Blue Dingers take down Plains Beasts

The Thompson Falls Blue Dingers continued their undefeated record after claiming a 23-4 victory over the Plains Beasts in minor league play at the Amundson Sports Complex in Plains last week.

"They played fantastic," said Jon Haun, head coach for the Blue Dingers. Haun said that he even sent in two boys - Louis Hannum and Elliott Susic - that had never pitched to the mound and they did well. As of last Tuesday, the Blue Dingers had three wins and no losses, with the exception of an exhibition game against a Noxon team, which is part of the Libby league. There are two Thompson Falls teams, one Plains, and two Superior teams in the league.

The Beasts are 0-2, but they've never given up during a game, said Plains head coach Amy McGraw. Damien Paquet started out on the mound and pitched for two innings before he was replaced by Hoyt Miller and Gavin Brown, said McGraw, who's been the minors head coach for three years.

The minor league consists of 8-10-year-olds and goes either four innings or two hours for a game. Devin Barnes of Plains served as the umpire at the game. The teams will participate in a double elimination tournament at Superior on May 18. Haun's team, called the Golden Hawks last year, won the tournament in 2023.

McGraw has 15 boys on the team and said they mainly need to work on batting. The Plains Beasts practice three times a week and are showing improvement, she said. Thompson Falls has 11 kids on the team. Nearly every player for the Blue Dingers got a hit, including Finn Davis and Louis Hannum each walloping a home run in the game, said Haun, who has coached the minors for two years. McGraw was pleased that Josiah Nestor and Gavin Brown picked up a double play.

"They're great kids," said McGraw of her team. "For me, getting that double play and communicating was a higher priority than scoring runs. Batting and scoring will come, it's the fielding that is our focus at this age level," she said.