Clark Fork Cougs capture Mission Valley championship

Clark Fork Cougs’ manager Brandon Fisher admitted the 2017 season was the most fulfilling year of baseball he ever had as a coach or a player.

Fisher and his Cougs’ team were part of a local 13 to 15-year-old Babe Ruth sanctioned team that has etched itself into history. This Cougs team, an all-star team comprised of local talent from Noxon, Thompson Falls, and Plains, became the first-ever Cougs’ team to capture the Mission Valley League Championship title.

During the team’s championship run, the Cougs finished with a record of 4-1. Fisher credits his kids’ abilities as the driving force behind the historic summer.

“They were the driving force to this championship run,” Fisher said. “For a lot of kids on my team, this was their last year playing in Babe Ruth. Several of the older players were pushing the younger kids to win this thing because it is the older players on the team’s last year out.”

Fisher said he developed an intuitive sense that his team, who have played together and against each other on all-star teams since t-ball, were going to have a really strong year at the start of the season.

“I knew this team was going to be really special regardless,” Fisher declared. “It was the last time some of the older kids played and they had teams the caliber of Noxon, Thompson Falls, and Plains. They were really tough contenders with what they’ve accomplished in the past. There was a lot of tough competition and they were able to get right back in stride with where these kids played. Within a couple of games of being back on a team with each other, they came together.”

The Cougs ended up putting together a regular season record of 8-1-1 and a playoff finish with a record of 12-2-1.

“As far as coaching goes and as a parent, this is the most fun ever in the season that I’ve had,” Fisher said. “To be able to coach with one of my best friends on the team and what the kids accomplished was incredible. The all-star teams these kids came from was another reason that made this season so special.”

Because of the size of the area and the lack of opportunity to play baseball year-round because of weather, there aren’t as many opportunities for prospective collegiate baseball players to seek out baseball scholarships. However, Fisher said there are several players on his team that may have some collegiate prospects, and they’ve gotten the opportunity through the exposure of Babe Ruth.

“Some of these players have the absolute potential of moving on and playing some college baseball,” Fisher said. “I feel our team has a lot of talent and in our valley, the coaching is good enough to help them succeed towards the next level as some of them get towards the end of their Babe Ruth career.”

Some of the players who concluded their 13 to 15-year-old division will now finish the rest of the season with the 16 to 18-year-old Babe Ruth team.

In the first game of the tournament, the Cougs were able to 10 run their opponent. The very next day they lost to the team they would eventually defeat back-to-back times in the championship round. In a game to advance to the championship round, they were able to 10 run another team. In the first game of the championship, they defeated the Ronan Rangers 7-4 and after the victory was the moment Fisher said he felt his team was going to “win it all.”

“When we won 7-4, you could see a lot of spirit coming back from the kids,” Fisher said.

Carrying themselves on the momentum from the previous victory, they won 17-7 in the second game of the championship.

“You could just see the spirit coming back from the kids after the first victory in the championship game,” Fisher said. “They were able to hit their stride and nothing was going to stand in their way of winning that game.”

Fisher said he saw the look of concern from the coaches’ faces after his opponents lost the first game.

“They didn’t have the look of defeat but you could see how worried the kids were,” Fisher said.

The Cougs received an additional boost when one of their players, Rylan Weltz, returned from competing in a basketball tournament in Libby in the second inning of the second game.

“He and his parents returned to Plains from Libby that day and they told us if we won the first game that Rylan would play in the second game,” Fisher said. “As soon as that kid walked into the dugout, the whole team took a deep breath of fresh air and it was just a little more energizing to driving towards their goal.”

Fisher said he and his team couldn’t have had the successful season they did without the help of assistant coach Mike Thilmony and the Cougs’ parents, and he is looking forward to next season.

“We have some upcoming young athletes who have played baseball their whole lives and should be very competitive,” Fisher said. “Next year, we should do well too, I feel.”