Northwest Montana Team Sparked by Impact Players Wins Spokane High School Fall Ball Championship By Dave Smith
Note: This is the third in a series of seven articles chronicling the Missoula Impact Baseball Club’s offseason, leading up to what will be an exciting 2023 campaign.
The fire for baseball that was lit with the 2022 Missoula Impact Baseball Club’s inaugural campaign burned bright into the fall.
Impact’s Cole Smith, Dillon Gunlock, Brennan Labbe, Hunter Johns, and new Impact player Nate Dill helped lead Northwest Montana to an impressive showing in Spokane’s High School Fall Ball League, capped by dominating 14-1 victory over the Glacier Twins in the Championship Game back in mid-October.
The Northwest Montana team was developed as a partnership of American Legion and club team players from across western Montana. The roster was comprised of players from the Missoula Mavericks, Bitterroot Bucs, Dillon Cubs, and Missoula Impact, and was led by Joe McGuinn, Manager, and Assistant Coaches Brett Thorne and Dave Smith. The fall season provided a great opportunity for the 11 players to refine various aspects of their baseball skills in a relaxed environment while further instilling a joy of the game.
The team started practicing in early September and all the players benefitted greatly from the knowledge and instruction provided by Coach McGuinn, a former college pitcher at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota. McGuinn was rigorous in stressing proper throwing mechanics and instilled a great dynamic of team camaraderie amongst players that competed on opposing teams during their spring/summer Legion and club seasons.
“Our Fall Ball was a success because we had a bunch of kids that love playing baseball,” said McGuinn. “They played catch, put the ball in play, threw strikes, made fundamental plays, had fun, and racked up a bunch of wins and no losses.”
Northwest Montana opened the season on picture-perfect 70-degree September day in Spokane by taking two hard fought games from Othello, 5-3 and 3-1, a team from central Washington with a right-handed starter that was clocked in the mid-80s. Next up was a twin bill against the Dirt Devils in which the first game ended in a 2-2 tie, but Northwest Montana rolled to a 13-5 victory in the nightcap. Northwest Montana then thumped the Rogers Pirates, 8-3 and 11-1. The regular season concluded with Northwest Montana hammering the Glacier Twins twice in a doubleheader that was played on the Impact’s home field at Playfair Park in Missoula. In summary, Northwest Montana nearly ran the table in its eight regular season games, finishing with a 7-0-1 record that garnered the #1 seed for the playoffs and an automatic ticket to the semifinals.
On a bright October day, Northwest Montana opened the playoffs with a 10-0 rout of #5 seeded Shadle in the semifinals, setting the table for a rematch of the Montana teams that earned the top two seeds. Northwest Montana poured it on in the championship game, jumping out to an early lead and cruising to a 14-1 rout of the rival Glacier Twins to take home the Spokane High School Fall Ball Championship.
Impact senior pitcher Nate Dill was spectacular on the mound throughout the fall season. Dill demonstrated impeccable command, pitching multiple innings in four games without ever walking a single batter. Smith, the sweet-swinging junior lefty hitter, went 4-for-6 with 4 RBIs against the Rogers Pirates and made two spectacular plays in rightfield to preserve the opening weekend victory against Othello. Gunlock, Impact’s tough-as-nails junior catcher, demonstrated his versatility with substantial playing time in the outfield and had one of the highest on-base percentages on the team. Labbe, who got a late start due to a successful golf season as a State qualifier for Hellgate High School, was impressive on the mound and developed as a hitter by crushing the ball to the opposite field. Finally, Johns ripped several line drive hits and played solid left field.
Northwest Montana was led at the plate by Owen McGuinn, a talented power-hitting infielder that will be a key cog for the Missoula Mavericks AA team this season, and Gabe Philbrick of the Bitterroot Bucs. Luke Thorne, a slick fielding Mavs shortstop, turned in some gems in the field and was very effective as a starting pitcher. Jace Bykari, the Mavs catcher and infielder, also had some big moments at the plate and was solid defensively. The Bucs’ speedy Roy Combs led the team in stolen bases and played exceptional centerfield. Finally, the youngest and perhaps highest ceiling player on the roster was Sawyer Tackett, a 6’0” freshman that played on the Dillon Cubs Legion A team as an 8th grader last season. Tackett hit the ball well in his two weekends as a fill-in with Northwest Montana.