Lethbridge sweeps Lakers

An inauspicious first inning for the Kalispell Lakers Class AA American Legion baseball team carried through to the final innings Friday night in a doubleheader with Lethbridge.

Lethbridge's Chad Northcott opened the first game with a leadoff home run, which umpires had to check with a third party to rule if it actually went over the fence, en route to a 9-3 victory. Then the Elks rallied with three runs in the seventh to force extra innings and scored a run apiece in the eighth and ninth to pull out a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.

With the Western AA doubleheader sweep, the Elks improved to 8-8 in conference to solidly sit as the No. 4 seed. They are 12-22 overall.

The loss dropped the Lakers to 6-13 in conference. They are sixth in the standings and 26-28 overall. They host Medicine Hat (4-10 in conference) today in another conference doubleheader, starting at 3 p.m.

Lethbridge is playing Glacier (6-8 in conference) today in a league doubleheader, starting at noon.

Lethbridge 9, Kalispell 3

The Lakers answered Northcott's leadoff homer with two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but Lethbridge scored four in the fourth to take command and then three in the seventh to make it look like a blowout.

Joel Dragland spread five hits and five walks over seven innings while striking out four in earning the complete-game victory. He improved to 3-4 on the season.

"That wasn't a surprise," Lethbridge coach Scott Oikawa said. "He has been throwing quite well. He's thrown a couple of pretty good ones his last times out. He's got a decent curve ball and works his change-up well and spots all three pitches."

The Elks out-hit the Lakers, 11-5. Catcher Matt Weninger had three hits with two RBIs. Northcott and Nathan Schuafert added two hits apiece. Northcott finished with three RBIs. Left fielder Braeden Horon added two RBIs with a two-run homer in the fourth inning that gave the Elks the lead for good.

The Lakers got all five of their hits from their Nos. 2, 3 and 4 batters. Zach Davis and Adam Olson had two hits apiece while Tyler Reichoff added one.

Lethbridge 100 410 3 - 9 11 2

Kalispell 200 100 0 - 3 5 1

Joel Dragland and Matt Weninger. John White, Geoff Hogan (5) and Pat Hergesheimer. W - Dragland (3-4). L - White (7-5).

LETHBRIDGE (7-8, 12-22) - Chad Northcott 2-5, Brock Fulkerth 0-4, Tyler Tamayose 0-4, Spencer Farrell 0-1, Nathan Schaufert 2-2, Braeden Horon 1-3, Weninger 3-4, Adrian Diakon 1-2, Beau Barthel 1-3, Mark Clauson 1-3.

KALISPELL (6-12, 26-27) - Derek Keller 0-3, Zach Davis 2-4, Tyler Reichoff 1-3, Adam Olson 2-4, Hogan 0-2, Hergesheimer 0-2, White 0-2, Zach Ford 0-2, Brian Sneck 0-3.

RBIs - Leth. 7 (Northcott 3, Horon 2, Weninger 2), Kal. 2 (Olson, Ford). HR - Leth. 2 (Northcott, Horon), Kal. 0. 2B - Leth. 2 (Clauson, Schaufert), Kal. 0. SB - Leth. 1 (Horon), Kal. 0. SAC - Leth. 0, Kal. 1 (Ford).

Lethbridge 7, Kalispell 6 (9)

Trailing 5-2 enter the seventh inning, the Elks got two unearned runs and were aided by a game-tying double-play ball that umpires ruled the batter-runner safe.

"It's been a year of hard knox," Kalispell coach Ryan Malmin said. "It doesn't seem like we get any breaks. I thought that double play was the end of the game. But we had more opportunities that we didn't close."

With two outs and a runner on second base in the top of the ninth inning, Lethbridge's big first baseman Tyler Tamayose went opposite field against Kalispell's defensive shift and drilled the game-winning RBI double to the left-center field wall.

The teams exchanged a run apiece in the eighth inning.

Ford hit an RBI double for the Lakers in the eighth to tie the game, but Lethbridge shortstop Spencer Farrell gunned down John White with the game-winning run at home with a cutoff throw from the left-field fence.

Lethbridge finished with a 12-7 hitting advantage.

Lethbridge 000 020 311 - 7 12 2

Kalispell 003 110 010 - 6 7 2

Schaufert, Aaron Groves (3), Fulkerth (9) and Horon. Olson, Davis (7), Reichoff (9) and Hergesheimer. W - Groves (4-0). L - Davis (3-5).

LETHBRIDGE (8-8, 13-22) - Northcott 2-4, Weninger 1-5, Tamayose 2-5, Horon 3-5, Schaufert 0-1, Groves 0-3, Fulkerth 0-0, Farrell 1-4, Diakon 2-3, Clauson 1-4, Barthel 0-2, Corey Gerstenbuhler 0-1.

KALISPELL (6-13, 26-28) - Keller 0-4, Davis 1-4, Reichoff 0-4, Olson 1-5, Hogan 1-3, Hergesheimer 0-3, White 0-2, Ford 2-4, Sneck 2-4.

RBIs - Leth. 5 (Tamayose 2, Northcott 2, Weninger), Kal. 5 (Hogan 2, Davis 2, Ford). 2B - Leth. 3 (Northcott, Horon, Tamayose), Kal. 1 (Ford). SB - Leth. 0, Kal. 2 (Keller, Davis). SAC - Leth. 1 (Weninger), Kal. 2 (Hogan, Davis).