Lakers nip KPC in opener

Hergesheimer singles in winning run in the bottom of 7th inning

The Daily Inter Lake

WHITEFISH - Pat Hergesheimer's two-out single down the left-field line in the bottom of the seventh inning scored Ben Sansaver from third base to lift the Kalispell Lakers to a 6-5 American Legion baseball victory over KPC Blazers from Estevan, Saskatchewan, on Tuesday.

Hergesheimer had runners on third and second (Tyler Reichhoff) when he stepped to the plate.

It was a first-round game for both teams in the 24th Annual Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial Baseball Tournament at Memorial Park.

Ben Sansaver pitched the first five innings and Greg Neils finished up to earn the victory.

"He came in and did his job," Lakers coach Ryan Malmin said of Neils.

"Threw strikes, got them to hit ground balls."

KPC jumped out to a 5-1 lead before the Lakers (24-18 overall) stormed back. Kalispell tallied two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to tie it up at five.

Malmin said the Lakers had trouble capitalizing on scoring opportunities.

"We had things going just about every inning," he said.

"We did not play very well. We had several base running mistakes, and committed more errors than we usually do."

The Lakers will go with Brian Sneck on the mound for today's tournament contest, 11:45 a.m., versus the tournament's defending champions - Chino Reds.

Kalispell is scheduled to play two games on Thursday. The tournament winds up Saturday.

The Lakers competed in the 4th of July Tournament in Spokane last week, posting a 2-3 record.

Kalispell resumes with Western AA play at the Great Falls Stallions on July 15.

Kalispell is 8-6 in league play. The Stallions are 10-4, 30-22 overall.