Milestone night for Malmin
Dominic Eickert of the Kalispell Lakers slams a single to the outfield.
Kalispell Lakers’ Mike O’Connell slides home safely as Zach Watson of Libby goes for the tag in the fourth inning of Wednesday evening’s American Legion baseball game in Kalispell. O’Connell scored the final run in a five-run inning.
Kalispell Lakers head coach Ryan Malmin will likely remember Wednesday night for the rest of his life.
And not just because of the surprise bucket of cold water he had dumped on him.
The AA skipper earned his 400th win as the streaking Lakers turned in one of their best offensive showings of the season and defeated Libby 11-3 in a nonconference American Legion baseball game on a clear evening at Griffin Field.
After 13 years on the job, the past five for the Lakers, Malmin was rewarded with an ice-cold surprise when his players snuck up after the game and doused him with a celebratory bath.
"It's always been fun to come out and work with the kids and develop the program," said Malmin, who grew up in Whitefish. "It's great to watch these kids develop. We preach hard work equals success and these kids buy into that. Watching them progress over the course of a season, it's kind of what keeps you coming back.
"I've had great family support," he added. "There's a lot of time away from the family, but I've had great support."
The support came early and often on the baseball diamond.
The Lakers scored two runs off five straight singles in the first inning, but they saved their best for the fourth. Kalispell loaded the bases with no outs and went on to score five runs off a few Libby miscues. Michael O'Connell ripped an RBI double in the fourth and finished with three hits and two RBIs.
Dominic Eickert went 4 for 4 with a double and two RBI and Joe Pistorese added three RBI singles for the Lakers (7-2), who have won four straight.
Greg Seaman struck out five and allowed only two hits in five innings.
"I'm real happy to see Seaman's performance on the hill," Malmin said. "Dominic Eickert had a phenomenal game at the plate. There's things to work on but we can just keep trying to progress."
The Loggers (5-5) threatened in the late innings, but had problems reaching home plate. In the sixth inning with runners on and one out, hard-hitting Alex Cislo, who had a double in the game, knocked a deep shot to center field that looked destined to score a run. Pistorese, known for his arm from the pitching mound, made the catch and zipped a strike from center field to home where catcher Cody Dopps tagged out a sliding Logger.
"We kept ourselves in it but then we went bases loaded no outs in two straight innings and got one run an inning, that was kind of the story of the game there," Libby coach Kelly Morford said.
Chris Herbig and Eric Grotjohn each had doubles and Dustin Morningstar had a sacrifice fly for Libby, who hosts the Glacier Twins AA today at 6 p.m.
Kalispell heads to Bozeman this weekend for a two-day tournament.
Libby 001 001 100 - 3 5 2
Kalispell 201 500 03x - 11 16 4
Greg Seaman, Shane Johnson (6), Michael O'Connell (9) and Cody Dopps. Chris Herbig, Zack Watson (4), Justin Wicka (4), Joe Coker (8) and Micah Germany. W- Seaman (4 strikeouts, two walks); L - Herbig (five strikeouts, zero walks).
LIBBY - Dustin Morningstar 0-3, Adam Stapley 0-5, Herbig 2-5, Coker 0-0, Trevor Cannon 0-1, Germany 0-4, Alex Cislo 1-5, Zack Watson 0-1, Wicka 0-3, Eric Grotjohn 2-3, Eric Riddle 0-3.
2B - Grotjohn, Cislo, Herbig; RBI - Morningstar
KALISPELL - Dillon Matteson 0-3, Dominic Eickert 4-4, O'Connell 3-5, Joe Pistorese 3-5, Greg Seaman 1-3, Johnson 0-2, Mat O'Brien 1-3, Alex Stanley 1-1, Dopps 1-3, Marshall Boyland 1-4, Parker Motley 1-3.
2B - O'Connell, Eickert; 3B - Dopps; RBI - Pistorese (3), O'Connell (2), Eickert (2), Seaman, Matteson