Outlaws drop opener to Lumberjacks
WHITEFISH — The inaugural season of the Mount Rainer Professional Baseball League got off to a hot start — literally.
Scheduled for 6:05 p.m., first pitch of the Glacier Outlaws season opener was delayed an hour when the Skagit Valley Lumberjacks team bus engine overheated on its way to Whitefish.
Still, pristine conditions shined upon Memorial Park, but the delay had little effect on the Lumberjack offense which produced 14 runs on 15 hits to top the Outlaws 14-1 on opening night.
Skagit Valley wasted little time scoring in the season opener. After pushing a run across in the top of the first inning, the Lumberjacks used a pair of doubles to score five runs in the top of the second.
Skagit Valley catcher Cody Coffman doubled to the left-center field gap scoring left fielder Eric Underwood from first base. Two batters later, center fielder Ryan Sells ripped a double down the third-base line, just out of the reach of Outlaws’ third baseman Nick Carillo, to clear the bases and give Skagit Valley an early 4-0 lead.
It was all Lumberjacks the rest of the way as Skagit Valley scored 10 more runs over the next seven innings to take Game 1 of the four-game series.
“First day jitters. It’s OK. We’ll be all right. We just have to relax and let the game come to us and slow the game down. I’m not pushing the panic button,” Glacier manager Mike Goss said.
“I’m excited with the guys I have. We’re going to be all right. We’re going to hit the ball. We’re going to pitch the ball. There are no worries.”
The Outlaws avoided the shutout in the bottom of the sixth.
A couple of Lumberjack errors put Glacier right fielder Joe Hicks at third and designated-hitter Cody Dolan at first with no outs. Carillo then smashed a deep fly ball to the warning track in center field, allowing Hicks to easily trot home for the first run in Outlaws franchise history.
“It’s a long season, and that game is over with. In professional ball you play every day. We’ll put this game in the past and come out tomorrow with a fresh start,’ Goss said.
Game 2 is today at 6:05 p.m.
Skagit Valley 152 021 120 — 14 15 2
Glacier 000 001 000 — 1 7 4
SKAGIT VALLEY – Ryan Sells 2-4, Will Soto 2-4, Scott Underwood 2-4, Goose Kallunki 1-5, Adam Kam 0-6, Marshall McDonald 1-5, Eric Underwood 2-5, Cody Coffman 3-5, Morgan Blatnik 2-5.
GLACIER – Eros Modena 1-5, Brian Brademan1-4, Joe Hicks 1-3, Cody Dolan 1-4, Connor Lewis 1-4, Nick Carillo 0-3, Charles Tillery 0-1, Matt Caldon 1-3, Eric Herman 1-4.
2B – Coffman, Sells 2; Herman. HR – McDonald. RBIs – Kallunki 2, Sells 3, McDonald, S. Underwood, Blatnik; Carillo.