Historic Crosstown Baseball Game: Flathead Walk-Off Win vs Glacier

In this episode of Keeping Score, Daily Inter Lake sports reporter Luke Schmit brings you inside the first-ever Crosstown baseball showdown between Flathead and Glacier, a back-and-forth battle that ended in a walk-off victory for the Braves.

Dillon Wink delivered the game-winning hit, capping a chaotic, momentum-filled matchup and sending Flathead to a historic win. Wink reflects on the moment at the plate and the pressure of delivering with the game on the line.

Eli Coopman breaks down the emotional swings of the game - from early deficits to late-game tension - and why this win could mark a turning point for the team. He also shares what it meant to be part of a rivalry moment that will stick with this group.

Hunter Fann discusses the team’s resilience after nearly letting a big lead slip away, and how this win resets expectations moving forward.

Head coach Richard Burland explains how mental preparation and composure played a key role in surviving the ups and downs, and why he believes this group has the potential to be dangerous as the season progresses.

Read the full recap of the game: Crosstown Baseball: Never a doubt | Daily Inter Lake

Northwest Montana deserves strong news reporting. Your donation helps continue work like this possible. Learn more at dailyinterlake.com/support

Thanks to Corwin Motors for sponsoring the Keeping Score podcast! They’re proud to be family-driven for over 100 years. Corwin’s commitment goes beyond selling cars; they’re dedicated to serving our community and providing you with the highest quality vehicles to fit your lifestyle. Whether you’re searching for reliability, style, or comfort, they’ve got you covered. If you’re in the market for a new Chevrolet or just want to learn more, visit http://corwinmotorskalispell.com.   

For full coverage and the latest sports updates, visit the Daily Inter Lake at: https://dailyinterlake.com/news/sports/. Support local journalism and subscribe to us!  Watch this podcast and more on our YouTube Channel. Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Got a news tip, want to place an ad, or sponsor this podcast? Contact us!

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 1:38

I'm here with Dylan Wink after he hit the game winner in the first crosstown game ever.

SPEAKER_03 1:43

Dylan, what's running through your mind? It was just surreal. I'm super happy for everyone. I know our team works hard and it was just such a big win for us. It's a it's a great rivalry. So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:54

This rivalry stems deeper. It goes to football all the way to basketball, the track, these two schools going at it. You guys finally get your edge after this year. I feel like personally, you know, for me, it's really great to see you guys do that. What do you think about uh the school rivalry and being able to handle that tonight?

SPEAKER_03 2:08

Yeah, I mean, I know there's a lot of nerves going into it, uh, but we knew what we had to do, and uh we just came out and competed. We really did what we needed. Um started out a little rough, but you know, we finished hard, so it was great.

SPEAKER_04 2:21

Dylan, you go up to the plate, let's go back to the game-winning hit. You go up to the plate, you have Eli on second, I believe, and you have Aerosmith on first. Talk to me about what's going through your head with those runners on base, or are you more focused on the pitch?

SPEAKER_03 2:34

Yeah, it was I knew what I had to do as soon as the walk happened, and uh yeah, I just looking for my pitch and just happened for me, so super glad.

SPEAKER_04 2:42

Talk to me about this season's trajectory as a team. You guys have had some bumps, but this is a huge mountaintop, I'd say, on the season. Where can you take this to the next level?

SPEAKER_03 2:50

Yeah, we just gotta build off of this and uh keep keep working every single day, cleaning up our errors and stuff like that. And uh, I think we're gonna do good for sure.

SPEAKER_04 2:57

Absolutely. Last question I'll ask you. What's something exciting about tonight that maybe you didn't see before that you guys can build on?

SPEAKER_03 3:04

Uh you know, our hitting is uh I think we could do better with that. Uh, but obviously tonight we had a great hitting. Uh really showed how much talent we really have on this team, and when we apply it, you see what happens. So it's awesome. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 3:17

Dylan, what you did tonight was remarkable, and not many kids can say they've done that. You're the first one ever in Crosstown, and it'll be remembered. So congrats and thank you. Best of luck. I'm here with Eli Kubin after their cross town victory over Glacier, the first one ever. Eli talk to me about the emotions to that game. You guys go down early, you go up big, they come back, but you guys settle them off in the end.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Yeah, I mean, um, honestly, like this was an insane game. Um honestly a great way to start the rivalry in baseball. Uh, you know, I think our team showed so much heart. Like, we were down, I don't know, I think it was five to zero going into the bottom of the second. End up scoring two runs, then we have a huge inning. Shout out to Miles, he hit great. I think he had like seven RBIs. Um, I mean, holy cow, we made it a little closer at the end, but we just have so much great on this team. And we were talking earlier, this is the turning point in our season. I think from now on, we're a whole different team, and this showed us that we have the talent to go be anybody in the state, and we're really excited.

SPEAKER_04 4:19

How much does this mean to you beating Glacier? Obviously, you guys have had some struggles with them in different sports, been hard, they've been a tough program to go against, but you guys got it done tonight. You guys get to win, you're gonna remember it. How big is it? Just for the school pride.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Yeah. Holy cow, I mean, I was just talking to my dad about it. Um, he uh, I mean, we were just talking about how that was like my first Vice City win against Glacier, and honestly, there's not a sport I'd rather went beat them in.

SPEAKER_04 4:43

Talking about your arm, we threw as much pitches as you could today, 105 pitches, went the whole distance. Talk to me about one, your arm, how it's feeling, and two, you know, what you're thinking about while you're up on the mound as in a back and forth game.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Yeah, well, threw a lot of pitches. My mom's making me go run after this, so but no, yeah, yeah, it was great. I mean, I got in a little bit of trouble early, but you know, I trusted my guys, they made some plays for me and got out of it. Ended up going, I think a four or four and a half innings, maybe I don't know, or four and a third. But yeah, I mean, and then our freaking pitchers sniped it up, you know, Miles. Um awesome at the end there, close it out. Uh LJ got out of my jam, and you know, Rush, he had heart. I mean, Rush Rush has been raking the ball, you know. He's just really great on offense.

SPEAKER_04 5:28

You were the winning run tonight, Eli. Talk to me about what your mindset was. There's nobody on base, you needed to go up there and get on base, but talk to me, you know, that that's not as easy said than done.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Yeah, so um, well, going into it, I mean I had a 100% confidence, you know. I worked on my swing all this week. Um, I was struggling around the plate a little bit, but uh I got in there early with Coach Randy, Coach Stolz, wherever he is, right there. He's smiling, he's trying to not look at me. But uh, you know, we got in, um, he helped me with my swing. Um, honestly, I was down. Uh, I had two strikes on me. I had so much confidence, just trusting my coaches and uh trusting my swings, and and it went great.

SPEAKER_04 6:05

Last thing I'll ask at you. I just talked to me about what this group means to you, and then you're gonna remember this moment going forward and and the memories that you created tonight.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Gosh, this means so much to me. I mean, being a senior on the inaugural season, I mean it's awesome. I literally wouldn't have asked for a per better way for this to all lay out. And I just I love my team so much, and I'm really excited for the rest of the season.

SPEAKER_04 6:26

I'm pushing for this game to get a trophy eventually. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_01 6:30

We should. I mean, I know the golden goat down in uh uh Missoula there, they got one and makes the games way more interesting. I think it'd be awesome if we could do that. I mean, even spice up the rivalry even more.

SPEAKER_04 6:40

Absolutely. I wish I could hand you something like that, but you guys deserve it tonight. Congrats on the win, Eli. Way to go. I'm here with Hunter fan after their victory over Glacier in the crosstown battle. Hunter, what are your emotions running right now? You guys get a walk-off win, blew a little bit of a lead, but you guys get the win.

SPEAKER_02 7:02

Oh my goodness, it was a tough battle. We were kind of cruising there for a while and it got to that sixth inning, and one of our struggles has been walks, and it started happening. I'm like, oh no, no. It can't be happening again. And we fought through, and at the last inning, I was so proud of Dylan, and we got the runners on, we needed him. It was two out, so all around is a great performance.

SPEAKER_04 7:19

Hunter, talk to me. What's built up to this game? You know, the offseason work. Tell me about your training and and how much this game means to you because this isn't the first time you've picked up a bat or a ball. You know, this you've done so much more work into before today.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

It's just so cool to say that we're the first people to win Crosstown, like first ever AA flathead versus Glacier. That's a great feeling because Glacier's on top in a lot of sports, and it's really good to be on top, and we're gonna stay on top, and I'm excited to play them again.

SPEAKER_04 7:43

Absolutely. Going forward, I've been asking a couple of your teammates what you can take from this game to use as a confidence booster besides just the win, maybe a little more detail on the on the baseball schematics.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Yeah, um, we had the start, the scene that we wanted, and we already we kept saying that like we needed a game to like a new fresh start, and this was definitely the game. I think once we're deeper in the season and we're gonna look back, and this is the game that really changed things for us.

SPEAKER_04 8:06

Talk to me about your coaches. You have Coach Berlin, Coach Stoltz, talk to me how much they've helped you guys through this season with the ups and the downs.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

They've been so tremendous. I mean, I've worked with Rich for a long time. He wasn't my coach last year, but I'd come in and hit with him, and I think he's really helped me. Such a good, he's like a hitting guru, and it really helps us. And Randy and Wes. I mean, Wes went to OSU, so he knows so many people and really tries to help us like get to the next level. And then Randy's such a good dude, and he always keeps us locked in. And then we got Ebert, who's a really good energy guy, and then we got even Jackson, our pitching coach, who's a really good guy too, helps us out.

SPEAKER_04 8:37

Hunter, if you had one word to describe this team, what would it be?

SPEAKER_02 8:41

I would say resilience. And one more energy. I got the energy.

SPEAKER_04 8:44

Yeah. Hunter, congrats on the crosstown win, man. Best of luck rest of the season. I'm here with Coach Richard Berlin of the Fly Braves after their first crosstown victory against Glacier. Coach, so many emotions rolling through this game. Ups, downs. Talk to me how you kept your players cool and your emotions now.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Uh well, we actually uh for the last uh about week and a half, we've done a lot of uh mental game preparation. Um Coach Stoltz is really key on um mental preparation and everything. We had a mental coach uh talk to us yesterday uh for two both teams. Uh we did that a half hour before practice and just been really focusing on that the mental part of ups, downs, and not getting too high, not getting too low, and just battling uh till that last out.

SPEAKER_04 9:41

How do you think that that uh training or work kind of tied into tonight? How did you see that work?

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Oh, they never gave up. So they they knew that okay, it's another is another toughness right here. Let's go after it, let's get it. And uh they just battled, battled at the plate like no other. I I mean they this team swings the bat really, really good. Um, like we said, we can just get our pitchers dialed in. This this team could be pretty tough for everybody.

SPEAKER_04 10:08

Absolutely. I agree, coach. Talk to me about pitching, especially with Kootman. He went the distance tonight. He's able to get some more strikes. He's starting to get more consistent. Talk to me about your scene from him.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Yeah, exactly that. Just being more consistent and just uh being able to locate uh all three of his pitches uh everywhere. Uh, we're gonna be working a little bit more with the change up with them and stuff and uh try to get that a little going. But it it's key for him and it's key for this team when the senior top pitcher can go out there and just you know battle and go 110. It would have been nice to see him go a full seven innings with 110 pitches, but we'll get there.

SPEAKER_04 10:44

Coach, you guys just be a good team. It's not like it's just the first cross-town rivalry between random teams. Glacier's a great team. They've only lost one game this season. What effort did that take besides the mental aspect and being ready?

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Uh, being prepared. I mean, just defense, offense, and uh just great practices uh over the last, you know, about two weeks. We've had some really good practices um and then just really good conversations with a bunch of the players one-on-one, what we need to work on, uh, what we're looking at in certain scenarios and stuff like that. And they've really taken into it. And uh, we still got some stuff to dial in. We dial that stuff in a little bit, and like I said, the pitchers, uh, we can we can be a danger. We we can be a dangerous team through the state.

SPEAKER_04 11:29

What's going through your head as the coach? Dylan Wink's going up to bat. You have some guys ready to come in for the game-winning run. What are you trying to do as the coach to remain them calm, but also in the moment, make sure they stay aggressive to get that hit?

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Uh, most important, just stay calm. You know, you can't show too much too much emotions because then your players will feed off of that. So I just breathed, did the mental stuff that we've actually been working on and telling the kids and stuff. I breathed and then I just told them, I said, we got this, we're winning this. I was like, Dylan Wink is the right person to have up in this situation. And I just I don't know if there was a camera that was on me when I was standing over there in that scenario, but I just had a smile on my face because I knew it. I knew that we've worked for it, and Wink has done a great job this year, and then just the mental games that we've uh been preparing for um, you know, has come through. I mean, there's a lot of teams in those scenarios, and that scenario that just would have folded, and you know, we're we're not there.

SPEAKER_04 12:27

So talk to me about the play of Aerosmith tonight, multiple RBIs. They're even walking him to make sure he's not getting the game winning hit. Talk to me about how strong his performance was on the mound and also hitting.

SPEAKER_00 12:39

So, first hitting, uh, he's been struggling. Uh, you know, he got that first grand slam the first game, and uh, you know, he's just been trying to hit homers on everything. So uh Coach Bouchang and myself, uh, we actually talked to him uh for this last week and worked with him, getting him back to being short and being on top of the baseball and and driving the baseball, looking for hard singles. And that's what you see when you go back to that that basic just hitting philosophy right there, and you'd be amazed. Um, and then for him to be able to come in and jump on the mound in that situation and smile at me and say, I got this, I knew it. I was like, okay, there's that mental game right there.

SPEAKER_04 13:21

And coach, that leaves me with my last question. How proud are you of the guys tonight?

SPEAKER_00 13:26

Very proud. Uh the the mental game was exactly what we've been working on, and I just I couldn't be more proud. And I just think that uh this is what we've been talking about this whole week. That, you know, this is the start of the second half of the season, and we can turn this thing around and and start going in the right direction. And these guys are ready to do it and they've done it, and now let's we just gotta keep that momentum going. Our practices have to be sharp. We got a lot of things that we need to work on, and if we can work on them and be excellent in those, the sky's the limit for us.