Lethbridge limits Lakers to 4 hits
Kalispell Lakers pitcher Brian Sneck follows through on a pitch to the Lethbridge Elks’ Beau Barthel on Friday afternoon during the 23rd Annual Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial Tournament in Whitefish. The Elks, of Alberta, Canada, won the game, 7-3. Kristine Paulsen/Daily Inter Lake
Elks break open 4-3 game with 3 runs in 6th
WHITEFISH - Friday wasn't a good day for the Kalispell Lakers Class AA American Legion baseball team.
In nearly 100-degree heat, Lethbridge limited the Lakers to just four hits on the final day of round-robin play at the 23rd Annual Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial Tournament and beat them, 7-3.
Lethbridge pitcher Nathan Schaufert started his first game of the season and spread four hits and three walks over five innings; then high-kicking Chad Northcott closed the game by pitching no-hit ball the final two innings.
The win capped a two-victory day for the Western AA Elks that snapped an 11-game losing streak.
"We are trying to find a lot of different arms and trying to find what defense we like, but our hitting is starting to come around and we were able to cash in some runners," Lethbridge coach Scott Oikawa said.
The Elks out-hit the Lakers, 13-4. But with the aid of two unearned runs in the second inning, the Elks led just 4-3 going into the sixth inning.
With two outs in the top of the sixth, and Kalispell starting pitcher Brian Sneck pitching on fumes, the Elks' right fielder and No. 7 hitter Adrian Diakon smashed a two-run double to the left-center field wall to put the game at its final margin.
Sneck allowed just one walk in 5 2/3 innings, but was knocked around for 13 hits - including four in his final inning.
"He was doing well, pitching strikes and had two outs," Kalispell coach Ryan Malmin said. "I wanted to see how he'd respond to the situation."
Geoff Hogan, who had the only extra-base hit for the Lakers, closed the game on the mound with 1 1/3 perfect innings.
"I was pretty disappointed with our team's play," Malmin said. "We had no energy and just seemed to go through the motions."
All but one Elk had at least one hit and four players had more than one. Cleanup hitter Tyler Tamayose went 3-for-4 and put the game at 5-3 in the sixth with an RBI double.
The Lakers' conference rival dropped them to 1-3 in tournament play. Kalispell will play the Black Hills Lobos (0-4) today at 9 a.m. in the fifth-seeded game. The Lakers are 24-26 on the season.
After today's game, the Lakers will conclude their season with six conference games in eight days, starting Tuesday. They are 5-11 in Western AA play. The Lakers got some more bad news Friday when Austin Zapata turned in his cleats to concentrate on his collegiate wrestling career.
Lethbridge improved to 2-2 in the tournament and will play the third-seeded game today against Pullman, Wash., at 2:30 p.m. The Elks are now 9-20 on the season, including 4-6 in Western AA play.
"It was kind of nice to get a couple of wins," Oikawa said. "We are building here and there, but it's been a tough road since starting hot right out of the chute. Now we've got 14 conference games in 14 days to figure the season out."
Lethbridge 021 103 0 - 7 13 1
Kalispell 002 100 0 - 3 4 2
Nathan Schaufert, Chad Northcott (6) and Mark Clauson. Brian Sneck, Geoff Hogan and Pat Hergesheimer. W - Schaufert (2-1). L - Sneck (3-3).
LETHBRIDGE (9-20) - Clauson 1-5, Braeden Horon 1-4, Spencer Farrell 2-4, Tyler Tamayose 3-4, Kyle Rokosh 2-4, Matt Weninger 0-4, Adrian Diakon 2-3, Beau Barthel 1-4, Brock Fulkerth 1-4.
KALISPELL (24-26) - Zach Davis 0-3, Hergesheimer 0-3, Tyler Reichoff 0-3, Adam Olson 1-3, Geoff Hogan 1-3, Zach Ford 0-3, John White 1-3, Sneck 0-3, Tucker Hankinson 1-2.
RBIs - Leth. 7 (Diakon 2, Farrell, Clauson, Barthel, Tamayose), Kal. 2 (Olson, Ford). 2B - Leth. 4 (Farrell, Barthel, Tamayose, Diakon), Kal. 1 (Hogan). SAC - none. SB - none.