Kalispell's fast start sinks Glacier
Glacier Twins player Ed Hynes slides into first while Kalispell Lakers first baseman Toby Liechti goes for the tag in the bottom of the third inning during a 2009 season game. Hynes was ruled safe on the play.
The Daily Inter Lake
WHITEFISH - It didn't take long for the Kalispell Lakers to bounce back.
Toby Liechti clubbed a double into left field that scored two of Kalispell's eight runs in the first inning and the Lakers exploded for a 16-3 route of the Glacier Twins in Wednesday's AA American Legion conference matchup at Memorial Field.
The Lakers picked up the road victory in seven innings with the 10-run rule and hiked their record to 3-2 in conference and 14-7 overall. Last weekend, the Lakers dropped both games of a doubleheader against the Missoula Mavericks.
"It was good to see them come out and hit the ball like that," Lakers coach Ryan Malmin said. "I think after the Missoula games they were anxious to get back on the field."
They were anxious all right. There wasn't a bat that didn't get used as the Lakers jumped on Glacier's defense with a number of troublesome hits. Glacier committed three errors in the opening inning and had seven overall.
Pat Hergesheimer started the flood of runs for Kalispell with a line-drive single between third base and shortstop that scored Ben Sansaver from second. After that Liechti stepped up and knocked in two more and the Lakers first eight batters reached base safely.
The worrisome inning continued and a frustrated Glacier Twins coach Bill Sapa pulled starter Kyle Knox and brought in Trevor Miller to stop the bleeding. The Twins survived the first and Miller was able to settle down the Lakers offense until the fourth when a pair of runs came in thanks again to Hergesheimer, 2-for-3, and Liechti, 2-for-5.
"It was a competitive rivalry game, and we just came out ready to go," Kalispell catcher Zach Brosten said.
"The eight runs in the first inning, it got us motivated. I definitely gotta say we're a hitting ball club. You can count on us to get big hits from a lot of guys."
Brosten finished 3-for-3 with three doubles and worked with starter Joe Pistorese, who went five innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight.
Brosten belted a leadoff double in top of the sixth and Pistorese followed with an RBI double, and the Lakers put on the finishing touches with six runs that inning.
Chris King had an RBI double and Wayde Martinson had two of Glacier's seven hits. The Twins dropped to 0-5 in conference.
Kalispell Lakers 800 206 0 - 16 15 1
Glacier Twins 100 002 0 - 3 7 7
Joe Pistorese, Mario Venturini (6) and Zach Brosten. Kyle Knox, Trevor Miller (1), Adam Pisk (4), Wayde Martinson (6) and Devyn Rocker. WP - Pistorese (8 strikeouts, 4 walks); LP - Knox
LAKERS - Dean Stimpson 1-5, Ben Sansaver 2-5, Blaine Matulevich 0-1, Michael O'Connell 3-5, Greg Seaman 0-1, Pat Hergesheimer 2-3, Toby Liechti 2-5, Mat O'Brien 0-5, Zach Brosten 3-3, Joe Pistorese 2-4, Bryant Eickert 0-3.
2B - Brosten (3), Hergesheimer Liechti, Pistorese. RBI - Sansaver (3), Liechti (3), Stimpson (2), Hergesheimer (2), Pistorese (2), O'Brien, Brosten.
TWINS - Willie Roche 1-3, Jeremy Nielsen1-4, Wayde Martinson 2-3, Chris King 1-4, Joe Blakemire 0-3, Kyle Knox 1-3, Devyn Rocker 0-2, Adam Pisk 1-3, Trevor Miller 0-2, Carl Talsma 0-1.
2B - King. RBI - King, Knox.