Scarlets’ run unites Montana sports fans

Of course, that was the place where the Billings Scarlets became the first Montana team in 62 years to qualify for the American Legion World Series after they defeated Eugene (Oregon) — twice — to take the Northwest Region title.

But after all of the airborne hats and gloves landed and the trophies were handed out, the events after indicated to me how special it was to those who followed the Scarlets.

I was unable to interview all of the trio of coach Adam Hust and two of the Scarlets’ premier talents, infielders Nate McDonald and Kyler Northrop, until probably 30 to 45 minutes after the final out, simply because there was a seemingly limitless sea of people hugging, embracing and/or screaming with every Scarlets jersey they could find. Pinpointing each of the three was difficult, as the elation of the moment saw shades of red, black and white blend together in the sun.

Plenty of Legion and Scarlet supporters who have followed the team throughout their 76 games this season were part of the pandemonium, but so were everyday Billings citizens just wanting to part of history. Free admission at Dehler on Sunday probably helped, sure, but people came to the ballpark to be entertained and part of a potentially historic moment — and they got it.

And now, with the Scarlets representing the Northwest region and Montana as a whole at this week’s ALWS in Shelby, North Carolina, it’s time for the rest of Big Sky Country to hop in and cherish the team’s magical ride.

I did not live in Montana during what is probably the closest equivalent in the past few decades to the Scarlets’ current run, when Billings’ Big Sky Little League qualified for and made the U.S. championship game of the 2011 Little League World Series. But boy, do I ever hear tales about how The Magic City and Montana as a whole fawned over the team, which represented the Treasure State with pride and did something no Montana had done before or since.

The ALWS isn’t quite on the same level of the LLWS in terms of popularity on a national stage, but the point — that a Montana team has made it to the final stage possible at their level of baseball — remains the same.

In the 62 years between Billings Post 4’s qualification in 1962 and the Scarlets’ triumph just a few days ago, plenty of incredible ballplayers have passed through Montana, often utilizing Legion ball as a place to hone their skills without high school baseball in the state until recently.

Always an ultra-competitive state with talent (case in point: Missoula, not the Scarlets, won the Class AA state championship in Helena earlier this month), powerful teams in a stacked Northwest region from the likes of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and others still got the better of those Big Sky Country squads for over six decades.

That all finally changed this past weekend in a truly once-in-a-lifetime affair after nine regional runner-up finishes combined for the state’s teams since ’62.