Lakers thump Spokane
Hogan, Ford combine for 6 hits, 7 RBIs; White nearly gets compete-game victory
WHITEFISH - The Kalispell Lakers Class AA American Legion baseball team was repaid in full by the baseball gods Thursday.
Hard-luck losers in two close games at the 23rd Annual Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial Tournament, the Lakers took advantage of shaky starting pitching by the Spokane Dodgers in 95 degree heat to score five runs in the first inning and rode them to a 10-2 lead entering the bottom of the seventh inning.
"It was just our day today," Kalispell coach Ryan Malmin said. "What set the tone for us was we got our leadoff guy of the game on and then Pat Hergesheimer battled for about 12 or 14 pitches as the second batter of the game and got on base. We were able to jump on them early, make the plays defensively and add some more runs later on in the game."
Kalispell pitcher John White, of Bigfork, came within one out of pitching his fourth complete-game victory of the season. But, pitching on fumes in the bottom of the seventh, the Dodgers scored three unearned runs off a home run by Kellon Huffman. Tyler Reichoff took the mound to close the game with a strikeout and the final score ended up being 10-5. White improved to 6-4.
"We felt bad when (our third baseman) jinxed him in that last inning with an error," Kalispell first baseman Geoff Hogan said. "We gave him a hard time for that. He (White) would have had a three-up, three-down inning for the complete game. But a few pitches got away from him in that inning after that. Of course, we gave him a bad time about those. But he did good for us."
With two outs in the seventh inning, White had allowed seven hits, two walks and two runs while striking out just one.
"He did a great job locating his fastball, working it in and out," Malmin said. "He struggled a little bit with his curve ball so we had to rely a lot on locating the fastball and working in his change-up a little. He did what he was supposed to do. He didn't get a lot of strikeouts, but he threw strikes and located them well."
Hogan and left fielder Zach Ford each went 3-for-4 to lead the Lakers on offense. Hogan was just a triple away from hitting for the cycle and knocked in four runs. Davis had a double and three RBIs.
"I was feeling pretty good out there," Hogan said. "I told them on that last at bat that if I got it into the gap I was going for third."
In his sixth game back after recuperating from knee tendinitis, Hogan smashed a 1-1 pitch in the fourth inning for a three-run home run over the center field wall. It was his first since his 16-year-old season.
"I only had warning track power last year," Hogan joked. "I was actually looking curve ball because that was the count that he had been delivering a pretty good curve. But I was able to adjust on a fastball on the outside and got enough on it to get it out there."
The dinger came a pitch after Hergesheimer scored on a passed ball to unload the bases.
"We were giving Pat a hard time for going home on that passed ball because it could have been a grand slam," Hogan said. "But what do you do?"
Hogan, who will start his collegiate career at Tulane University (majoring in medicine) in New Orleans at the end of August, said he visited with the Tulane baseball coach and figures he has a chance at walking on to the NCAA Division I team if he started getting his reps in now. So he cut his three-month rehab stint short and came back to the Lakers.
The Lakers avenged a 7-6 loss to the Dodgers last year at the tourney and improved to 24-25 on the season and 1-2 in the tournament. They play Lethbridge today at 2:30 p.m. and then a select few will compete in the 8 p.m. Tourney Skills Contest. The tourney concludes Saturday.
The Dodgers, who are sponsored by the American Amateur Baseball Congress as a Connie Mack team, dropped to 2-2 in the tournament and team members said they are now three games over .500 on the season.
Kalispell 500 401 0 - 10 9 2
Spokane 000 110 3 - 5 10 1
John White, Tyler Reichoff (7) and Tony Lawrence. Jackson Seaman, Kellon Huffman (5) and Tyler Jackson. W - White (6-4). L - Seaman (n/a).
KALISPELL (24-25) - Zach Davis 0-3, Pat Hergesheimer 0-2, Reichoff 0-3, Adam Olson 1-4, Geoff Hogan 3-4, Zach Ford 3-4, Brian Sneck 0-3, Lawrence 1-3, Tucker Hankinson 1-4.
SPOKANE (n/a) - Seaman 0-3, CJ Perry 2-4, Jarek Cunningham 1-4, Jacob Partridge 1-4, Jackson 2-4, Huffman 1-2, Nic Fowler 1-3, Jeremy Carey 2-4, Trevor Shull 0-2, Brandon Williams 0-2.
RBIs - Kal. 9 (Hogan 4, Ford 3, Olson, Hankinson), Spok. 5 (Huffman 3, Carey, Cunningham). HR - Kal. 1 (Hogan), Spok. 1 (Huffman). 2B - Kal. 3 (Hankinson, Ford, Hogan), Spok. 3 (Perry 2, Cunningham). SAC - Kal. 1 (Olson), Spok. 0. SB - none.