A Legion: Loggers knock off Mariners 2-1; Red Sox, Bucs win
You could call it upset, Libby’s 2-1 victory over the Mission Valley Mariners Thursday at the West A District Legion tournament, but the Loggers do have a pitcher that can stymie anyone.
Lefthander Caden Williams did that at Griffin Field, taking a shutout into the seventh inning and striking out six. It was the Loggers’ first win over the second-seeded Mariners (44-13) in five tries this season, though two losses came by one run.
Libby (15-29) takes on the Bitterroot Red Sox, a 7-3 win over Missoula on Thursday, in a winner’s bracket game Friday at 2 p.m.
The Mariners and Mavericks play a loser-out game at 9 a.m. The top two teams advance to the State A tournament in Belgrade next week.
Friday’s games run early, before the Kalispell AA Lakers play a doubleheader against the Billings Scarlets at 7 p.m. The Scarlets and Lakers will not play a scheduled Saturday twinbill.
In Thursday’s late game, the Bitterroot Bucs edged the A Lakers 9-8.
Loggers 2, Mariners 1
Williams won a pitcher’s duel with Mission Valley’s Dylan Davis, though both starters had relief help.
After the Mariners’ Xavier Fisher and Dawson DuMont led off the bottom of the seventh with singles, Espn Fisher hit a fly ball that fell to score his brother and cut Libby’s lead to 2-1.
The Loggers then brought in Aydan Williamson from the pen and he recorded the final two outs via fielder’s choice and strikeout.
Tripp Zhang had an RBI single in the third inning for Libby, and Landon Haddock added another in the fourth to put the Loggers up 2-0.
Williams allowed seven hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings. For Mission Valley, Davis fanned five and gave up five hits in 4 2-3 innings, before Cole Wadsworth finished up.
Loggers 001 100 0 - 2 6 2
Mariners 000 000 1 - 1 7 2
Caden Williams, Aydan Williamson (7) and Rusty Gillespie. Dylan Davis, Cole Wadsworth (5) and Espn Fisher.
LIBBY LOGGERS — Tripp Zhang 2-4, Dylan Buckner 0-2, Ca.Wiliams 1-3, Williamson 0-3, Landon Haddock 1-3, Cy Williams 0-3, Gillespie 0-3, Caleb Moeller 1-3, Aiden Rose 1-3.
MISSION VALLEY MARINERS — Xavier Fisher 1-4, Alex Muzquiz 3-4, Dawson DuMont 0-4, EFisher 0-4, Davis 0-3, Wyatt Wadsworth 1-3, Ethan McCauley 0-1, Brock Henriksen 2-3, Cymian Kauley 0-2, C.Wadsworth 0-1.
RBIs — Zhang, Haddock.
Red Sox 7, Mavericks 3
Aaron Springer’s RBI single started a four-run Red Sox outburst in the sixth inning that broke a 3-3 tie.
Bridger Huxtable added a two-run single to make it 6-3 and Mason Anderson’s sacrifice fly capped the scoring.
The big inning made a winner of Connor Ekin, who took over on the mound in the sixth and threw two scoreless innings. Anderson started, and allowed five hits and five walks in five innings but just three runs. He fanned six.
The Mavericks’ Finn Davis had two doubles, with one driving in a run to knot the game at 3 in the fifth. Rylan Davis and Carter Taylor drove in Missoula’s other runs.
Mavs 000 210 0 - 3 6 2
Red Sox 200 104 x - 7 8 1
Schuyler Fairchild, Owen McGuinn (5) and Rylan Davis. Mason Anderson, Connor Ekin (6) and Paul Brenneman.
MISSOULA MAVERICKS — Carter Taylor 0-2, Kody Evans 0-3, McGuinn 0-3, Sam Matosich 1-4, Finn Davis 3-4, Luke Thorne 1-3, Donovyn Headswift 0-4, RDavis 1-3, Hunter Sellers 0-2.
BITTERROOT RED SOX — Timothy Hickey 1-2, Aaron Springer 2-3, Sawyer Townsend 1-3, Ekin 0-1, Bridger Huxtable 2-4, Tyler Jones 1-4, Brandon Brenneman 0-1, Anderson 0-0, T Taylor Nead 0-2, Esten Pierce 0-1, Brennneman 1-2.
2B — Hickey, FDavis 2. RBIs — Springer 2, Huxtable 2, Jones, Anderson, FDavis, RDavis, Taylor.
Bucs 9, Lakers 8
Thursday’s finale saw the Lakers push across two runs in the top of the seventh, only to see the Bitterroot Bucs score an unearned run with one out in its half to end it.
Timmy Glanville’s bases-loaded single brought in Josh Close to tie the game, 8-8 for Kalispell; Michael Owens tried to score a go-ahead run on the same play but was thrown out at the plate on a throw from Bitterroot’s Roy Combs.
In the bottom of the inning, Camden Blair walked, stole second and scored when Combs' grounder was misplayed into an error.
The Lakers scored five runs in the first, keyed by Brysen Herion’s two-run single and then four straight walks, before Bucs relievers Patrick Duchien and Andrew Scully steadied things.
The Bucs went in front 7-6 on Braelon Bahm’s two-run double in the fourth; Bahm scored on a squeeze bunt two batters later.
Scully threw four strong innings before the Lakers worked two Bucs relievers for three walks and a hit in the seventh. Braden Capser drew the third walk, which scored Carter Schlegel; he’d hit a leadoff single.
The Lakers fell into a loser-out game at 11:30 a.m. against the Cranbrook Bandits.
Lakers A 500 100 2 - 8 6 3
Bucs 023 300 1 - 9 11 3
Carter Schlegel, Braden Capser (4), Josh Close (7) and TJ Hyack. Gabe Philbrick, Patrick Duchien (1), Andrew Scully (3), Troy Larson (7), Brodie Hinsdale (7) and
KALISPELL LAKERS — Timmy Glanville 1-3, Joey Thatcher 1-3, Adam Nikunen 0-4, Schlegel 1-3, Brysen Herion 1-4, Kaden Drish 1-2, TJ Hyack 0-1, Nate Skonard 1-2, Michael Owens 0-2, Easton Capser 0-1, BCapser 0-1, Josh Close 0-1.
BITTERROOT BUCS — Hinsdale 1-5, Roy Combs 1-4, Philbrick 2-4, Larson 2-4, Scully 1-3, Braelon Bahm 2-4, Jacob Rother 0-3, Duchien 1-3, Camden Blair 1-2.
2B — Larson, Bahm. RBIs — Herion 2, ECapser, BCapser, Glanville, Nikunen, Schlegel, Philbrick 2, Bahm 2, Blair 2, Duchien.
West A Districts
Griffin Field
(Top 2 go to State A, July 27-31 in Belgrade)
Thursday’s games
Game 1 — Bitterroot Red Sox 7, Missoula Mavericks 3
Game 2 — Libby Loggers 2, Mission Valley Mariners 1
Game 3 — Glacier Twins 11, Cranbrook Bandits 3
Game 4 — Bitterroot Bucs 9, Kalispell Lakers 8
Friday’s games
Game 5 — Missoula Mavericks (31-29) vs. Mission Valley Mariners (44-13), loser out, 9 a.m.
Game 6 — Cranbrook Bandits (16-28-2) vs. Kalispell Lakers (25-31-1), loser out, 11:30
Game 7 — Bitterroot Red Sox (27-26) vs. Libby Loggers (15-29), 2 p.m.
Game 8 — Glacier Twins (31-8) vs. Bitterroot Bucs (23-22-1), 4:30 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Game 9 — Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6, loser out, 10 a.m.
Game 10 — Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 5, loser out, 1 p.m.
Game 11 — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, semifinal, 4 p.m.
Game 12 — Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 9, loser out, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s games
Game 13 — Loser 11 vs. Winner 12, loser is third, 10 a.m.
Game 14 — Winner 11 vs. Winner 13, championship, 1 p.m.
Monday’s game
Game 15 — Second championship game, if necessary, time TBD.