Twins outlast Lobos - twice
WHITEFISH - The Glacier Twins played deep into the night Tuesday at the 24th Annual Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial Baseball Tournament at Memorial Park, and they made sure it was a night to remember.
The Twins scored 10 runs in the first inning and six more in the sixth for a 16-10 victory over the Black Hills Lobos in the nightcap of the tournament's opening day.
The Lobos of Olympia, Wash., scored five runs in the first inning before chipping away to tie the game at 10-all in the fifth. Relief pitcher Brad Nielsen tripled to lead off the Twins' half of the fifth frame, and Scott Yogodzinski highlighted the inning with an RBI triple of his own.
The game was called in the middle of the sixth inning due to the tournament's time limit. The final out came at 11:03 - after the teams combined for 21 hits and 11 errors.
The Lobos committed two errors in Glacier's monster first inning, which included a three-run home run by Yogodzinski, and three more in the pivotal fifth frame. The long fly was Yogodzinski's second hit of the inning and part of a 3-for-4, four-RBI night.
Scott Palmer got in on the early damage, scoring two runs in the first inning while smacking two hits, including a two-run triple.
Black Hills southpaw Jeremy Streck took over in the second and blanked the Twins for three innings before they mounted their final outburst.
"We hit the first guy really well, and when they brought in that lefty we went pretty flat," Twins coach Ryan Hadfield said.
"I don't really put a lot of stock in that we weren't playing hard the whole game or that our mental approach changed, I just think we saw a different look from the lefty and it didn't work for us."
Kyle Knox tossed the first three innings for Glacier before giving way to Nielsen. Palmer hurled a tidy sixth inning to ice the victory.
The Lobos managed just two extra-base hits (doubles by Andrew Nichols and Marshall Green), but the Twins committed six errors, including two in both the third and fifth innings.
"We cannot afford to make these kind of errors," Hadfield said.
"They seem to come in bunches with us; we make one and then we make two more. We're probably not going to win a lot of games making six errors."
Zane Ridings and Adam Pisk had two hits apiece to help Glacier atone for its miscues.
Glacier secured a much more comfortable triumph Tuesday afternoon, scoring 10 runs in the first inning and cruising to a 12-3 win over Black Hills.
The Twins resume tournament action tonight at 8 against the Spurs of Vauxhall, Alberta.
Black Hills 502 210 - 10 10 5
Glacier (10)00 06x - 16 11 6
Beau Upton, Jeremy Streck (2), Scott Warner (5) and David Schoonmaker. Kyle Knox, Brad Nielsen (4), Scott Palmer (6) and Bridger Beach. W - Nielsen. L - Streck.
BLACK HILLS - Josh Maurice 2-4, Warner 1-4, Alec Fransen 0-2, Andrew Nichols 2-4, Marshall Green 2-4, Bradley Beattle 1-3, Brian Lounsbury 1-3, Upton 0-1, Streck 0-2, Cameron Loncar 0-1, Schoonmaker 1-3.
GLACIER - Palmer 2-4, Zane Ridings 2-2, Scott Yogodzinski 3-4, Beach 0-3, Dustin VonFeldt 1-4, Ryan Caron 0-2, Adam Pisk 2-3, Kyle Yogodzinski 0-2, Cody Elek 0-2, Nielsen 1-2.
RBIs - Green 4, Nichols, Beattle, Lounsbury; S. Yogodzinski 4, Palmer 3, VonFeldt 2, Ridings. HR - S. Yogodzinski. 3B - Palmer, S. Yogodzinski, Nielsen. 2B - Nichols, Green; VonFeldt. SB - Nichols; S. Yogodzinski 2, Caron 2, Palmer, Beach, VonFeldt, Pisk. SAC - Lounsbury.
24th Annual Sapa-Johnsrud
Memorial Baseball Tournament
At Memorial Park, Whitefish
Tuesday's Scores
Kalispell Lakers 6, KPC Blazers 5
Glacier Twins 12, Black Hills Lobos 3
Chino Reds 11, Pullman Patriots 1
Vauxhall Spurs 13, Calgary Blues 11
Glacier Twins 16, Black Hills Lobos 10
Today's Games
9 a.m. - Vauxhall Spurs vs. Calgary Blues
11:45 a.m. - Kalispell Lakers vs. Chino Reds
2:30 p.m. - KPC Blazers vs. Pullman Patriots
5:15 p.m. - Lethbridge Spitz Elks vs. Pullman Patriots
8 p.m. - Glacier Twins vs. Vauxhall Spurs