AA Legion Baseball Lakers charge by Chargers
Kalispell Lakers AA starting pitcher Drew Scherrer pitched a complete game giving up one run on two hits against Great Falls AA at Griffin Field on Saturday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Kalispell Lakers AA second baseman AJ Jones throws to first to complete a game-ending double play against Great Falls AA at Griffin Field on Saturday. Sliding into second is Great Falls AA's Cal Cromwell. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Kalispell Lakers AA's Eric Seaman drives in a run with an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning against Great Falls AA on Saturday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
The Daily Inter Lake
Drew Scherrer tossed a 2-hitter and one big offensive inning was more than enough as the Kalispell Lakers AA (33-13 overall, 11-6 league) blanked the Great Falls Chargers 4-1 on Saturday afternoon in American Legion baseball play at Griffin Field.
Scherrer went the distance, limiting the Chargers to two singles. He struck out two and walked three batters over the course of seven innings.
“He was great on the mound today,” Lakers AA coach Ryan Malmin said.
“He was coming off three days rest.”
Nolan Croskrey also had a strong mound effort for the Chargers. He struck out six, walked two and allowed four hits, three went for extra bases.
Randy Stultz and Taylor Morton doubled for Kalispell while AJ Jones belted a triple.
Eric Seaman had the other Kalispell hit, a single.
Kalispell tallied four runs in the second inning.
Great Falls scored once in the sixth.
“We struggled a little offensively, but got some timely hits and were able to string them together,” Malmin said.
On Friday, the Lakers swept the Chargers 10-7 and 6-4.
Kalispell trailed 4-0 after 2 ½ innings, but came back to score three in the bottom half of the third, two in the fourth and five in the fifth for a 10-4 advantage in the nightcap.
The Chargers added three runs in the top of the sixth.
Stultz and Dawson Smith doubled while Morton tripled.
Stultz, Morton, Smith and Jonathan Craver had two RBIs each.
Kalispell had seven hits. Morton was the lone player with two.
Logan Siblerud pitched the first four innings to earn the win. He allowed three hits, walked four batters and struck out four.
In the opener, a four-run sixth inning carried the Lakers to the 6-4 win.
The Chargers had 11 hits and stranded nine base runners to four hits and six left on base for Kalispell.
Morton, 2 for 4, had two RBIs.
Stultz also drove in two runs.
Palmer took over for starting pitcher Smith in the fifth inning to get the win.
The Lakers have won 13 of their last 14 games and five straight in conference play.
Up next for Kalispell is a single home game on Tuesday versus the Missoula Mavs AA at 7 p.m.
The Lakers final road trip is July 19 at the Billings Royals AA for a doubleheader.
Kalispell finishes regular-season play at home with a doubleheader on July 21 versus the Butte Miners AA.
Kalispell hosts the AA state tournament, which begins July 28 at Griffin Field.
“It’s been a little bit of a grind with 10 game in 10 days,” Malmin said.
“We were not as sharp on the mound (versus Great Falls), but found a way to win. Jonathan Craver played a tremendous series behind the dish with his blocking and controlling the running game. Wes Palmer and Johan Freudenburg and Taylor Morton were great in relief. They stopped the bleeding a little bit so we could get things going offensively.”
Great Falls Chargers 000 001 0— 1 2 3
Kalispell Lakers 040 000 x— 4 4 2
WP—Drew Scherrer; LP—Nolan Croskrey.
GREAT FALLS CHARGERS AA — Derick Spring 0-2, Alan LaRocque 0-2, Cade Stuff 0-2, Matt Houlihan 0-3, Cal Cromwell 1-3, Kael Richards 0-3, Andrew Paradise 0-3, Braden Hirst 1-2, Josh Lowery 0-1.
KALISPELL LAKERS AA — Randy Stultz 1-3, Taylor Morton 1-3, Eric Seaman 1-3, Dawson Smith 0-2, AJ Jones 1-3, Ryan Symmes 0-3, Jonathan Craver 0-2, Sam Elliott 0-1, Brandon Jordan 0-3.
2B—Stultz, Morton; 3B—Morton; RBIs—Stultz (2), Morton, Seaman.
Late Friday
Great Falls Chargers 022 003 0 — 7 6 2
Kalispell Lakers 003 250 x — 10 7 3
WP—Logan Siblerud; LP—Brayden Welty.
GREAT FALLS CHARGERS AA — Spring 0-2, LaRocque 1-3, Stuff 0-4, Houlihan 0-1, Logan Huston 1-1, Cromwell 1-3, Richards 0-2, Paradise 1-3, Hirst 2-4, Lowery 0-4.
KALISPELL LAKERS AA — Stultz 1-3, Morton 2-3, Seaman 1-3, Smith 1-4, Jones 0-3, Symmes 1-2, Craver 1-4, Sam Elliott 0-1, Jordan 0-2.
2B—Stultz, Smith; 3B—Morton; RBIs—LaRocque, Huston, Cromwell (2), Paradise; Stultz (2), Morton (2), Seaman, Smith (2), Symmes, Craver (2).
Great Falls Chargers 010 120 0 — 4 11 1
Kalispell Lakers 110 004 x — 6 4 0
WP—Wes Palmer; LP—Houlihan.
GREAT FALLS CHARGERS AA — Spring 3-4, LaRocque 2-4, Stuff 0-3, Houlihan 0-2, Welty 0-0, Cromwell 3-3, Richards 1-4, Paradise 2-4, Hirst 0-2, Lowery 0-3.
KALISPELL LAKERS AA — Stultz 1-3, Morton 2-4, Seaman 0-4, Smith 0-2, Palmer 0-1, Johan Freudenburg 0-0, Jones 0-2, Symmes 0-2, Craver 0-2, Elliott 1-1, Jordan 0-2.
2B—Paradise, Spring (2), LaRocque, Cromwell; RBIs—LaRocque, Paradise (2); Stultz (2), Morton (2).