AA Lakers win by rally, then rout in Helena
HELENA — Ethan Diede’s grand slam in the bottom of the seventh keyed a nine-run rally that carried the Kalispell Lakers over the Bozeman Bucks 12-11 in Class AA American Legion baseball Saturday.
Kael Willis had four hits for the Lakers and Gage Brink had two hits and scored three times, including the game-winner on Kostya Hoffman’s single with one out.
Diede, who also tripled, drove in five runs.
The Lakers (3-0) then thumped the host Helena Senators 14-2 later Saturday, with Brink driving in five runs.
In the opener they saw Bozeman rack up eight runs in the fourth inning to lead 9-2, and the gap grew to 11-2 when the Bucks tacked on two runs in the seventh.
Then the Lakers had a rally and a half, against three Bucks pitchers: After Joe Schlegel’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly they went walk, hit batter, hit batter and walk before Diede went yard.
Ayden Driear, who came on with one out in the seventh, picked up the win on the mound. Caleb Morgan, who’d relieved AJ Wood, fanned six in two-plus innings of relief before giving up those two runs in the seventh.
Diede continued his hot hitting in the second game with an RBI double in the second inning and a run-scoring single in the third. In a seven-run fourth he drew a bases-loaded walk just before Brink cleared the bases with a double. That made it 14-0.
“It was good to see how we responded in Game 2,” Lakers coach Ryan Malmin said. “If we were going to come out satisfied or if the kids were going to come out and compete. We did a great job at the plate, and the pitchers did what we expect them to do, which is pound the zone and invite contact.
“That first game we got behind hitters way too often and got ourselves in a hole, from a pitching standpoint.”
The Lakers had 14 hits against Helena and Devon Wallack, Carver Van Aken, Elijah Owens and Kostya Hoffman all scored twice.
Helena managed single runs in the fourth and fifth innings and the game ended under the mercy rule.
Kostya Hoffman went 4 1/ 3 innings on the hill in the second game, allowing one earned run. He walked four and struck out five. Joseph Schlegel finished up for the Lakers.
First game
Bozeman 001 800 2 - 11 12 0
Lakers AA 200 100 9 - 12 11 3
Rhett Hays, Corbin Holzer (4), Nate Pailthorpe (7), Bryce Hampton (7), Kaden Thomson (7) and n/a. AJ Wood, Caleb Morgan (4), Ayden Driear (7) and Grady Drish.
BOZEMAN — Jackson Burke 1-5, Preston Fliehman 3-3, Corbin Holzer 0-3, Logan Pailthorpe 1-4, Hayden Roethie 0-0, Max Matteucci 1-3, Hays 2-2, Luke Rizzo 3-5, Dillon Coleman 1-3, Zane H 0-1.
KALISPELL AA — Ethan Diede 2-4, Gage Brink 2-4, Kael Willis 4-4, Driear 1-3, Kostya Hoffman 2-2, Joseph Schlegel 0-3, Elijah Owens 0-2, Max Holden 0-0, Carver Van Aken 0-1, Owen Schilling 0-0, Devon Wallack 0-2, Drish 0-2.
2B — Hays. 3B — Diede. HR — Diede. RBIs — Hays 2, Fliehman 2, Burke, L.Pailthorpe, Rizzo, Diede 5, .Driear, Hoffman, Schlegel, Schilling, Wallack, Drish.
Second game
Lakers AA 034 70 - 14 13 4
Helena 000 11 - 2 4 6
Eamon Burke, Gavin Thennis (4), Cade Coate (4) and n/a. Hoffman, Schlegel (5) and Willis.
KALISPELL AA — Diede 3-4, Brink 2-4, Willis 0-3, Driear 3-4, Schlegel 2-4, Hoffman 0-3, Owens 1-2, Van Aken 2-3, Wallack 0-3.
HELENA — Matt Burton 0-3, Victor Scott 1-2, Thennis 0-0, Tyler Tenney 0-3, Forest Suero 0-1, Will Brent 0-1, Trysten Mooney 1-2, Judson Seliskar 0-3, Hunter Bratcher 1-3, Eric Cockhill 0-1, Coate 1-2.
2B — Brink, Diede, Hunter B.
RBIs — Brink 5, Diede 3, Van Aken 2, Schlegel 2, Driear, Mooney.