AA Lakers complete sweep of Elks

by Daily Inter Lake
| July 21, 2025 12:00 AM

Ostyn Brennan’s two-out, eighth-inning double gave Kalispell a walk-off win in the first game, and he drove in the go-ahead run in the second game as the AA Lakers completed a sweep of the Lethbridge Elks Sunday at Griffin Field.

The wins, by scores of 5-4 and 6-4, assured the Lakers (35-18 overall, 11-10 in the Montana/Alberta standings) in the AA American Legion state tournament July 30-Aug. 4 in Medicine Hat.

The Elks (5-14) can’t catch Kalispell in the standings and will battle the Great Falls Chargers (9-13 in league) for the final spot alongside host Medicine Hat (1-19), which won its first league game Sunday.

Lakers 5, Elks 4

After both teams bounced into inning-ending double players in the seventh, the Elks jumped ahead 4-3 in the eighth thanks to an error, a single and Carter Mann’s sacrifice fly.

The Lakers answered: Andere Cephers was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, moved up on a walk to Hunter Fann and a wild pitch and scored while Brady Buckmaster’s squeeze bunt was mishandled for an error.

With one out, the Lakers tried another squeeze only to have Fann called out at home. That brought up Brennan, who hit a 1-0 pitch to center for the game-winner.

It was his second double of the game; his first drove in Buckmaster in the fifth inning, and Brennan then scored on Cale Brink’s single to tie the game at 3-3.

Brink had a nice game, hitting a single and eventually scoring on a wild pitch in the first inning.

Cephers went the distance on the mound, allowing four hits and two walks in eight innings. He hit two batters and struck out four.

Elks 110 010 01 - 4 4 1

AA Lakers 100 020 02 - 5 8 1

Jarret McNeill, Daniel Kambelitz (5) and Willis Takahishi. Andre Cephers and Ostyn Brennan.

LETHBRIDGE ELKS — Evan Machum 0-2, Alex Westlund 1-2, Carter Mann 0-3, Takahashi 0-3, Ben Puzskar 0-3, Fawkes Bruinsma 1-3, Midnite Toker 2-3, Ty Mabin 0-3, Lowen Kitagawa 0-2.

KALISPELL AA LAKERS — Brennan 2-4, Cale Bribk 2-4, Carter Schlegel 1-2, Luke Nikunen 0-3, Kaeden Kahler 1-3, Bryce Buckmaster 0-0, Cephers 0-0, Hunter Fann 0-3, Oscar Kallis 0-4, Brady Buckmaster 1-3, Teagan Dixon 1-3.

2B — Bruinsma, Toker. Brennan 2. RBIs — Westlund, Mann, Takahashi, Toker, Brennan 2, Brink.

Lakers 6, Elks 4

Run-scoring singles from Alex Westlund, Midnite Toker helped Lethbridge score three times in the first inning, and when Willis Takahashi doubled and scored in the third, the Lakers trailed 4-0.

Brink and Luke Nikunen sandwiched RBI singles around a double by Carter Schlegel in the bottom of the third, cutting the gap to 4-3.

In the fourth inning Cephers’ RBI single knotted the score, after Buckmaster bunted for a single to load the bases, Brennan’s groundout scored Hunter Fann with the go-ahead run.

Brink then followed with an RBI single to make it 6-4.

Nikunen threw Kalispell’s second complete game of the day, shaking off the Elks’ hot start to retire 12 of the last 14 batters he faced. He scattered eight hits, including a leadoff double by Evan Mecham in the seventh, and one walk. Nikunen fanned four and allowed two earned runs.

The Lakers conclude their regular season with a three-game set this weekend against first-place Helena at Griffin Field. The teams play a doubleheader Friday at 5 p.m. and a single game Saturday at noon.

Elks 301 000 0 - 4 8 2

AA Lakers 003 300 x - 6 8 2

Puzskar, C McMillian (4) and Takahashi. Luke Nikunen and Brady Buckmaster.

ELKS — Machum 3-4, Westlund 1-3, Mann 1-4, Takahashi 1-4, Bruinsma 0-3, Toker 1-3, Mabin 0-3, Jesse-James Olson 0-3, Kitagawa 1-3.

LAKERS — Brennan 0-3, Brink 2-3, Schlegel 1-3, Nikunen 2-3, Kahler 10-2, Fann 1-2, kallis 0-3, Cephers 1-3 Buckmaster 1-2.

2B — Machum 2, Takahashi, Schlegel, Fann. 3B — Nikunen. RBIs — Westlund, Takahashi, Bruinsma, Toker, Brink 2, Brennan, Schlegel, Nikunen, Cephers.

Montana/Alberta Standings

Through July 20

Conf. All

W-L W-L

Helena Senators 14-5 41-23

Missoula Mavericks 14-7 38-20

Bozeman Bucks 13-7 30-18

Billings Scarlets 12-7 23-15

Billings Royals 12-8 28-12

Kalispell Lakers 11-10 35-18

Great Falls Chargers 9-13 35-31

Lethbridge Elks 5-14 21-14

Med. Hat Monarchs 1-20 7-26