Column: On the outside of Legion ball, a Premier arm

Fritz Neighbor, Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Mont.
·3 min read

Jul. 28—The question was posed of Ty Schwaiger that, given his arm strength, has he told teammate Fynn Ridgeway that the wrong guy plays QB for the Whitefish Football Bulldogs?

"All the time," Schwaiger said. "Then he tells me I can't throw a spiral, and I say, 'Well, if the coach would teach me how to throw one...' "

Instead Schwaiger will stay at tailback and linebacker for the Bulldogs this fall, while Ridgeway continues to call signals. They're teammates in the summer as well: Both are playing baseball with Northwest Premier, a traveling club out of Post Falls, Idaho.

Possessing a fastball that breaks 90 miles per hour, Schwaiger has flourished outside of the local American Legion program — a bit surprising since his brother Jack played with the 2014 Glacier Twins squad that won the Northwest A Regional.

The younger Schwaiger gave the Twins a try — and it didn't go like you might expect. Let's just say we can't define exactly what "it" is, but the two sides didn't have it.

It didn't take long for Troy Nowell, coach of NW Premier, to call in 2020.

"We used to play them a lot when I was 12, 13 and 14," Schwaiger said. "Coach Troy called me and said, 'Hey, do you want to play for us?' I said that sounds awesome.

"He's taught me a lot of stuff, and he has all these college connections."

Also, Schwaiger started heating up.

"The next two years I started throwing really hard," He said. "I was 83, 84 as a freshman. Then as a sophomore I hit 89. My junior year I hit 90. This year I'm up to 92, 93."

When you're 17 and have those numbers, people notice. The Cleveland Guardians have invited him to a scout team game in Eugene, Ore. Salt Lake Community College has offered a scholarship. Schwaiger mentions having contact with Oregon State, Oregon, Washington, Utah Valley, North Dakota State, Utah Tech and more.

"Fynn is going on a visit with me to Santa Clara in two weeks," Schwaiger said. "We'll go down there and throw a bullpen for them. He's catching."

Ridgeway shares the catching duties and also plays third for NW Premier. Another Whitefish product, Jacob Polumbus — he played on the 2021 Twins that lost in the State A championship — pitches and plays center and is one of NWP's top hitters, according to Schwaiger.

One wonders what kind of powerhouse team the Twins might have with that trio. The flip side, of course, is that three more players have an opportunity to play Legion ball. Meanwhile the 2022 Twins are 34-10, including a 13-7 win over the Laurel Dodgers Wednesday at the State A tournament.

There are still pitch counts and big time commitments with NW Premier. There were twice-a-week trips to Post Falls for offseason workouts; the team will play Thursday-Sunday with as many as eight games.

But now he, Polumbus and Ridgeway can practice in Whitefish on off days, giving another take on working remotely. By Schwaiger's count his club is 30-13. He's totally into this, and we're not just talking about his arm.

"It's nice because it doesn't wear me down, and makes me still love baseball," he said. "Having that break is really nice, and helps me keep my love for the game."

Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 758-4463 or at fneighbor@dailyinterlake.com.