BASEBALL: Sapa-Johnsrud tournament begins Thursday in Whitefish

WHITEFISH — The Glacier Twins have a second chance to defend a tourney title on their home diamond, beginning Thursday when the 32nd annual Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial tournament begins at Memorial Park.

Glacier won the 2015 Sapa-Johnsrud title with an undefeated run through the field. Last month, playing as defending champions, the Twins A lost in the semifinals of the Ed Gallo Memorial Wood Bat tournament.

The Sapa-Johnsrud field features the Twins, Spokane Cannons, Spokane Expos, Butte Miners and Lethbridge (Alberta) Elks. The Twins beat the Cannons 9-1 in last year’s championship game.

Glacier (28-14-1) is led by a trio of starting pitchers with an ERA under 3.00 in Tyler Murphy (2.08), Jonny Sapa (2.52) and Ryan Veneman (2.78). Murphy has allowed only 34 hits and struck out 68 in 58 innings this season.

Offensively, James Sampson-Keck leads the way with a .413 batting average, and Vinny Smith (.391 average), Colten Parker (.389) and A.J. Wetsch (.383) combine to give the Twins a dangerous, well-rounded lineup.

Tournament play begins today at 3 p.m., with the Twins in action in the final game of the day against the Miners at 8 p.m. Each team will play four games before Sunday, when the top four teams will meet in the tournament semifinals and championship game.