Lakers close in on state
WHITEFISH - The Class AA Kalispell Lakers American Legion baseball team kept its state tournament hopes alive with a 9-3 victory over Glacier Saturday night.
Kalispell's 17-year-old pitcher Adam Olson hurled a complete-game victory while right fielder Tucker Hankinson and designated hitter Jake Fitzsimmons each had two hits on offense to lead the Lakers in improving to 12-11 in Western AA play.
The Lakers are a half-game behind Lethbridge for the No. 4 seed to the state tournament in Great Falls at the end of the month. Lethbridge is 12-10 with two games against Missoula in Missoula left - one today and one on Monday. Both Kalispell and Lethbridge are sitting with 12 conference victories and if Lethbridge is swept by Missoula, the Lakers will receive the conference's No. 4 seed into state and will not have to make up a game with Medicine Hat in Kalispell Monday night. The Lakers hold the tie-breaker over Lethbridge with runs scored. The teams split their regular-season conference games and the Lakers outscored the Elks, 25-23, in those four games. Remember that 14-13 extra-inning loss to Lethbridge last week? The loss turned into a victory for the Lakers, who rallied from a 9-0 deficit to tie the game and force extra innings. That rally is what earned the tie-breaking victory (runs scored) for the Lakers.
So Lethbridge must sweep the Mavs in order to beat out the Lakers to state.
In Saturday night's game at Glacier Twins Stadium in Memorial Park, the Lakers looked like they could be a state tourney contender.
Olson struck out nine and walked just one while spreading out eight hits over the complete game. It was his sixth conference victory of the season.
"He (Olson) is just a bulldog," Kalispell coach Ryan Malmin said. "He comes up big in big games. He's not flashy. He just refuses to lose. It doesn't matter if he gets behind in counts because he will throw strikes and make hitters put the ball in play."
Geoff Hogan gave the Lakers a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning with a two-run single. The Lakers went ahead 5-0 with a three-run fourth inning. Stefan Malkuch stole hold in a first-and-third situation and the Lakers got another run on a passed ball and another on a Twins' error. The Lakers added another run by stealing home in another first-and-third situation in the seventh inning.
Hankinson added an RBI single in the fifth inning.
The Lakers outhit the Twins, 10-6, as the Twins committed five errors.
Glacier's Doug Cuffe is on a tear offensively. He went 3-for-4 as the Twins No. 5 hitter. He was the only Twin with more than one hit.
Byron Whitcomb started on the mound for the Twins and pitched eight innings while working through control problems. He hit many batters.
The Twins dropped to 1-21 in Western AA play, with a few forfeits for using an ineligible player. They cap the season off today in Whitefish with a doubleheader against Medicine Hat. The Monarch Moose is sitting in second-to-last place in Western AA play with a 7-14 record.
Kalispell 200 310 120 - 9 10 1
Glacier 000 100 002 - 3 8 5
Adam Olson and Ryan Laughlin. Bryon Whitcomb, Jon Cloyed (9) and Brad Bell.
KALISPELL - Stefan Malkuch 0-4, Dan Conners 1-4, Jake Fitzsimmons 2-3, John White 1-2, Geoff Hogan 1-3, Chris Hooley 1-2, Tucker Hankinson 2-4, Laughlin 1-2, Sam Freudenberg 1-1, Zach Davis 0-1, Austin Zapata 1-4.
GLACIER - Roo Grubb 1-3, Whitcomb 1-4, Bell 1-2, Rusty Hill 0-2, Doug Cuffe 3-4, Weston Chambers 0-1, Riley VanNyhuis 1-4, Josh Peterson 1-1, BJ Hattel 0-2, Cloyed 0-3, Scott Yogodzinski 0-3.