Badgers to honor eight seniors Friday
—Photo by MIKE WELAND<br>Being honored at Friday's final game of the season: (l-r) Badgers Chris Nelson, Josh Hawks, Josh Gatchell, Matt Pluid, Kenny Swift, Chris James, Mitch Fortune and Ross Patterson. Coach Tom Turpin said, "It was an absolute thrill to watch these young men grow over the last four years…they will be missed." Nelson, Hawks, Gatchall, Pluid and Swift have played baseball together since T-ball and Little League.
The last game of the season takes place on their home turf at 2 p.m. Friday as the Badger baseball team hosts St. Maries in a double header, a game that could, according to coach Tom Turpin, determine the league championship.
This will also be the final home game forever for eight Badgers who are graduating this year after a great season, and they will be honored for their contributions to Badger history between games. In their last match with the Lumberjacks, the Badgers were handed their sole league defeat, 6-5.
With just four games left in the season as of last Friday, the Badgers were poised at the top of the Intermountain League standings with a league record of six wins and a single loss; but St. Maries was but a step behind in second, with a league record of five and two.
Priest River was third in the standings, 7-3, followed by Timberlake 2-7, and Kellogg 2-9. Every Badger fan is encouraged to attend Friday's game to see what may well be the best game all season, as the Badgers set out to avenge their earlier defeat. It'll be your last chance to cheer on the home team before they head off to state, and the final time we'll see eight great athletes on their home field.