Lakers' Pistorese no-hits Cardinals
With two runners on and two outs in the final inning, Kalispell's Greg Seaman called for time and trotted out to the pitcher's mound where a frustrated Joe Pistorese stood.
Just relax, the catcher told the 16-year-old hurler before returning behind the plate.
One, two, three strikes you're out, and Pistorese had himself the first no-hitter in his young American Legion baseball career.
It only took five innings on Friday thanks to another golden performance by the AA southpaw and a parade of hits by the Lakers' bats that led to a 10-0 victory over the Edmonton Cardinals to close out the first day of the annual Canadian Days Tournament at Griffin Field.
"(Seaman) just told me to calm down, he's always there for me and he's a great help," Pistorese said afterward. "I wish I could have eliminated some of the walks, but I did the best I could. It feels great."
Pistorese fanned four of the first nine batters he saw en route to seven total strikeouts and five walks. This came less than a week after tossing a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts against Helena.
The Lakers put together a monster third inning that totaled seven earned runs and ruined Edmonton starter Andrew Mirasly's pitching duel with Pistorese. Mirasly had four strikeouts in two-and-a-third innings before the Lakers piled on.
Dean Stimpson earned one of his two RBIs the hard way after taking a fastball in the shoulder. After that, Ben Sansaver knocked in Stimpson with an RBI single up the middle.
Matt O'Brian, 2-for-3, had the lone extra base hit of the game after roping a double to left-center field. After stealing third base, O'Brian scored on a fielder's choice by Stimpson.
The victory makes it three out of four for the Lakers (8-3).
Tournament play continues today with a host of games at Griffin Field and Archie Roe including the Lakers playing the Sherwood Park A's at 2 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. matchup against the Mission Valley Mariners, who dropped one against the Glacier Twins on Friday.
The Kalispell Lakers A lost to Fort MacLeod, Alberta, 14-4 in tournament play.
Edmonton 000 00 - 0 0 4
Kalispell 217 00 - 10 4 0
Andrew Mirasly, Matty McGee (3) and Nick Smiley. Joe Pistorese and Greg Seaman. WP - Pistorese. LP - Mirasly.
EDMONTON - Tommy Muhlenthaler 0-2, Jacob Spinks 0-2, Cam Lefier 0-2, Jesse Werkman 0-0, Michael Williams 0-2, Kevin Czarnecki 0-1, Nick Smiley 0-2, Karsen Kalvaitis 0-2.
KALISPELL - Ben Sansaver 1-2, Michael O'Connell 0-2, Pat Hergesheimer 0-1, Toby Liechti 0-2, Zach Brosten 1-2, Matt O'Brian 2-3, Bryce Stacy 0-0, Greg Seaman 0-1, Dean Stimpson 0-1.
2B - O'Brian. RBI - Stimpson (2), Sansaver, O'Connell, Hergesheimer, Brosten, O'Brian.