Lakers win fifth straight

Reichhoff pitches 1-hitter

SPOKANE - Holy cow, does Kalispell coach Ryan Malmin have his pitchers throwing well.

The American Legion Class AA Lakers opened Spokane's Fourth of July Tournament Saturday with two wins. Kalispell pitchers in both games earned complete-game victories - including a one-hitter by Tyler Reichhoff.

"It was a great day," Malmin said. "I couldn't be happier for the kids."

The complete-game pitching victories make five straight for the Lakers pitching staff.

The Lakers beat the G.S. Eagles out of Tacoma, 6-2, and then Reichhoff one-hit the Stillquinish Tugs of Arlington, Wash., in a 6-0 victory.

There are 11 teams, including the Great Falls Electrics and Medicine Hat, in the tournament. The Lakers play two more games today, starting at 7 a.m. against Newport, Wash., and then against Bethel, Wash., at 2 p.m. They will take in a round of golf Monday before playing the Spokane Bandits at 8 p.m. The teams are playing round-robin games to seed the top two teams out of two divisions and those teams will play on the Fourth of July.

The Lakers are now 24-20 overall on the season.

Kalispell 6, Stillquinish 0

Reichhoff struck out eight and walked three in the one-hit masterpiece.

"He stumbled a little bit in the first inning but ended up getting it going," Malmin said. "He did a great job of spotting, had great velocity on his fastball and his curveball had a nice bite to it."

Reichhoff needed only 85 pitches to get the job done and retired the final 10 batters of the game in order.

Kalispell leadoff hitter Stefan Malkuch must like playing in Spokane. The Spokane Falls Community College baseball player went 3-for-3 with two doubles, an RBI and three stolen bases to lead the Lakers offense.

Sam Freudenberg and Adam Olson each went 2-for-3 in the victory. Dan Conners had a 3-run single in the fourth inning to highlight a five-run inning.

No first names were reported for the Tugs.

Arlington 000 000 0 - 0 1 0

Kalispell 001 500 x - 6 8 0

Cantwell, Delker and Lucky. Tyler Reichhoff and Fitzsimmons. W - Reichhoff (n/a). L - Cantwell.

ARLINGTON (n/a) - Cantwell 0-3, Delker 0-3, Keller 0-1, Lucky 0-2, Kerlee 1-3, Klasson 0-3, Wendland 0-2, Morris 0-2, Wintsh 0-2.

KALISPELL (24-20) - Malkuch 3-3, Conners 1-3, Fitzsimmons 0-3, Laughlin 0-1, Hogan 0-2, Reichhoff 0-2, Olson 2-3, Ford 0-2, Freudenberg 2-3, Hooley 0-1.

RBIs - Kal. 6 (Malkuch, Conners 3, Olson, Freudenberg). 2B - Kal. 2 (Malkuch 2). SB - Kal. 3 (Malkuch 3)

Kalispell 6, G.S. Eagles 2

John White struck out seven while allowing three walks and seven hits in earning the complete-game victory.

He only used 70 pitches before the seventh inning, which he needed 38 more pitches to finish.

"He had solid command of his fastball and curveball," Malmin said.

He also went 2-for-3 from the plate to help lead the Lakers. Sam Freudenberg and Conners also went 2-for-3.

The Lakers had only two RBIs - by Freudenberg and Tucker Hankinson - but tallied six stolen bases. Malkuch and White each had two and Adam Olson and Conners each had one.

No first names were reported for the Eagles.

Tacoma 001 000 1 - 2 7 1

Kalispell 121 200 x - 6 9 0

Waddell, Halladay (4) and Keisz. John White and Ryan Laughlin. W - White (n/a). L - Waddell.

TACOMA (n/a) - Warner 2-3, Emanek 0-4, Stocking 2-3, Matney 1-3, Shimeada 0-3, Halladay 0-3, Rekich 1-3, Keith 1-2, Hase 0-2.

KALISPELL (23-20) - Stefan Malkuch 0-4, Dan Conners 2-3, Jake Fitzsimmons 0-2, Geoff Hogan 0-4, White 2-4, Adam Olson 2-3, Sam Freudenberg 2-3, Laughlin 0-3, Tucker Hankinson 1-3, Chris Hooley 0-1.

RBI - 2 (Freudenberg, Hankinson). 2B - Kal. 1 (Freudenberg), Tac. 1 (Stocking). SB - Kal. 6 (Malkuch 2, Olson, Conners, White 2).