Around Montana: Friesen leaves Bobcats

By Chronicle Staff

Phil Friesen, who started at point guard for Montana State’s men’s basketball team last year, has left the team. Friesen averaged 5.5 points per game last season after transferring from Citrus Junior College. KWYB reported that Friesen wants to transfer to a school closer to his home in California.

The Bobcats will have one returning starter — Divaldo Mbunga.

Auto racing

Big Sky Sprint Tour hits Belgrade: Montana’s Big Sky Sprint Tour will return to action this Friday and Saturday with races at Gallatin Speedway and Billings Motorsports Park.

Promoters Dave Weisz and Sue Gramm will welcome the BSST’s winged 360 sprint car racers to Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade on Friday night. The 3/8-mile, semi-banked clay oval has regularly seen large crowds whenever the Big Sky Sprint Tour visits.

The last time the tour visited Belgrade - on June 20 - Joe Ramaker of Boise, Idaho, made a clean sweep, winning his heat race, the cash dash and the feature. Ramaker swept the next night’s races at Billings as well. A month later, Ramaker is currently holding a 92-point lead over defending Big Sky Sprint Tour champion Phil Dietz of Billings.

After this weekend, the Big Sky Sprint Tour will repeat everything in two weeks with another Belgrade/Billings weekend on Aug. 8 and 9. Gallatin Speedway will again host the series on Friday and Billings will host on Saturday.

More information on the Big Sky Sprint Tour can be found online at http://www.bsstracing.com. Gallatin Speedway’s website is at http://www.gallatinspeedway.com.

Legion baseball

BANDITS SPLIT WITH MAVERICKS: At Miles City, Shawn Elliott’s two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh helped the Miles City Mavericks to a 7-6 victory over the Belgrade Bandits in game two of a doubleheader Wednesday. The win was Miles City’s first in the Eastern Conference this season.

The Bandits won the opener, 12-1.

In the nightcap, Belgrade fell behind 5-1 through two innings, but took a 6-5 lead heading into the last of the seventh. Phil Prickett and Joel Barnett each had two hits for the Bandits.

In game one, Connor Schultz had three hits and drove in three runs and Prickett had two RBI to back up Barnett, who threw a complete-game three-hitter, striking out eight.

The Bandits close the season at Helena Saturday.

Game 1

Bandits 12, Mavericks 1

Bandits 223 011 3 n 12 7 1

Mavericks 000 010 0 1 3 6

Barnett and Schultz. Tharp and Crawford.

Bandits n Prickett 2-5, Prester 2-4, Schultz 3-5, Barnett 0-5, Layman 0-4, Graff 0-2, Berberet 0-2, Severson 0-3, Freund 0-1, Messenger 0-0.

Mavericks n Bryant 1-3, Thompson 1-3, Bogner 0-3, Crawford 0-2, Elliott 0-2, Bergman 0-1, Shipman 0-3, Brown 0-3, Tharp 1-2.

2B n Thompson. RBI n Schultz 3, Prickett 2, Layman, Severson, Freund, Messenger; Tharp.

Game 2

Mavericks 7, Bandits 6

Bandits 100 201 2 n 6 10 3

Mavericks 050 000 2 n 7 7 4

Layman, Barnett (7) and Schultz. Bryant, Crawford (7) and Shipman.

Bandits (12-39, 3-19) n Prickett 2-4, Prester 1-4, Schultz 1-4, Barnett 2-3, Layman 1-3, Berberet 0-3, Graff 1-3, Freund 1-1, Severson 1-4, Messenger 0-3.

Mavericks (9-38, 1-19) n Bryant 0-3, Thompson 0-3, Bogner 1-4, Crawford 1-3, Elliott 1-4, Bergman 1-1, Shipman 0-3, Brown 1-3, Askin 2-2.

2B n Barnett. 3B n Crawford. HR n Elliott.

Tennis

JUNIOR OPEN DEADLINE IS SUNDAY: The on-line deadline to register for next week’s Montana State Junior Tennis Open is Sunday. The tournament will be held at Montana State University’s Bobcat Tennis Center on Aug. 1-3.

Fees are $25 for junior singles and $20 per player. Enter on-line at www.usta/com. The tournament number is 257632107.

For draws and start times, call 994-2237 or view them on the internet at 12 p.m. on July 30.

For more information, call Scott Potter at 581-9583. USTA membership is required. Call 1-800-990-USTA (8782) to purchase or renew prior to the tournament, or on-line at usta.com.

Golf

MCHS HOSTING TOURNEY AT COTTONWOOD HILLS: The annual Manhattan Christian Benefit Golf Tournament will be held Aug. 9 at Cottonwood Hills, beginning at 8 a.m. There will be hole-in-one prizes of a new Danhof Chevrolet automobile, airline tickets and a wide-screen television, as well as additional prizes for longest putt, longest drive and other door prizes.

Entry fee includes a cart and lunch. Teams or individual golfers are encouraged to participate by calling Mike Ovenell at 282-7788 or the school office at 282-7261. Hole sponsors and team sponsors may call Brenda at 282-7756.

 

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