BASEBALL: Glacier Twins' Jonny Sapa no-hits Mariners

WHITEFISH — Jonny Sapa was forced to wait more than a month to make his first start of the season after spraining his ankle in a spring practice.

Wednesday night that day came and the 18-year-old right-hander made it count.

Sapa retired 16 of the last 17 batters he faced to compete a six-strikeout, zero-walk no-hitter Wednesday night in the Glacier Twins’ 2-1 win against the Mission Valley Mariners at Memorial Park.

The Twins finished the sweep with an 11-3 win in the nightcap.

“It was a good game, a really good game,” Glacier coach Bob Rupp said of Sapa’s performance. “(Wednesday) was his first night back fully and he did a really good job on location and throwing the ball.”

The no-hitter was the first of Sapa’s career. He allowed only one baserunner after the second inning and that came on a dropped third strike. The Mariners had four runners, the other three all coming on errors.

The Mariners dented the scoreboard first, taking advantage Twins miscues to plate the game’s first run. The Twins would get that run right back in the bottom of the inning on a Jesse Walburn home run and took the lead in the fourth.

Glacier’s offense was the story in the second game, breaking a 3-3 tie with a three-run fifth inning and blowing the contest open with five more tallies in the sixth.

Tyler Murphy delivered the big blow in the fifth, doubling across a couple runs from the ninth spot in the order. Colten Parker had a two-run single in the five-run sixth.

Murphy finished 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs and Parker was 4 for 5. James Sampson and Max Smyley added two hits apiece for the Twins, who outhit the Mariners 13-11 in game two.

M. Valley 010 000 0 — 1 0 1

Glacier 010 100 x — 2 2 3

Julian Jones and Warren Wood (MV). Jonny Sapa and Tyler Murphy (G). W — Sapa. L — Jones.

MISSION VALLEY — Kade Schutzman 0-3, Jacob Harrod 0-3, Walter Wood 0-3, Anthony Jones 0-3, J. Jones 0-3, War. Wood 0-3, Nyqolas Gillingham 0-3, Tyson Petticrew 0-2, Bransen Krebs 0-2.

GLACIER — Colten Parker 0-2, Tristin Steinwand 0-3, James Sampson 0-2, Vinnie Smith 1-3, Jesse Walburn 1-3, Max Smyley 0-3, Derek Kastella 0-1, A.J. Wetsch 0-2, Murphy 0-0.

HR — Walburn (G). RBIs — Petticrew (MV); Walburn, Smyley (G).

M. Valley 002 010 0 — 3 11 5

Glacier 101 135 x — 11 13 0

Tyson Petticrew, Kade Schutzman (6) and Warren Wood (MV). Terek Bistodeau, Ryan Veneman (3) and Tyler Murphy (G). W — Veneman. L — Petticrew.

MISSION VALLEY — Schutzman 0-3, Jacob Harrod 0-4, Walter Wood 2-4, Anthony Jones 3-4, Julian Jones 1-3, War. Wood 1-3, Nyqolas Gillingham 1-3, Karsen Krebs 1-3, Bransen Krebs 2-2.

GLACIER — Colten Parker 4-5, Tristin Steinwand 1-3, James Sampson 2-5, Vinnie Smith 1-3, Jesse Walburn 1-3, Max Smyley 2-4, Veneman 0-4, Derek Kastella 0-3, Murphy 2-3.

2B — B. Krebs (MV); Murphy, Smith (G). RBIs — Wal. Wood (MV); Murphy 3, Parker 2, Smith 2, Kastella (G).

Late Tuesday: Rangers swept in Cranbrook

CRANBROOK, B.C. — The Cranbrook Bandits scored 24 runs in 12 innings to roll to a doubleheader sweep of the Kootenai Valley Rangers late Tuesday night.

Cranbrook won the first game 16-9 and the second 8-6.

Dawson Henrie hit a home run and drove in three in the opener.

K. Valley 002 403 0 — 9 7 3

Cranbrook 602 161 x — 16 13 2

Hank Dunn, Connor Harmon (3), James Dunn (4), Colton Cooper (6) and Quade Anderson (KV). Rylan D., Greg R. (6), Sho. K. (7) and Robert Nickell (CR). W — Rylan D. L — H. Dunn.

KOOTENAI VALLEY — Dawson Henrie 1-2, H. Dunn 1-3, Sam Hannay 2-4, J. Dunn 0-2, Mo Henderson 0-3, Daymond Baney 0-1, Harmon 1-2, Anderson 0-4, Cooper 2-4, Chet McCully 0-2.

CRANBROOK — Nickell 2-3, Cedar Kemp 0-4, Kei Chlopan 3-5, Caden McCormack 1-3, Linden Meggison 3-3, Tyler Thorn 0-1, Jake Bromley 2-3, Noah Rennette 0-3, Dan Mercandelli 2-3, Brandon Thorn 0-0.

2B — Nickell, Meggison, Bromley (CR). HR — Henrie (KV). RBIs — Henrie 3, H. Dunn 3, Anderson, Cooper (KV); Meggison 5, Chlopan 2, Bromley 2, Mercandelli 2, Nickell, Rennette (CR).

K. Valley 101 111 1 — 6 5 2

Cranbrook 024 200 x — 8 5 3

Dawson Henrie, Colton Cooper (3), Quade Anderson (4) and James Dunn (KV). Hayden M., Cedar Kemp (4), Brandon Thorn (6) and Kei Chlopan (CR). W — Hayden M. L — Cooper. S — B. Thorn.

KOOTENAI VALLEY — Henrie 0-4, Hank Dunn 2-3, Sam Hannay 0-3, J. Dunn 2-3, Mo Henderson 1-3, Connor Harmon 0-1, Chet McCully 0-1, Anderson 0-2, Cooper 0-2, Donovan Fornall 0-2, Daymond Baney 0-1.

CRANBROOK — Robert Nickell 0-2, Tyler Thorn 0-4, Chlopan 1-4, Caden McCormack 0-2, Linden Meggison 0-3, Jake Bromley 2-3, Noah Rennette 1-2, Rylan Detcheverry 1-2, Sho Kanzaki 0-2.

2B — J. Dunn, H. Dunn (KV); Bromley (CR). RBIs — J. Dunn 2, Hannay, Anderson (KV); Bromley 3, Nickell, Meggison, Rennette, Detcheverry (CR).