Motley comes through in the clutch for Lakers

WHITEFISH — The first pitch of the game sailed over the left-field wall and it looked like the Lakers were in for another long day at the field.

The last pitch of the game zipped over the first baseman’s head and there the Lakers were, storming the field in celebration.

Drama just seems to follow this Kalispell club.

After Alex Stanley tied the game with an RBI single, Parker Motley stepped up with runners on the corners and one out and the 18-year-old utility player belted an opposite field line drive that won the game in dramatic walk-off fashion.

“I didn’t even realize it at first,” Motley said of the game-winning hit. “I just wanted to get on base.”

The Lakers, once down 6-0 in the top of the fourth, scored seven runs in the final four innings to stun Lethbridge 7-6 and snap a two-game losing streak at the 26th annual Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial Tournament on a blistering Friday afternoon.

“It was good for the kids to rebound, especially when they start off the game with a first-pitch bomb and we’re down, what, 6-0,” Lakers head coach Ryan Malmin said.

In his last summer playing legion baseball, Motley got a chance at being the hero and fit the role perfectly.

Motley struck out in his first at-bat after coming off the bench in the sixth inning, but that wasn’t in his head in the final inning.

“I just tried to flush that one and just let it go and it paid off,” he said. “I was just trying to stay calm in the box and just try to drive it (opposite field) to at least score one.”

“He just handles his role well and he believes in himself and never gets discouraged,” Malmin said of Motley. “When his name’s called he comes up and does a great job for us. It was fun for us to see him get that game-winning hit. He deserves that.”

But it wasn’t always looking like Kalispell’s day of destiny.

On the very first pitch, Lethbridge’s Tyson Hudson knocked it over the wall. By the fourth inning, five more runs had stacked up and Kalispell’s Western AA conference foe looked primed for a confidence crusher heading into the final weeks of the season.

But the spark came in the fourth inning when Dillon Matteson hit a solo homer that put the Lakers on the scoreboard. Three batters later, Shane Johnson knocked in Mario Venturini with a sacrifice fly and Lethbridge’s lead was cut to 6-2.

“It’s fun to see the kids come back and battle and persevere and finish like we’ve talked about,” Malmin said. “You chip away and chip away and give yourself an opportunity to win at the end and we did that. It’s good to see some kids come out and get some playing time and make some key plays for us.”

In the sixth, Greg Seaman hit a 2-run homer and Joe Pistorese came through with a hard-hit ball to first base that scored Matteson. Suddenly it was a 6-5 game.

“It was a quality game and a gutty performance, Kalispell coming back late there,” Lethbridge head coach Scott Oikawa said. “That was a nice job rallying. In this heat and this late in the tournament, I think they definitely showed some character there.”

Lethbridge    202    200    0    —    6    13    1

Kalispell    000    203    2    —    7    10    2

Cole Stober, Ryan Aiken (3), Blair Balog (7) and Cody LerLucha. Mat O’Brien, Greg Seaman (5) and Cody Dopps. W — Seaman; L — Balog.

LETHBRIDGE — Tyson Hudson 1-5, Kym Barthel 3-4, Balog 2-3, Dillon Houghton 1-5, Cody LerLucha 2-3, Ryan Aiken 0-2, Jamin Heller 0-3, Chris Stodolka 1-3, Matt Wiber 3-4.

HR — Hudson, Barthel; RBI — Hudson, Barthel, LerLucha (2).

KALISPELL — Dean Stimpson 1-4, Marshall Boyland 0-2, Joe Pistorese 1-4, Cody Dopps 0-3, Dominic Eickert 1-4, Dillon Matteson 1-2, Greg Seaman 2-3, Mario Venturini 0-0, Alex Stanley 2-2, Shane Johnson 1-2, Parker Motley 1-2.

2B — Eickert; HR — Seaman, Matteson; RBI — Seaman (2), Motley, Stanley, Matteson, Pistorese, Johnson.