In the zone: Pistorese strikes out career-high 19 in Lakers' 6-4 win
Kalipsell Lakers pitcher Joe Pistorese, 15, starts off the bottom of the third inning with a tripple in the game against the Helena Senators. Pistorese made it home on the next play bringing the score to 4-1 for Kalispell.
Kalipsell Lakers Mike Bare, 11, makes it safely back to first as Helena Senators firstbaseman Jake Harris, 17, tries to tag him out at the bag during their game on Saturday.
Kalispell Lakers pitcher Joe Pistorese at bat against the Helena Senators on Saturday.
The big bag of ice wrapped around Joe Pistorese's left arm was melting fast as he stepped out of the shade of the home dugout.
That arm had quite a day.
Kalispell's southpaw ace struck out a career-high 19 batters, allowed no walks through seven innings, and added the deciding home run in a 6-4 victory over the Helena Senators in the first game of a AA American Legion baseball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Griffin Field.
Pistorese, an 18-year-old all-state pitcher with a perfect game and a 17-strikeout performance already on his resume, fanned 10 of the last 11 batters and allowed only four hits and two earned runs. The Senators managed two of their five homers on the day against Pistorese, but besides those two pitches, Pistorese was near flawless.
"He throws hard, he throws strikes and he changes speeds. That's deadly. You put that all in the whole package and that's pretty tough to beat," Helena head coach Dave Thennis said.
Pistorese also helped himself out offensively, hitting a triple and later breaking a 4-4 tie in the fifth inning with a two-run homer.
"Joe did a tremendous job. He basically put us on his back, not only on the mound but offensively as well," Lakers skipper Ryan Malmin said.
"The fastball was working and then my curveball kind of came around, so that helps a lot," Pistorese said. "And I was able to just spot up a lot. It's hard when you give up some big bombs, but they were hitting the ball well today and they deserved those two. But my teammates helped me out. They're always there to pick me back up."
Riding a wave of momentum, the Lakers (6-3) overpowered the hard-hitting Senators (4-6) in the second game, capitalizing on seven Helena errors for a 12-8 victory.
Kalispell pitcher Alex Stanley survived a rough start and held on for his second win of the season. A few familiar names showed up nicely for the Lakers, but there was also solid contributions from a few young players.
Sean O'Connell, in his first AA season, gave the Lakers the 9-7 lead with a 2-run homer in the third inning. Kendrick Lee had three hits on the day. Dillon Matteson had two RBI in the second game.
In a back and forth high scoring affair, Michael O'Connell went 2-for-2 with a double and picked up a much-earned save after relieving Stanley with two on and no outs in the top of the sixth. Second baseman Nate Bengston caught a sharp line drive and threw to first for the double play and O'Connell followed with a strikeout that seemingly took the wind out of the Senators' sails from there.
"The bottom line is they came back and tied it 7-7 and we stuck with it and battled and persevered," Malmin said. "To not have any errors and have 11 hits on the board, that's good to see."
Malmin credited the poise of Stanley and later O'Connell in a pressure situation on the mound as a key to Saturday's success.
Pistorese's early performance didn't hurt either.
"The best improvement that he's had is his presence on the mound. Those home runs didn't affect him," Malmin said. "He's getting to that point where he's got that presence about him. That just makes him even more tough to beat."
The Lakers host Belgrade today in a doubleheader starting at noon.
Kalispell 6, Helena 4
Helena 010 300 0 - 4 4 2
Kalispell 211 020 x - 6 9 1
Tony Roberts and Matt Burgess. Joe Pistorese and Kendrick Lee. W - Pistorese (2-0, 19 strikeouts, 0 walks); L - Roberts.
SENATORS - Jarin Gassett 0-3, Brad Rook 0-3, Colter Sternhagen 1-3, Jake Harris 1-3, Brendan McGuire 1-3, Ray Schnur 0-3, Zach Fisher 0-3, Matt Burgess 0-2, Joe Coker 1-3.
HR - Harris, Coker; RBI - Coker 2, Harris, Sternhagen.
LAKERS - Dillon Matteson 2-4, Kendrick Lee 2-3, Michael O'Connell 0-3, Joe Pistorese 2-3, Cody Dopps 0-3, Alex Stanley 0-2, Matt McLean 0-3, Mike Bare 1-2, Nate Bengston 0-3.
HR - Pistorese; RBI - Pistorese 2, Dopps 2, Lee.
Kalispell 12, Helena 8
Helena 016 010 0 - 8 10 7
Kalispell 163 011 x - 12 11 0
Cole Andriolo, Jarin Gassett (4) and Ryan Estep. Alex Stanley, Michael O'Connell (5) and Cody Dopps. W - Stanley (2-0); L - Andriolo; S - O'Connell.
SENATORS - Jarin Gassett 2-3, Chuck Churchill 1-3, Brad Rook 0-4, Jake Harris 1-4, Joe Coker 2-4, Brendan McGuire 0-3, Ray Schnur 2-3, Tony Roberts 0-1, Colter Sternhagen 0-1, Ryan Estep 2-3.
2B - Churchill; HR - Schnur 2, Coker; RBI - Schnur 3, Coker 2, Harris 2, McGuire.
LAKERS - Dillon Matteson 1-3, Kendrick Lee 1-2, Michael O'Connell 2-2, Joe Pistorese 1-4, Cody Dopps 0-4, Sid Schenck 1-2, Sean O'Connell 2-4, Dominic Eickert 2-4, Nate Bengston 1-3.
2B - M. O'Connell, Pistorese; HR - S. O'Connell; RBI - S. O'Connell 2, Matteson 2, Pistorese, Eickert.