Lethbridge outscores A Lakers, Twins fall at Cloninger Classic
HELENA — An 18-hit attack by the Lethbridge Miners stopped the Kalispell A Lakers’ unbeaten run at the Cloninger Classic Saturday, with the Canadian squad pulling away to a 14-6 win.
JT Toker had three hits and three RBIs for the Miners, who led 5-4 after a wild first inning but kept the hits coming.
Luke Nikunen had two hits and two runs scored for the Lakers (28-9), who had plenty of baserunners with six walks and eight hits. Lethbridge just had more and dropped Kalispell to 2-1 at the tournament.
The Lakers, who beat the Gillette Rustlers 6-1 Friday, played a late game Saturday against the tournament hosts, the Helena Reps. That game had not ended at press time.
Miners 510 512 - 14 18 2
Lakers A 401 001 - 6 8 1
J McNeil and W Takahashki. Trever Cockerill, Hunter Fann and Ethan Kim.
LETHBRIDGE MINERS — A Westlund 3-4, K Inaba 3-5, M Toker 3-4, B Weaver 1-3, T Mabin 4-4, T Oriold-Marek 1-3, D Asplund 0-4, Takahashi 2-3, L Kitagawa 1-4.
KALISPELL A LAKERS — Hunter Glidden 0-2, Fann 1-4, Luke Nikunen 2-2, Braden Capser 0-4, Brysen Herion 2-4, Jackson Heino 1-2, Brecken Walcheck 2-3, Kim 0-3, Bryce Buckmaster 0-1, Liam Benson 0-2.
2b — Walcheck. RBIs — Toker 3, Mabin 2, KIorld-Marek 2, Asplund, Takahashi, Kitagawa, Westlund, Inaba, Herion 2, Walcheck 2, Heino.
A Lakers 6, Rustlers 1
On Friday, Luke Nikunen threw a complete game gem, allowing just two hits to the Gillette (Wyo.) Rustlers.
Nikunen allowed six walks and one unearned run in the seventh inning for the Lakers. He struck out six.
In fact not a single run in the game was earned. Kalispell’s first two runs came via a fielding error on the Gillette catcher and then a wild pitch, in the second inning; Bryce Quinnell added an RBI grounder that scored Bryce Buckmaster in the third.
An error on a bases-loaded grounder by Easton Capser let in another run in the fifth, and three free passes plus two Gillette errors made it 6-0 in the seventh. Cale Brink did have a double for the Lakers.
Friday
Lakers A 002 101 2 - 6 3 3
Rustlers 000 000 1 - 1 2 4
Nikunen and Bryce Quinnell. M Kuhbacher, D Wasson (5), R Hawks )7) and D. Wasson.
KALISPELL A LAKERS — Glidden 1-2, Fann 0-3, Cockerill 0-4, Buckmaster 1-1, Heino 0-0, Quinnell 0-3, Easton Capser 0-3, Cale Brink 1-2, Benson 0-2.
GILLETTE RUSTLERS — Lemke 0-1, Hawk 1-4, Kuhbacker 0-2, Voigt 1-3, Hecker 0-3, Blacke 0-2, Newman 0-2, DWasson 0-0, Peloton 0-1, DWasson 0-2, Craig 0-3.
2B — Brink. RBIs — Cockerill, Quinnell.
Blue Jays 8, Twins 6
On Friday the Billings Blue Jays pulled away from a 3-3 tie and then weathered a seventh-inning comeback by the Glacier Twins at the Cloninger Classic.
Tristan Butts and Mikey Glass hit RBI singles in the last inning for the Twins, and Sam Hall’s sacrifice fly scored Stevyn Andrachick with their sixth run. That left two on and one out, but Glacier (11-2) got no closer.
Andrachick had three hits, including a double, and scored twice for the Twins. Maddux Muller also scored twice. Buttes drove in two.
Camden Wilson’s 2-run single in the sixth put the Blue Jays up 8-3 — important runs as it turned out.
The Twins were idle Saturday but have two games Sunday morning, against Idaho Prime 16U and the Bonneville Bees.