Lakers AA split pair in Bozeman
BOZEMAN — The Kalispell Lakers AA American Legion Baseball stole a win from the Bozeman Bucks (9-7) on Tuesday night before dropping Game 2 in a split of a road doubleheader.
Kalispell (4-18) took Game 1 in dramatic fashion.
After being shut out through six innings of play, the Lakers flipped the script of the 2-0 deficit by capitalizing on mistakes and pushing three runs across the plate during their final at-bat in the top of the seventh.
The Lakers reached the first two batters of the inning on base on a dropped third strike and a walk. After scoring a run, Kalispell tied the game on a squeeze play and went ahead on a wild pitch.
Walker Malmin and Colton Wiley earned RBIs for Kalispell who totaled just three hits in the opening contest.
Kalispell starting pitcher Brandon Maassen held the Bucks to an identical score line, allowing just three hits in his complete game performance for a 3-2 victory.
Bozeman scored in the third and fourth innings, but couldn’t figure out Maassen when they needed it most as he shut down the Bucks in the bottom of the seventh.
Malmin, Sam Crompton and Jake Barstow all went 1 for 3 in the first contest.
Kalispell proved it didn’t need many hits to win a baseball game, but couldn’t match in the night cap, plating just two runs on as many hits to finish with a split.
The Bucks jumped out to a 4-0 lead heading into the sixth inning before the Lakers would manage their two runs in the top half of the inning. Levi Brenneman and Andy Bemis had Kalispell’s hits and RBIs in Game 2, but Bozeman would score two more in the bottom of the sixth before riding relief pitcher Connor Tweet’s arm for the win.
The Lakers will play their final regular-season game on Saturday when the travel to Great Falls for a 1 p.m. start against the Chargers.
Game 1
Kalispell 3, Bozeman 2
Kalispell 000 000 3 — 3 3 1
Bozeman 001 100 0 — 2 3 0
Brandon Maassen and Adam Frandsen. Jake Ekstrom, Nate Lamberty (7) and Chad Mackay. W – Maassen. L – Lamberty.
KALISPEL – Charlie Obermiller 0-3, Levi Brenneman 0-3, Adam Frandsen 0-2, Andy Bemis 0-2, Walker Malmin 1-3, Colton Wiley 0-2, Sam Crompton 1-3, Jake Barstow 1-3, Justin Wallace 0-1
BOZEMAN– Joel Thayer 1-4, Bennett Hostetler 0-2, Conner Linebarger 0-2, Chad Mackay 1-4, Jenner Kearns 0-2, Tucker Gill 0-3, Nate Lamberty 0-1, Michael Gunther 1-2, Nick Winn 0-3
SB – Gill, Lamberty, Linebarger. RBI – Malmin, Wiley; Gunther, Mackay.
Game 2
Bozeman 6, Kalispell 2
Kalispell 000 002 0 — 2 2 2
Bozeman 020 112 x — 6 8 0
Crompton, Wiley (6) and Frandsen. Gill, Connor Tweet (6) and Mackay. W – Gill. L – Crompton. S – Tweet.
KALISPELL – Maassen 0-4, Obermiller 0-2, Brenneman 1-3, Frandsen 0-3, Bemis 1-3, Malmin 0-2, Justin Rich 0-3, Wiley 0-2, Barstow 0-2
BOZEMAN – Kearns 0-1, Hostetler 1-3, Linebarger 3-3, Mackay 0-3, Ekstrom 1-4, Lamberty 1-3, Brown 1-1, Gunther 0-2, Winn 1-3
2B – Linebarger (2). SB – Barstow; Hostetler, Linebarger. RBI – Bemis, Brenneman, Bemis; Linebarger (3), Hostetler, Winn.