Lakers AA return home, earn split

The Kalispell Lakers AA have spent a lot of time on the bus.

Four days in Yakima, Washington, a single game in Helena, a conference series in Lethbridge, Alberta and a tournament at Washington State University, a quartet of road trips covering roughly 2,250 round-trip miles, and that’s just in the last 20 days.

So what they really needed, more than anything else on Tuesday, was to start fast in their doubleheader with the Medicine Hat (Alberta) Moose Monarchs in their first home games in exactly one month.

And they got that.

It’s just that they just didn’t get much else.

The Lakers AA (31-15, 5-5 Western AA) scored seven times in the second inning of game one but went scoreless in their final 10 times at bat, splitting the two games — a 9-3 win and a 4-0 loss — at Griffin Field.

“I think we’re probably fatigued a little bit,” Lakers coach Ryan Malmin said.

“It’s been a demanding three weeks but that’s part of the mentality for baseball. You’ve got to come back and not be satisfied, not be content, and you’ve got to compete for another 21 outs.”

After circling the bases nine times on as many hits in just the first three innings in game one, the rest of the evening was a struggle at the plate. Kalispell’s six hits from that point on were all singles, including only three in the second game.

“(I’m) a little bit tired but mentally you’ve just got to stay tough,” Lakers outfielder Micah Benson said. “Got to keep focused, keep putting the ball in play and keep getting runs.”

Benson did his part, going 4 for 6 on the day, including two-thirds of his team’s hits in the nightcap. He was in the middle of Kalispell’s seven-run second inning rally in game one, dropping down a perfect bunt with two runners on and beating the throw for a single. He later stole second base and scored in that inning before doubling in a run and adding another steal one inning later.

Even with his team struggling, Benson nearly single-handedly sparked the offense in game two, singling and stealing two bases in the second inning before being stranded on third, then singling, stealing second and again being left 90 feet away in the fifth inning.

“He’s a special player,” Malmin said of Benson, who stole five bases Tuesday. “He’s one of those kids that flat out goes 100 percent no matter how well he’s doing or how much he struggles. He’s a special talent.”

“I thought if I got myself into good counts I could hit the ball pretty well and, so, that’s kind of what I did,” Benson said. “I was really focusing on hitting good pitches and being able to drive the ball and get on base.”

While Benson worked the strike zone, Malmin was disappointed with the way the rest of his team approached its at bats in the second game in particular.

“I thought our kids attacked and had a better approach at the dish (in game one) than in the second game,” he said. “The second game, our approach and our pitch selection was not good at all and there’s a reason why we had (three) hits.”

Tiler Whiteaker had the third Lakers hit in game two after a pair of hits in the opener. Andrew Schleusner also had two hits in game one and Patrick O’Connell stroked a two-run triple in the seven-run second.

Leif Ericksen started the first game and earned the win on the mound, going six innings and allowing four hits and one earned run. Ericksen struck out three.

Jaret Loran went the distance for Medicine Hat in game two, striking out five against two walks. Intek Hong went 3 for 3 with two RBIs at the plate.

The Lakers will go back on the road next for a doubleheader in Billings against the Royals on Monday at noon. Their final nine regular season games, however, will all be back home at Griffin Field.

Med. Hat 001 100 1 — 3 6 3

Kalispell 072 000 x — 9 12 3

Jorden Rayner, Alex Andres (2) and Intek Hong. Leif Ericksen, Jonas Nyman (7) and Tiler Whiteaker. W — Ericksen. L — Rayner.

MEDICINE HAT — Ryan Fauth 2-4, Johnny Stark 1-3, Brendan Kuhn 1-4, Nathan Schlachter 1-4, Drake Thompson 0-3, Hong 0-2, Nathan Stark 0-2, Jack Suhai 0-1, Riley McDonnell 0-0, Jaret Loran 1-2, Ethan Ropcean 0-1, Cam Geiger 0-2, Matt Rath 0-0.

KALISPELL — Whiteaker 2-4, Andrew Schleusner 2-3, Patrick O’Connell 1-4, Ericksen 1-4, Joe Broughton 1-4, Haydn Schlepp 1-3, Spencer Pisk 1-3, Micah Benson 2-3, Jayson Combs 1-3.

2B — Benson, Whiteaker. 3B — O’Connell. RBIs — Hong; O’Connell 2, Whiteaker, Schleusner, Ericksen, Benson, Combs.

Med. Hat 010 030 0 — 4 8 1

Kalispell 000 000 0 — 0 3 0

Jaret Loran and Intek Hong. Logan DeCock, Andrew Schleusner (5) and Tiler Whiteaker. W — Loran. L — DeCock.

MEDICINE HAT — Ryan Fauth 2-4, Johnny Stark 0-3, Brendan Kuhn 0-3, Nathan Schlachter 0-3, Ethan Ropcean 1-2, Hong 3-3, Nathan Stark 1-2, Jack Suhai 1-2, Matt Rath 0-2.

KALISPELL — Whiteaker 1-3, Schleusner 0-3, Patrick O’Connell 0-3, Leif Ericksen 1-3, Joe Broughton 0-3, Haydn Schlepp 0-2, Spencer Pisk 0-2, DeCock 0-1, Micah Benson 2-3, Jayson Combs 0-2, Dawson Smith 0-1.

2B — Fauth. RBIs — Fauth 2, Hong 2.