Lakers open with split

Keller delivers walk-off single in extra innings to cap doubleheader

The Kalispell Lakers Class AA American Legion baseball team opened its season Saturday night by knocking Bozeman off its high horse.

The Lakers fell behind the Bucks 7-0 in the first game before outscoring them 4-1 in the final three innings in an 8-4 loss. But then the Lakers rallied to hand the Bucks their first loss of the season in the second game of the doubleheader, 6-5, in extra innings.

The Bucks, who have had three straight 40-win seasons, fell to 6-1 on the year.

"That felt so good getting a win like that against a team like them," said Austin Zapata, who scored the game-winning run on Derek Keller's walk-off single. "They are a really, really good team. They are legit."

The Lakers are 1-1 and next host Helena in a non-conference doubleheader Saturday.

Kalispell 6, Bozeman 5

(8 innings)

The game had three ties and two lead changes.

Tied 5-5 in the eighth, Zapata led off the inning with a line drive into right field.

"I like being in that clutch position where I was leading off," said Zapata, who had two hits on the day. "I was feeling good and fouled off a bunch of pitches. I had two strikes, choked up and took an outside pitch to right field. When I was running down to first I was like, 'Oh man, this thing is going to get caught.'"

But it fell in for a hit.

Tucker Hankinson followed with a walk to move Zapata to second. Then Tony Lawrence executed a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with one out. Bozeman intentionally walked Greg Neils to set up Keller's at bat with the bases loaded and the Bozeman infield playing shallow.

"Coach took me aside and told me to pick my pitch and wait for it," Keller said.

He didn't have to wait long. He swung at the first pitch and hammered it back up the middle for the game-winning hit.

"I got a fastball right down the middle," Keller said. "I was a little nervous but I just went up there and did my thing and got the job done."

The hit made a winner of Neils on the mound. He relieved starter Zach Davis in the sixth inning and struggled with his first two batters before retiring eight straight, including two on strikeouts.

But it was Davis who allowed the Lakers to stay in position to win it.

"It was a great game," Bozeman coach Mitch Messer said. "I attribute that loss to their great pitching. Zach Davis did a good job of keeping us off balance and had us chasing pitches out of the zone, which is uncharacteristic of our team. We got over-aggressive. But that's who we are. We're an aggressive team. We need to know how to harness it."

Davis pitched five innings of five-hit ball, allowing four runs. He struck out six while walking just two.

"It was great to see Zach Davis come out with a strong outing," Kalispell coach Ryan Malmin said. "We turned a double play in the first inning and that allowed him (Davis) to get on a little bit of a roll. Then for Greg Neils to come in in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings as a first-time AA kid - he hit a kid and then walked a kid and then he mowed them down for us and allowed us to stay in the game."

Keller, Davis and Zac Ford each had two hits in the game as Lakers out-hit the Bucks, 9-6. Ford hit a two-run double in the fourth inning to tie the game, 3-3.

Trailing 5-3 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Lawrence had an RBI single and Neils got an RBI to tie the game, 5-5. Keller scored the first run of the game in the first inning by leading off with a double and scoring on Adam Olson's sacrifice fly to right field.

"I'm happy for all the kids for battling," Malmin said. "Bozeman is a very good team. They are one of the preseason favorites to win the state championship and you can see how quality of a team they are. Their batting is great. Even their outs were quality at bats."

Bozeman 010 211 00 - 5 6 1

Kalispell 100 202 01 - 6 9 1

Will Spears, Brad Gross (2), Jared Bies (7) and Jeff Squire. Davis, Greg Neils (6) and Tony Lawrence. W - Neils (1-0). L - Bies (0-1).

BOZEMAN (6-1) - Gabe Weidenaar 1-4, Trevor Peck 0-3, Caleb Schlender 1-4, Sean Potkay 0-3, Ryan Minkoff 1-1, Brendan Phillips 0-1, Matt Comer 2-3, Andy Pike 0-2, Anthony Rinard 0-2, Jeff Squire 1-2.

KALISPELL (1-1) - Derek Keller 2-5, Tyler Reichoff 0-1, John White 1-2, Adam Olson 0-2, Zach Davis 2-3, Zac Ford 2-4, Austin Zapata 1-3, Tucker Hankinson 0-3, Lawrence 1-3, Neils 0-3.

RBIs - Boz. 4 (Pike, Comer, Schlender, Rinard), Kal. 5 (Ford 2, Olson, Lawrence, Neils, Keller). 2B - Boz. 2 (Comer, Schlender), Kal. 2 (Keller, Ford). SAC - Boz. 3 (Peck, Pike, Rinard), Kal. 3 (Olson, Davis, Lawrence).

Bozeman 8, Kalispell 4

It was ugly early for the hometown fans supporting the season opener.

The Lakers committed two first-inning errors and Bozeman pounded three first-inning hits to put three early runs on the scoreboard.

"It was probably just a matter of the first-game jitters," Malmin said. "We were pretty sloppy for the first couple of innings. But each time we made it through the lineup, our at bats were a little bit better. We settled down defensively and the pitchers ended up throwing pretty well for us."

The Bucks went ahead 7-0 with four runs in the fourth inning. Cleanup hitter Sean Potkay crushed a two-run home run over the left-center field fence to highlight the inning and No. 3 batter Caleb Schlender smoked a two-run double off the same part of the fence.

Bozeman leadoff hitter Gabe Weidenaar went 4-for-4 in the game with a walk, two doubles and three stolen bases. Schlender went 4-for-5. Potkay went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a sacrifice.

All told, the Bucks out-hit the Lakers, 14-7, and pitchers Loren Carosella and Chris Schmidt combined to strike out 11 Lakers while walking just three.

Bozeman 300 410 1 - 8 14 1

Kalispell 000 020 2 - 4 7 4

Chris Schmidt, Loren Carosella (5) and Ryan Minkoff. Tyler Reichoff, Adam Olson (4) and Tony Lawrence. W - Carosella (1-0). L - Reichoff (0-1).

BOZEMAN (6-0) - Gabe Weidenaar 4-4, Trevor Peck 0-3, Caleb Schlender 4-5, Sean Potkay 2-3, Minkoff 0-2, Matt Comer 2-4, Andy Pike 2-4, Anthony Rinard 0-4, Brendan Phillips 0-4.

KALISPELL (0-1) - Derek Keller 1-4, Pat Hergesheimer 0-0, John White 1-2, Reichoff 1-2, Olson 1-2, Zac Ford 0-4, Zach Davis 1-4, Austin Zapata 1-4, Tucker Hankinson 0-4, Lawrence 1-3.

RBIs - Boz. 7 (Potkay 4, Schlender 2, Comer), Kal. 3 (Olson, Davis, Zapata). HR - Boz. 1 (Potkay), Kal. 0. 3B - Boz. 1 (Pike), Kal. 0. 2B - Boz. 3 (Weidenaar 2, Schlender), Kal. 0. SB - Boz. 3 (Weidenaar 3), Kal. 0. SAC - Boz. 1 (Potkay), Kal. 0.