Butte Miners win State Championship. Now they need your help to get to Regionals.

After the weekend they had, the Butte Miners may very well have to change the name of their home field to Four or even Five Legends Staduim.  Behind the solid pitching of tournament MVP Kenley Leary and the hotter-than-the-weather-he-was-playing-in hitting of Aidan Lee, the Butte Miners won their first State Championship since the Jim Kello-led team of 69 summers ago.

The Miners, as they have done for much of the season, simply steamrolled their way to the title.  After opening with a 15-5 win over Havre, Butte came from behind to beat Billings 7-3 and then thumped Belgrade 12-2 in the undefeated semifinal.  After another 15-5 win over Havre, Butte met Billings in the Championship Game, this time putting the 10-run rule into effect in a 12-2 victory.  Kenley Leary was named tournament MVP while teammate Aidan Lee was the outstanding hitter of the tournament going 10 for 18 with 12 RBIs.  According to Public Address Announcer Dave Dunmire, the win puts Butte at the 40-win mark for the season against only 9 losses.  They have scored 427 runs on theyear and have stolen 169 bases with a success rate of 90%.

Next up for Butte is a trip to the West Regional tournament where they will meet the Oregon champion in the first round on Thursday, but it is not a free trip.  With travel, lodging and food expenses expected to reach well into the tens of thousands of dollars, a Venmo account has been established (@buttelegionbb) and donations by check can be mailed to P.O. Box 3592 here in Butte.  Tax-deductible donations can also be made on the Miners's web page.

Congratulations Miners!  Let's give them some help, Butte!