Western A Legion: Red Sox top Twins, Mariners ousted, Bucs alive
First, second-seeded Mission Valley was bounced, and then the top-seeded Glacier Twins took a loss in the upside-down West A District Legion tournament Saturday at Griffin Field.
The Bitterroot Red Sox’ 10-0, five-inning win over the Twins — Tyler Jones allowed just three Glacier hits and the Red Sox got all their runs in one inning — puts them in Sunday’s championship game, at 1 p.m.
Meanwhile the Bitterroot Bucs ousted the Mission Valley Mariners 6-2 behind the pitching of Deklan Kulaski and Patrick Duchien.
In the first game of the day Libby scored six runs in the seventh inning and ended the Kalispell A Lakers’ season, 12-8.
Libby (17-30) saw its run end with a 16-4 loss to the Bucs in Saturday’s late game, with the Bucs scoring 15 runs in the fourth inning. The Loggers finished fourth; the Bucs (25-23-1) take on the Twins (32-9) at 10 a.m. Sunday, with the winner moving into the championship.
Whoever wins the 1 p.m. game is district champion; the coaches voted that no if-necessary game will be played.
Red Sox 10, Twins 0
The game got away from Glacier in the fourth inning, when the Red Sox (29-26) sent 13 men to the plate and scored all 10 of their runs.
The Red Sox had four singles, two hit batters and two walks before the Twins could record a second out; then with two outs Conner Ekin singled and Bridger Huxtable followed with a two-run home run to cap the rally.
Jake McIntyre had two of the Twins’ hits against Jones, who threw just 39 pitches in five innings. Jones walked one and struck out one.
Red Sox 000 (10)0 - 10 7 1
Twins 000 00 - 0 3 1
Tyler Jones and Paul Brenneman. Talon Murphy, Hayden Meehan (4), Michael Miller (5) and AC Chilson.
BITTERROOT RED SOX — Tim Hickey 2-3, Aaron Springer 1-3, Sawyer Townsend 1-3, Conner Eken 1-3, Bridger Huxtable 2-3, Mason Anderson 0-2, Jacob Westberry 0-2, Esten Pierce 0-2, Brenneman 0-2.
GLACIER TWINS — Stevyn Andrachick 0-3, Mason Peters 0-2, Mikey Glass 1-2, Meehan 0-2, Kellen Kroger 0-2, Jake McIntyre 2-2, Josiah Ruther 0-1, Miller 0-0, Owen Schilling 0-1, Chilson 0-2.
HR — Huxtable. RBIs — Huxtable 2, Eken 2, Hickey, Springer, Twosned, Westberry, Pierce, Brenneman.
Loggers 12, Lakers 8
A hit-by-pitch, a single and Cy Williams’ two-run triple put the Loggers ahead 8-5 and ignited their big sixth inning. The gap grew to 9-5 on Brett Osborne’s sacrifice bunt to score Williams, and 10-5 when Tripp Zhang hit an RBI single.
These were important runs because the Lakers mounted another seventh-inning rally that fell short. TJ Hyack’s two-run triple cut the gap to 12-7 and he scored on Michael Owens’ groundout.
When Easton Capser was hit by a pitch the rally was still going, but Libby reliever Aiden Rose retired the next two batters to end the game. The Lakers finished 26-32-1.
Caleb Moelle got the win for the Loggers, throwing 5 1-3 innings and allowing six hits and five walks. He had no strikeouts.
Zhang scored three runs, and Caden Williams hit two doubles.
Loggers 200 031 6 - 12 8 3
Lakers A 110 003 3 - 8 8 2
Caleb Moeller, Tripp Zhang (6), Aiden Rose (6) and Rusty Gillespie. Braden Capser, Joey Thatcher (6), Tyler Williams (7), Luke Nikunen (7) and TJ Hyack.
LIBBY LOGGERS — Zhang 1-3, Caden Williams 2-4, Aydan Williamson 1-4, Landon Haddock 0-2, Dylan Buckner 1-2, Cy Williams 2-4, Gillespie 0-3, Brett Osborne 0-3, Aiden Rose 1-3.
KALISPELL LAKERS A — Timmy Glanville 1-3, Adan Nikunen 0-5, Carter Schlegel 0-3, Brysen Herion 0-2, Nate Skonard 0-3, Josh Close 0-0, Kaden Drish 2-4, Hyack 3-3, Michael Owens 2-3, Easton Capser 0-2.
2B — Ca.Williams 2, Cy Williams. 3B — Hyack. RBIs — Cy Williams 3, Williamson 3, Ca. Williams 2, Haddock, Zhang, Osborne, Hyack 2, Owens 2, Herion.
Bucs 6, Mariners 2
A three-run second inning erased the Mariners’ early 1-0 lead: Jacob Roth, Braelon Bahm and Brodie Hinsdale all hit RBI singles.
Andrew Scully added another RBI single in the fourth for the Bucs and Gabe Philbrick hit an RBI double in the fifth.
Kulaski scattered six hits and a walk in his four innings of work, and Duchien threw three spotless innings of relief. Each pitcher fanned one Mariner.
Espn Fisher and Dylan Davis hit RBI singles for the Mariners, who ended up 45-14.
Bucs 031 010 1 - 6 8 2
Mariners 101 000 0 - 2 8 2
Alex Muzquiz, Cole Wadsworth (6) and Espn Fisher. Deklan Kulaski, Patrick Duchien (5) and Roth.
BITTERROOT BUCS — Brodie Hinsdale 2-3, Roy Combs 1-3, Gabe Philbrick 1-3, Troy Larson 0-4, Andrew Scully 1-2, Duchien 1-3, Jacob Roth 1-3, Braelon Bahm 1-3, Camden Blair 0-3.
MISSION VALLEY MARINERS — Xavier Fisher 1-3, Muzquiz 2-4, Dawson DuMont 0-2, EFisher 2-4, Dylan Davis 3-4, Wyatt Wadsworth 0-4, Ethan McCauley 0-2, B Henriksen 0-4, CWadsworth 0-3.
2B — Hinsdale, Philbrick. RBIs — Hinsdale, Philbrick, Scully, Roth, Bahm, EFisher, Davis.
Bucs 16, Loggers 4
Tripp Zhang doubled and scored in Libby’s two-run first inning, and the Loggers led 2-1 going to the fourth.
That’s when the Bucs sent 20 men to the play, with Gabe Philbrick hitting a triple and a single, Troy Larson and Patrick Duchien each hitting two singles and Jacob Roth getting hit by a pitch twice.
Andrew Scully’s two-run triple made it 9-2, and the hits kept coming until it was 16-2.
Philbrick ended the day with four runs batted in; Camden Balir had two hits, two RBIs and three runs scored. Scully ended with three RBIs.
Zhang capped the scoring with a two-run home run in the fifth. The game ended there under the mercy rule.
Conner Root threw all five innings for the Bucs, allowing six hits, two walks and three earned runs. He hit one batter and fanned five.
Loggers 200 02 - 4 6 3
Bucs 001 (15)x - 16 12 2
David Bailey, Rose (4), Buckner (4), Cy Williams (4), Caden Williams (4) and Gillespie. Conner Root and Roth.
LOGGERS — Zhang 2-3, Ca.Williams 2-3, Williamson 0-3, Haddock 1-1, Buckner 0-2, Cy Williams 0-3, Moeller 0-2, Gillespie 0-2, Rose 1-2.
BUCS — Hinsdale 2-3, Combs 1-4, Phibrick 2-4, Larson 2-4, Scully 1-4, Duchien 2-3, Roth 0-1, Drew Wagner 0-1, Blaire 2-3.
2B — Zhang. 3B — Scully. HR — Zhang. RBIs — Zhang 2, Ca.Williams, Phibrick 4, Scully 3, Hinsdale 2, Larson 2, Blair 2, Duchien, Combs.
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 — Mission Valley Mariners 7, Missoula Mavericks 0, loser out
Game 6 — Kalispell Lakers 8, Cranbrook Bandits 7, 8 innings, loser out
Game 7 — Bitterroot Red Sox 7, Libby Loggers 2
Game 8 — Glacier Twins 8, Bitterroot Bucs 2
Saturday’s games
Game 9 — Libby Loggers 12, Kalispell Lakers 8, loser out
Game 10 — Bitterroot Bucs 6, Mission Valley Mariners 2, loser out
Game 11 — Bitterroot Red Sox 10, Glacier Twins 0, semifinal
Game 12 — Bitterroot Bucs 16, Libby Loggers 4, loser fourth
Game 13 — Glacier Twins (32-9) vs. Bitterroot Bucs (25-23-1), loser third, 10 a.m.
Game 14 — Bitterroot Red Sox (29-26) vs. Winner 13, championship, 1 p.m.
Monday’s game
Game 15 — Second championship game, if necessary, time TBD.