Mavs pull away from Twins with 12 runs in 7th inning
WHITEFISH - Glacier's improvement from last year was obvious - and then things fell apart.
The Missoula Mavericks scored 12 runs in the seventh inning Saturday night, cruising to an 18-2 Western AA American Legion baseball victory against the Glacier Twins at Memorial Park.
Missoula clubbed eight hits, including two home runs, in what proved to be the final frame due to the 10-run mercy rule, but Glacier's defensive miscues proved equally damaging. The Twins committed three errors in the seventh inning and eight on the night.
The lopsided loss was a startling setback for the Twins, who had won three straight games before Saturday and boast a 6-6 conference record after winning just one Western AA contest last season.
"Once a couple of errors hit, a couple walks, it's a definite domino effect," Glacier coach Jarod Grubb said.
Glacier's erratic defense overshadowed a strong outing by starting pitcher Justin Collom as well as a solid offensive effort.
Collom (5-4) allowed only three earned runs over six innings, but took the loss. He also homered to dead center in the fourth inning, cutting Missoula's lead to 3-1.
"It was kind of an emotional game because I wanted to come out here and perform at my best and beat one of the better teams," Collom said. "I came out here hoping that my team would back me up, and they did for the most part. There were just a couple errors that hurt."
The Twins managed eight hits against three Mavericks pitchers, including doubles by first baseman Weston Chambers and third baseman Josh Peterson.
"They swing the bat well,"Missoula coach Brent Hathaway said of the Twins. "I'm impressed with several of their hitters.
"They're a better ballclub than they've had in the past. Jarod's doing a nice job with them. This one just got away from them. It should have been a lot tighter than it was."
Travis Johnsen (3-2) earned the win after entering the game in the fifth inning with Missoula clinging to a 4-2 lead. He pitched two innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit.
The Mavericks improved to 8-3 in conference action with the comfortable victory that had recently eluded them. They exploded for 16 hits while flashing slick gloves and committing no errors.
"That's kind of what we are right now, we're a defensive team," Hathaway said. "We pitch it pretty well, we play good defense, we usually don't beat ourselves.
"We've struggled at the plate as of late, so to see 16 hits, we're pleased with that because we've been kind of struggling to put up runs."
First baseman Conor Dwyer led Missoula's onslaught with four RBIs, including three on his seventh-inning blast beyond the right field wall. Second baseman Taylor King led off the seventh inning with a home run to left field and reached base five times.
Missoula right fielder Taylor Nordby and center fielder Dan Belet notched three hits apiece while Belet and left fielder Mac Cuffe each drove in two runs. Belet was equally impressive on defense, robbing Glacier left fielder Scott Palmer of extra bases with a diving catch near the wall to end the third inning.
The Twins split a doubleheader with the Mavericks in Missoula last month. They can even their season series with Missoula at 2-2 with a victory in today's noon contest in Whitefish.
Grubb said the Twins spoke after the game about using today's contest as a fresh start.
"We're 1-2 against these guys, so we know we can beat them, and we don't feel like they're a stronger team than us," he said. "We just had a bad outing."
The veteran Hathaway also realizes that recent results don't ensure future success in baseball.
"That's the nature of baseball," he said. "I mean, you're only as good as tomorrow's pitcher. We've got another good one tomorrow, and we'll show up and play defense, and if the bats show up, great, and if not, it will be close."
Missoula 001 212 (12) - 18 16 0
Glacier 000 110 0 - 2 8 8
Cody Burgmeier, Travis Johnsen (5), Drew Lytle (7) and Chris Bartenhagen and Mike Spritzer (7). Justin Collom, Josh Peterson (7) and Ryan Caron. W - Johnsen (3-2). L - Collom (5-4).
MISSOULA (8-3) - Dan Belet 3-5, Mac Cuffe 2-6, Conor Dwyer 2-5, Bartenhagen 1-4, Mike Spritzer 1-1, Taylor Nordby 3-5, Trevor Bourquin 0-1, Mike Ponton 2-3, Max Smith 0-1, Johnsen 0-4, Taylor King 1-1, Brendan Brown 1-5.
GLACIER (6-6) - Scott Palmer 0-3, Scott Yogodzinski 1-3, Michael Hader 0-1, Brad Bell 0-3, Collom 2-3, Rusty Hill 1-2, Caron 1-3, Weston Chambers 1-2, RJ Beasley 1-1, Peterson 1-2, Brad Nielsen 0-1, Roo Grubb 0-1, Justin Goode 0-1.
RBIs - Miss. 12 (Dwyer 4, Belet 2, Cuffe 2, Bartenhagen, Ponton, King, Brown), Gla. 2 (Collom, Peterson). HR - Miss. 2 (King, Dwyer), Gla. 1 (Collom). 2B - Miss. 2 (Ponton, Belet), Gla. 2 (Chambers, Peterson). SB - Miss. 7 (Belet 2, King 2, Bartenhagen, Nordby, Brown), Gla. 0. SAC - Miss. 0, Gla. 1 (Hill).