Legion baseball: Lakers AA blast Mission Valley 10-0

After a scoreless ballgame through four and-a-half innings, the Kalispell Lakers AA put it all together.

The Lakers tallied 12 hits in what was scheduled to be a nine-inning contest while pitchers Brandon Maassen and Logan Decock combined for a three-hit shutout in Kalispell’s 10-0 mercy-rule victory over the Mission Valley Mariners at Griffin Field on Wednesday.

It was all Maassen early in the contest.

The righty threw five scoreless innings, striking out nine Mariners along the way.

Maassen escaped an early first-inning jam with runners on second and third, getting Mission Valley’s Jacob Harrod to ground into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

He wouldn’t allow another runner past second.

“You just got to work through it. I know that I have a good defense behind me, and if I can put the ball in the strike zone we’re going to get out of it,” Maassen said of the jam.

“I think I threw well. I’ve got to give all my credit to my defense though. They’ve been playing really well. It makes the job a lot easier on me.

“My curveball was working for me today. I couldn’t locate my fastball early in the game, but when one starts to struggle you just got to go to your second pitch and hopefully it works.”

Decock came in for relief for Maassen in the sixth and didn’t allow a hit.

Meanwhile, the Lakers’ bats got hot.

Kalispell scored in each of the final four innings, including a combined seven runs in the sixth and seventh.

“We do that a lot. If we come out slow, we know we’ll have each others backs. We’re just trying to get the next guy up, get everyone to the plate and score those runs,” Kalispell third baseman Pat O’Connell said.

O’Connell was 3 for 4 for the Lakers, going the other way with a 1-2 pitch for a stand-up triple to the right-center field gap in the bottom of the sixth, driving in his second run of the game.

“I was guessing fastball. It was a nice outside pitch. I kept my hands inside and drove it the other way,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell also had an opposite field hit in the fourth inning, executing a hit-and-run which allowed shortstop Walker Malmin to reach third on the single.

Malmin crossed the plate on a wild pitch in the next at-bat to score the first run of the game.

The Lakers continued their small-ball strategy in the fifth. With two strikes, Jayson Combs laid down a bunt as Levi Brenneman charged home. The suicide squeeze scored Brenneman and Quinn Barber when the Mariners throw to first base sailed into right field.

“Initially we just wanted to get a run across and break the egg. That’s something we want to be consistent with in our short game,” Lakers AA manager Ryan Malmin said. “I thought we weren’t as good with it as we have been in the past in terms of getting bunts down the line — there were a couple that were right back to the pitcher. But it puts pressure on the defense. That’s what it’s all about.

“The kids are having a great time playing together. There’s a lot of chemistry with the kids. They come to practice and work hard everyday. They’re focusing on the little things and that’s made a huge difference. They take great pride in focusing on the little things and that makes us better. They want to compete. They want to win.”

The Lakers open up conference play on Monday when they travel to Missoula to take on the defending state champion Missoula Mavericks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Mission Valley 000 000 0xx — 0 3 5

Kalispell AA 000 123 4xx — 10 12 1

Micah McClure, Justin Young (6) and Jonah Burke. Brandon Maassen, Logan Decock (6) and Andrew Schleusner, Walker Malmin (7). W — Maassen. L — McClure.

MISSION VALLEY — Krebs 0-3, Peel 0-3, Burke 2-3, McClure 1-3, Harrod 0-2, Russ Matt 0-3, Gillingham 0-3, McDonald 0-2, Young 0-3.

KALISPELL — Tiler Whitaker 2-4, Walker Malmin 1-2, Schleusner 2-4, Patrick O’Connell 3-4, Leif Ericksen 0-3, Andy Bemis 0-2, Levi Brenneman 2-3, Quinn Barber 1-2, Jayson Combs 1-3.

2B — Whitaker. 3B — O’Connell. RBIs — O’Connell 2, Bemis, Schluesner.