Play ball: Riverdogs gear up for Legion season

The boys of Springs and Summer come from all over these two counties of Sanders and Mineral.

They are a physical, baseball loving group of teenage baseball players who after a long wait have a new team with a dedicated coach and promoter.

They are the Riverdogs Post 129 American Legion team, based in Plains for young men up to 19 years of age.

The Riverdogs brought Legion level baseball back to the area last year after a 20-year drought with Kalispell and Missoula being the closest places for these guys to play hardball in competitive leagues.

“This is our second season in existence after a 20 year hiatus”, said head coach Jon Zigler, a coach and father with a love of the game. “We can be competitive with the teams around here, no doubt about it. We have a really good group of kids this year, I’m excited to get this rolling”.

The Riverdogs were scheduled to open their season Sunday in Missoula against the Missoula Mavericks Legion team, a team with a recent history of being among the top Legion programs in the state.

“We are a Senior B (level) baseball team, sponsored by the American Legion post in Paradise,” he said. “We feel pretty good about this coming year”.

During a recent practice at the team’s “home” field that talent was on display. The Riverdogs have a schedule this year that features five home appearances, up from the brief home schedule they had last year.

They open home play next Saturday and Sunday with a pair of double headers against the Missoula Impact Saturday and the Missoula Valley Mariners the next day. Both opponents are also B League teams.

Those two home appearances begin at 1 p.m. and are played on Field 1 at the Amundson Sports complex adjacent to the Plains Airport.

They play the majority of their 29 appearance schedule on the road and travel as far as Helena and Bozeman area Legion squads this summer. Most of their road games in this area are against the likes of Kalispell, Hamilton, Polson, Libby, Whitefish and Missoula Legion teams.

This year’s team is being led by co-captain Nate Zigler, who graduated from high school last year and is playing in his final year of Legion ball. Zigler is primarily a shortstop, but also plays outfield and catcher.

The other co-captain is Superior standout, junior Orion Plakke, who is the team’s main catcher and can do duty in the outfield also.

Thompson Falls has the most players on the team, led by senior to be Eli Ratliff who quarterbacked the Blue Hawks to the Montana 8-man football championship this past Fall. Ratliff plays outfield and shortstop.

Other T Falls players are Jack Taylor (catcher, third base); Alessi Rolando (outfield); Beano Fisher (first base/outfield); and Byrson McCormick, a sophomore infielder.

Plains has two players on the team, infielder Kody Carter and outfielder Trevis McDonald.

Rounding out this year’s team are St. Regis basketball standout Tanner Day from St. Regis (outfield/second base); and Trevis McDonald (outfielder). The lone Hot Springs player is senior to be Garth Parker, a first baseman/outfielder who is also a pitcher.

“We think of everyone as a pitcher,” coach Zigler said. “We have a lot of guys who can throw”.

Zigler said one of the keys to success are his assistant coaches, who this year are Sam Carter and Shawn Plakke.

The team is officially known as the Clark Fork Valley Riverdogs and travel in a mid-size bus/van with their team name on the side.