Lakers strand seven baserunners in 10-1 loss to Chino Reds

WHITEFISH - The Kalispell Lakers had no problem scoring for most of the four-day Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial Tournament.

They racked up 34 runs in their first three games.

But runs were harder to come by Saturday afternoon as the Lakers lost 10-1 to the Chino Reds at Memorial Field to finish the tournament 2-2.

Kalispell left seven runners on base during the game following a one-run loss to the Apple Valley Packers Friday in which it left 16 runners stranded.

"It's really tough to win when you're not getting the timely hits," Lakers' coach Ryan Malmin said after the loss to Chino.

The Reds went undefeated through the round-robin portion of the tournament and played the Spokane Cannons in the championship Saturday night. No results were available from that game.

Chino's pitching staff perplexed the Kalispell lineup for much of Saturday's game, which was a continuation of a contest that was postponed due to rain Wednesday night.

The Lakers were already in a 4-0 hole when the first pitch went out Saturday afternoon.

Chino wasted no time adding to the lead as Louis Freudenburg took the mound for Kalispell.

The Reds scored three runs after a leadoff single by Jonny Reynoso, two walked batters and two RBI singles by Joseph Ryan and Anthony Virgen to go ahead 7-0.

The Lakers loaded the bases in their half of the third inning but were unable to capitalize. The team scored its sole run in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of Matt McLean that allowed Sean O'Connell to cross home.

Chino tacked on another run in the fourth and two in the fifth to earn the 10-1 win.

Kalispell had just five hits, two of them by first baseman Scoob Decker, who went 2-for-3. Dillon Eaves and Sean O'Connell were each 1-for-2 while Michael O'Connell went 1-for-3.

Just prior to Kalispell's loss to the Reds, the Lakers defeated the Lethbridge Elks 8-0 in an an early afternoon matchup.

Sidney Schenk earned the win after pitching all five innings of the contest and giving up only four hits while striking out two.

"He was able to mix in his curveball and change-up for a lot of strikes," Malmin said. "He threw well for us."

Offensively, the Lakers were held to just four hits but were able to cash in on what was a bad day for Lethbridge pitchers.

Sean O'Connell had a three-run home run, Decker had a double and Joe Pistorese and Dominic Eickert each added singles.

Malmin said his team seemed to improve in the batter's box during the tournament, despite the two losses.

"I think we were able to pick up things offensively, especially early in the tournament when we got the timely hits," Malmin said.

"That's a positive. And defensively we've been pretty good."

Kalispell advances to the third-place game today, 11 a.m., against Apple Valley.

Kalispell 113 12 8 4 0

Lethbridge 000 00 0 4 0

Sidney Schenk and Kendrick Lee; Drew Herauf and Sean McLean. W - Schenk. L - Herauf.

KALISPELL - Kendrick Lee 0-2, Dominic Eickert 1-2, Michael O'Connell 0-3, Joe Pistorese 1-2, Dillon Eaves 0-2, Sean O'Connell 1-2, Nate Bengston 0-2, Sidney Schenk 0-2, Scoob Decker 1-3

2B - Decker. HR - Sean O'Connell. RBI - Sean O'Connell (3), Pistorese, Lee

LETHBRIDGE - Brock Groves 1-3, Ryan Aiken 0-2, Sean McLean 1-3, Dillon Houghton 0-2, Braeden Heyland 0-1, Chris Stodolka 0-2, Jordan Shirakawa 1-1, Roy Adams 0-2, Cody Lencucha 1-2.

Chino 133 003 10 11 0

Kalispell 000 100 1 4 0

Louis Freudenburg and Cody Dopps; Micah Beyer, Alfonso Arzola (5), Parker Tormey (6) and Christian Kelley. W - Tormey. L - Freudenburg.

KALISPELL - Decker 2-3, Sean O'Connell 1-2, Eaves 1-2, Michael O'Connell 1-3, Lee 0-3, Pistorese 0-2, McLean 0-1, Dopps 0-2, Schenk 0-2.

RBI - McLean