an in-depth 2023 Missoula Impact season preview. Get ready! It’s going to be an exciting year of baseball in Missoula!