Twins drop Gallo title game

Laurel holds Glacier to four hits in 7-0 win

WHITEFISH - A night after topping one of the state's hottest teams, Glacier was stopped cold by a squad on an impressive run of its own.

Jade Stricker went the distance as Laurel thumped the host Twins 7-0 Saturday night to win the Ed Gallo memorial Class A American Legion baseball tournament championship.

Glacier (8-16) earned its championship game berth with a dramatic 9-8 victory over Mission Valley during Friday's pool play. The win snapped the Mariners' 13-game win streak, but the Twins couldn't carry their momentum into the title tilt.

Stricker (4-2) allowed just four hits and struck out seven, pitching in front of a rock solid defense that committed no errors. He also went 2-for-4 hitting in the No. 2 hole.

Twins pitchers Adam Pisk and Justin Goode held the Dodgers to seven hits, but eight Glacier errors proved insurmountable.

Laurel led 2-0 after one frame without hitting the ball out of the infield, thanks largely to two Glacier miscues. The Twins only trailed 3-0 after five innings, but Dodgers center fielder Chris Mjelstad tripled in the sixth, driving in two runs to give Laurel a 5-0 advantage. Mjelstad's triple was the game's lone extra-base hit.

"I expected us to come out and play as well as we did (Friday) night, and I think, in the first inning, a few errors and little hits kind of set the tone and we just weren't able to break out," Twins coach Lindsay Fansler said.

Pisk limited Laurel (13-11) to three infield hits before leaving in the fifth inning, but the Dodgers' sound defense and base running helped them win their fourth straight game after entering the tournament with a losing record.

"They found a way to put it in play," Laurel coach Matt Kimmet said. "It wasn't pretty, but we hit it at them a lot of the time, and a lot of them were just hustle plays, beating the throw out.

"I wasn't quite sure what to expect coming up here, but I know they're going to play hard every time they come out."

Laurel's smallest player made its biggest impact. Joe Binstock went 2-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base en route to player of the game and tournament MVP honors. He went 8-for-15 over four tournament contests while flashing a slick glove at shortstop.

"Joe's an unbelievable player," Kimmet said. "He makes so many plays for us, I don't know what we'd do if we didn't have him. He's about 5-foot-nothing, but he's got a big heart and he plays his butt off, and he's a smart baseball player. He understands the game as well as anyone I've ever met, and that goes a long way."

The Dodgers took fifth place at Ed Gallo last year, and Binstock expected a similar finish this weekend.

"It's really big, I never expected us to come out and do this," Binstock said. "When we first came here and we saw Mission Valley, we were like, 'Oh, man, there's no way we got this.' Then we played our first game, and after that I was like, 'I know we've got this, I know we can do it.'"

In just his second week with the team, Twins catcher Geoff Streeter led Glacier with two singles. Shortstop Wayde Martinson and pinch hitter Cody Elek singled as well, but only two Glacier runners reached third base.

"We just beat one of the better teams in the state, so I think some of us just thought we would be fine against (Laurel), and I just think we weren't mentally ready to come out," Streeter said.

Fansler said he told his players after the game that he was proud of their play throughout the week, but disappointed in their letdown.

"The program in general, we're on the upswing, but teaching a ballclub how to win takes time," Fansler said. "When you get into a tough spot, you don't have that experience to rely on."

The Twins look to regain their winning form Tuesday with a 3 p.m. conference doubleheader at Kootenai Valley.

"We're moving in the right direction as a team, and we also need to learn how to come off tough losses," Fansler said.

Laurel 200 013 1 - 7 7 0

Glacier 000 000 0 - 0 3 8

Jade Stricker and Keenan Weatherford. Adam Pisk, Justin Goode (5) and Geoff Streeter. W - Stricker 4-2. L - Pisk (NA).

LAUREL (13-11) - Joe Binstock 2-4, Stricker 2-4, Clay Graber 0-4, Chris Mjelstad 2-3, Jade Giovetti 0-3, Dillon Boeshans 0-2, Tre Grubb 0-1, Weatherford 0-3, Kenan Lausch 1-4, Brice Baird 0-4.

GLACIER (8-16) - Wayde Martinson 1-1, Jack Cronin 0-3, Pisk 0-3, Goode 0-3, David FauntLeRoy 0-2, Streeter 2-3, Kyle Knox 0-2, Cody Elek 1-1, Will Beasley 0-1, Kyle Yogodzinski 0-2, Trevor Miller 0-1, Quentin Hagel 0-1.

RBIs - Laurel 2 (Mjelstad 2), Glacier 0. 3B - Laurel 1 (Mjelstad), Glacier 0. SB - Laurel 4 (Stricker 2, Binstock, Boeshans), Glacier 0. SAC - Laurel 1 (Giovetti), Glacier 0.