HAMILTON — Though baseball has thrived in the Bitterroot Valley the past few years, one thing has eluded both the high school club at Hamilton and the American Legion squad of the Bitterroot Red Sox.

A state championship.

That so-called drought — after all, high school baseball has existed in Montana since only 2023 and Hamilton High School has finished fourth, second and fourth in the three state tournaments, and the Red Sox have won a Class A-best eight state Legion titles since 1987 — will extend into 2026. Instead, the Red Sox will enter next spring as the reigning champion of the Northwest Region.

“It was awesome. I think that was the biggest smile I’ve had in a while,” Bitterroot infielder and pitcher Boedy Tadvick said of winning the regional title in Burley, Idaho, on Monday, Au

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