Detwiler's bat lifts M's to Dist. title

HAMILTON — Matt Detwiler was down-right offensive Sunday afternoon during the American Legion Western A District championship baseball game.

The Mission Valley standout belted three home runs and totaled six RBIs to power the Mariners to an 18-3 victory over the Bitterroot Red Sox.

Detwiler homered in the third inning, a solo shot; in the fifth inning, with one runner aboard; and in the seventh inning, with two runners on.

It was his fourth round-tripper of the tournament.

Mission Valley put the game to rest with a 12-run seventh inning. Sixteen Mariner batters went to the plate in that rally and the team banged out nine hits.

Mission Valley had 17 hits in the contest to five for Bitterroot.

Tim Rausch went the distance on the mound for Mission Valley, striking out seven batters.

Mission Valley, 41-16 overall and winners of six straight, now heads to the state tournament in Billings. The Mariners, the top seed from Western A, will play the No. 2 seed from the Southern on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Mission Valley    211    020    (12)    —    18    17    2

Bitterroot Red Sox    000    003    0    —    3    5    5

Tim Rausch and Kalieb Gillingham, Robbie Gauthier (3); Jake Lindquist, Trevor Brown (4), Rodee Anderson (7) and Austin Allen. W — Rausch (5 hits, 7 strikeouts, 4 walks, 1 hit batter). L — Lindquist.

MISSION VALLEY — Gillingham 0-1, Gauthier 1-3, Tyler Linse 3-5, Rausch 2-4, Derrick Rathe 2-4, Justin Evertz 3-5, Matt Detwiler 3-4, Kyle Bagnell 2-4, Justin Evans 1-5, Cory Hardy 0-4.

BITTERROOT — Anderson 1-4, Brown 1-4, Ryan Weigle 0-2, A. Allen 1-2, Jake Capko 1-2, Tyler Tintzman 0-3, Taylor Allen 0-3, Logan Connors 0-1, Drew Zeiler 1-3.

2B—Gauthier, Linse, Rausch, Evertz, Evans; Zeiler; HRs—Detwiler (3); RBIs—Linse (2), Rausch, Evertz (3), Detwiler (6), Bagnell, Evans (2); A. Allen, Capko (2).