Columbia Falls rallies late to beat Polson

Friday’s final game at the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational was well worth the wait.

Reggie Sapa — in a tournament named partly after his late uncle — crushed a triple to lead off a five-run sixth inning that helped Columbia Falls rally past defending state champions Polson 9-6 at Glacier Bank Park.

“Right off the bat I said, ‘that’s hit well,’” said Sapa, who was a bit disappointed to be held to only a triple. “I always think I can go, but it was probably a good thing he held me up.”

Sapa finished with three hits on the day and gets credited with the win for the Wildcats (14-2), throwing two innings in relief allowing no runs on no hits. He walked three. The game ended after six innings due to the time limit.

Matthew Mitts started on the mound for Columbia Falls, allowing six runs (four earned) in four innings of work. He finished with two strikeouts and walked three.

Wyatt Wadsworth got the nod for Polson, allowing four earned runs in two-plus innings. He walked five and fanned two.

“In my opinion they are the team to beat,” Columbia Falls head coach Chad Green said. “They are the state champs until someone else is the state champs, so I knew it would be a tough game.”

Early on, both teams found hitting early with Polson (13-4) jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first from a pair of RBI singles from Holden and Hunter Emerson.

Kellen Kroger cut the deficit in half for the Wildcats in the bottom of the first, pulling one just fair down the third base line to score Sapa. 

Polson kept their foot on the gas, adding a run in each of the next two innings taking a 4-2 lead.

Columbia Falls worked the bases loaded in the bottom of the third and made it a one-run game on a walk to Jett Pitts. Dayne Tu tied the game on a fielder’s choice before Cason Graham got the Pirates out of the jam.

Polson grabbed the lead back right away as Hunter Emerson drove in one on a fielder's choice. Cole Wadsworth added another in the fifth and the Pirates led 6-4. 

After a scoreless fifth, Sapa worked through the sixth cleanly.

“When we are behind like that we play catch-up, we take a called strike before swinging.” Green said. “Once they take a called strike it’s business as usual.”

Catch-up ball worked for the Wildcats as Sapa scored on a Dominick Young single to make it 6-5. After Cody Schweikert was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Matthew Mitts singled to bring in one and tie the game 6-6. AC Chilson gave Columbia Falls the lead on a shallow fly that dropped in right field.

Cody Haggard made his way onto the mound for the Pirates, inheriting a no-outs, bases-loaded situation. He hit Pitts to bring in a fourth run of the innings, before striking out Connor Venezio for the first out. Sapa drove in one more run later in the inning on a grounder that couldn’t be fielded cleanly. Haggard struck out Young — the 10th batter of the frame — to end the inning.

After consulting each other the two umpires declared the game official.

“This is huge, obviously the state tournament is next week and we are on the same side of the bracket as Polson,” Green said. “The more we see them, the more familiar we will be.”

Eureka 11, Stevensville 0

AJ Truman threw a five-inning two-hitter, striking out nine, and Tristan Butts had three hits and scored three times for the Lions.

Eureka (14-3) jumped ahead 4-0 in the first inning — Logan Cuffe’s two-run single capped that rally — and added six runs in the third, all after two were out.

Leadoff man Rogan Lytle doubled and scored two runs. Truman drove in two runs and scored twice, and Emmet McKim had two RBIs as well. Tyce Van Orden drew three walks, hit a single, stole a base and scored twice. Butts stole four bases.

Evan Montague and Jackson Guenzler had hits for the Yellowjackets (1-15).

Corvallis 5, Whitefish 4

Brandon Brenneman and Maurice Craun hit back-to-back doubles to spark a three-run fourth inning by Corvallis (9-8-1), as the Blue Devils erased a 4-2 deficit.

After Craun drove in Brenneman, he came around on a fielding error to score the tying run. Bobby Truc, who’d been hit by a pitch, moved up on the same error, took third on a groundout and scored on a passed ball. 

That 5-4 lead held up in large part because Truc threw three hitless innings of relief.

The Bulldogs (7-10) took their lead with a three-run third inning. Michael Miller hit an RBI single, came in on a Chris Schwaderer double and then Schwaderer scored on a steal of home.

Miller had two hits and two RBIs. Tait Orme hit a double for Whitefish.

Frenchtown 11, Bigfork 1

Jordan Warner tripled and drove in three runs for Frenchtown, and the Broncs also got a combined five-inning one-hitter from Dawson Rodoni and Brooks Day.

Rodoni threw three no-hit innings, walking two and striking out eight. Day allowed an RBI single to Bigfork’s Carson Parish in the fourth inning, but he also drove in four runs for the Broncs (12-7).

The game ended in the fifth when Day’s two-run single capped a six-run uprising. He also had a sacrifice fly and — after Warner and Gabe Gibbs hit back-to-back triples in the fourth inning — an RBI single.

Konnor Klimpel and Joseph Alexander each scored twice for Frenchtown. Bigfork fell to 7-7.

Ronan 15, Browning 0

Ronan’s Everett Lozeau had two hits and drove in two runs, and the Chiefs (8-9) combined 13 hits with eight walks to beat Browning (0-17-1) in three innings.

Damien Hess — who started at catcher, then gave way to Lozeau — had two hits as well for Ronan. Hunter Luedtke also had two hits. Ben Mitchell had a double and scored twice; leadoff hitter Joseph Fulwiler tripled and scored once. Cash Atkinson drove in two runs.

Jaylyn Aimsback had Browning’s lone hit, against three Ronan pitchers.

Troy 10, Noxon 4

Troy pitcher Derek Cole had three hits and drove in two runs to help his own cause, and the Trojans beat the Noxon-Thompson Falls Red Devils.

Cole threw four innings — the game ended there, under the time limit — and allowed eight hits, four walks and two earned runs. He struck out 10 Red Devils. He also had an RBI single in the first inning that gave Troy a 2-1 lead in never relinquished, though Noxon drew to 5-4 on Justice Kayser’s RBI bunt single in the third inning.

The Trojans used five walks, two hit batters and two hits to score five runs in the third. Cole and Cody Todd had run-scoring singles in the frame.

Lars Goedhard had three hits, an RBI and scored twice for Noxon (4-8).

    Columbia Falls' pitcher Reggie Sapa delivers against Polson in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Polson's Espn Fisher (5) connects on a double against Columbia Falls in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Columbia Falls' second baseman Nico Young (4) fires to first for an attempt at a double play against Polson in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Polson shortstop Cody Haggard (3) charges a grounder and throws to first against Columbia Falls in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Polson pitcher Wyatt Wadsworth delivers against Columbia Falls in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Columbia Falls pitcher Matthew Mitts delivers against Polson in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Polson's Landon Shoemake (4) connects on a single against Columbia Falls in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Columbia Falls' Cody Schweikert (9) connects on a single against Polson in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Polson's Cole Wadsworth (1) connects on an RBI single against Columbia Falls in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Polson's Holden Emerson (15) connects on an RBI single against Columbia Falls in the Sapa-Johnsrud Invitational at Glacier Bank Park on Friday, May 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider