Nikunen, Lakers head for State AA tourney
Kalispell Lakers AA's Adam Nikunen (2) celebrates with teammates after scoring from second base on an errant pickoff attempt in the third inning against the Billings Royals at Griffin Field on Wednesday, July 12. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
It wasn’t a pretty end to the regular season for the Kalispell Lakers, but they head into the State AA tournament starting Saturday in Missoula knowing they’re a handful of runs away from 40-plus wins.
“Our coaches tell us that they’re confident we can beat anybody in the state, and I believe it too,” Lakers third baseman Adam Nikunen said Thursday. “I think if we all believe that, we can make some noise at this tournament.”
In Nikunen, Lakers head coach Ryan Malmin feels he has not only a top offensive player — he’s hitting .368 and is second only to Max Holden in runs scored (50) and stolen bases (26) — but an all-around leader.
“The kind of guy who wants the ball in pressure situations, or wants the ball hit to him, or wants the bat in his hands,” Malmin said. “The kind of guy who gets things done, and you like players like that.”
Kalispell heads in as the No. 7 seed after going 10-14 in league play. Among those losses is a 1-0 setback to the Billings Scarlets, the No. 2 seed and their first-round opponent Saturday at 1 p.m., at Lindborg-Cregg Field.
They also beat the Scarlets 3-2 last Friday.
“We were 0-0 in Game 1 (at Billings) in the eighth inning, so we could have taken two of three from them,” Malmin noted.
That came off a couple tight wins and a three-game sweep of the fourth-seeded Royals; earlier they had tight league losses to Lethbridge, Missoula and Medicine Hat, along with a 10-1 win over top-seeded Helena.
“We could have been as high as a three seed with a young crew,” Malmin said.
Nikunen is part of that young crew: He’s a senior who swung between the A Lakers and the AA last season, then moved up full-time this spring.
This is his last season of hardball — he’ll be a student at Grand Canyon University this fall — and he’s trying to make the most of it. He remembers playing T-ball alongside Holden, Oscar Kallis, Timmy Glanville and Kane Morisaki but adds: “I’ve been playing with all these guys for probably 10 years.”
Nikunen was a key reserve for the Glacier Wolfpack basketball this past winter, shooting 41 percent from three during the regular season and then 9 of 19 (.474) while the Pack took third at the State AA meet.
But baseball is his game. He’s played second base, pitched some and manned the corner outfield positions as one of the “new” Lakers.
“I’m kind of all over the place,” Nikunen said. “I’d say people took to me; I consider myself a leader. I try to keep people positive when things aren’t going our way.”
The regular season concluded with three losses at the hands of the Great Falls Chargers. On the other hand, the Lakers swept a doubleheader from the Chargers in April. And a year ago they drew the Scarlets in the first round and scored a 6-3 win on the way to taking third for a second straight year.
““This group has been awesome to work with all summer,” Malmin said. “In Great Falls we weren’t able to execute our pitchers well, or make plays behind the pitchers.We have to be good at situational hitting, and be good at getting extra 90s (bases).
“That’s what we did against the Royals, having our pitchers consistently throwing strikes and putting the ball in play.”