Twins 4th at Sapa-Johnsrud

WHITEFISH - If there was any doubt concerning Spokane's electric offense, it was quickly obliterated with one massive power surge.

The Spokane Dodgers scored 16 runs in the fifth inning Saturday night, beating the Class AA Glacier Twins 20-5 to capture third place at the 23rd Annual Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial Baseball Tournament at Memorial Park.

The game, pitting the No. 2 seeds from American and National Division pool play, ended after five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.

The Dodgers drew five walks and belted seven hits in the fifth frame, including two three-run home runs, to rally from a 5-4 deficit. They sent 19 batters to the plate in the inning, the first 13 of which scored.

"I don't really think I've seen anything like that," said Twins coach Jarod Grubb. "That was impressive."

Spokane smacked four long balls on the night, including two by shortstop Jarek Cunningham, who went 2-for-2 with five RBIs. Center fielder Nic Fowler and pinch hitter Trevor Shull went yard as well.

The Dodgers out-hit the Twins 13-2 despite a solid outing by Glacier starting pitcher Zane Ridings. Ridings allowed only three earned runs in four innings of work.

The Twins led early after left fielder Scott Palmer and shortstop Roo Grubb scored on wild pitches in the first inning. The Dodgers tied the game with Fowler's two-run shot to left field in the second inning before taking a 3-2 edge on Cunningham's solo blast to dead center in the third.

It was Cunningham's second two-homer game of the tournament, and it was obvious which of Saturday's dingers he most enjoyed.

"The second one, definitely," Cunningham said. "It was real soft. I just knew it right when I hit it."

Glacier evened the score on third baseman Josh Peterson's RBI single in the third. An RBI single by catcher KC Mack put Spokane up 4-3 in the fourth before Roo Grubb and courtesy runner Ryan Caron scored on a throwing error and wild pitch, respectively, in the bottom of the inning to put the Twins out front.

And then Spokane exploded.

"A swing like that, where it's back and forth for the first three, four innings, and all of a sudden we put up a 16-spot - it doesn't happen every day," said Dodgers coach Mark Miller. "You just kind of go with it. We've been on the other side before and it isn't fun."

Fowler had three hits, followed by Cunningham, Mack, pitcher Jacob Patridge and first baseman Tyler Jackson. Patridge, Fowler, Mack and Shull drove in three runs apiece.

Catcher Brad Nielsen had Glacier's second hit - a crisp single in the fourth inning that led to Caron's run.

The Twins, who are 6-7 in Western AA play and 24-25 overall on the American Legion season, finished the tournament with a 3-2 mark, giving them plenty of confidence heading into a crucial stretch of conference games, which begins Tuesday night when they visit the Kalispell Lakers at 7.

"It was good. We did some things right," coach Grubb said. "We really worked on the mental side of the game, so we improved on that. I don't know if the Twins have done this well in the Sapa-Johnsrud tournament in a while, so it's definitely a positive."

The Twins have 11 Western AA games remaining. Coach Grubb said Saturday's lopsided defeat won't damper their aspirations.

"This does not get us down at all about conference," he said. "We've shown we can beat the good teams in the conference, and we'll continue to do so."

Spokane 021 1(16) - 20 13 3

Glacier 201 20 - 5 2 3

Jacob Patridge, Nic Fowler (5) and KC Mack. Zane Ridings, Wes Beougher (5), Justin Goode (5), Roo Grubb (5) and Brad Nielsen. W - Fowler. L - Beougher.

SPOKANE (25-20) - Jackson Seaman 0-3, CJ Perry 0-2, Jarek Cunningham 2-2, Patridge 2-4, Tyler Jackson 2-4, Fowler 3-3, Jeremy Carey 1-4, Mack 2-4, Brandon Williams 0-2, Trevor Shull 1-1.

GLACIER (24-25) - Scott Palmer 0-2, Grubb 0-2, Brad Bell 0-2, Justin Collom 0-3, Josh Peterson 1-2, Scott Yogodzinski 0-3, Rusty Hill 0-2, Nielsen 1-1, Goode 0-1.

RBIs - Spok. 20 (Cunningham 5, Patridge 3, Fowler 3, Mack 3, Shull 3, Carey, Seaman, Perry), Gla. 1 (Peterson). HR - Spok. 4 (Cunningham 2, Fowler, Shull), Gla. 0. 2B - Spok. 2 (Fowler, Patridge), Gla. 0. SB - Spok. 1 (Fowler), Gla. 4 (Yogodzinski 2, Bell, Ryan Caron). SAC - Spok. 0, Gla. 1 (Goode).