Lakers top Loggers at Western A; Mariners, Twins fall
WHITEFISH — Liam Rech drove in one run and crossed the plate twice as the Kalispell A Lakers topped Libby 7-5 Thursday in the Western A District Legion baseball tournament at Memorial Field in Whitefish.
In the nightcap, the host Glacier Twins gave the top-seeded Bitterroot Red Sox all they could handle, but in the end fell 5-4.
Bitterroot and Kalispell meet in Friday’s second semifinal with first pitch slated for 7 p.m.
Earlier in the day, the Bitterroot Bucs defeated the Missoula Mavericks 7-1, while the Cranbrook Bandits downed the Mission Valley Mariners 7-3.
The Bucs and Bandits meet Friday in the first semifinal, with first pitch set for 4 p.m.
Lakers 7, Loggers 5
Rech came home to put the Lakers ahead in the first inning on a Miles Arrowsmith double to right field. He drove in a run during the second to make it 3-0 on an RBI groundout.
Aiden Rose put the Loggers on the board in the third with a two-run single to right that scored Kale Hall and Elijah Foulke.
Kalispell answered right back again with Fischer Lee driving in a run with a single in the bottom of the third.
Tait Orme’s RBI single and Dillon Wink’s sacrifice bunt helped the Lakers to a 7-2 lead in the fourth.
Boe Miles doubled in the sixth to make it 7-4. Libby got another run on a fielder’s choice in the seventh, but couldn’t bring anymore home.
Beau McEwen went 5 1-3 innings for the Lakers, allowing two runs on four hits. He struck out two.
Rose went the distance for the Loggers, scattering eight hits and fanning a pair of batters.
Red Sox 5, Twins 4
Glacier put the tying run aboard in the seventh, but a double play and fly out ended the upset bid.
Jackson Lubke’s second inning single put the Red Sox ahead 2-0, before Glacier found their offensive footing in the third.
After two walks and an error loaded the bases, Trenton Derosa cleared them with a double to center field to put the Twins ahead 3-2. Next batter, West Amerman sent Derosa home with a single.
Bitterroot had the answer though, sending one home on a bases-loaded hit batter in the third, then a two-RBI single from Boedy Tadvick gave the Red Sox the lead again.
Derosa and Treyson Murphy shared pitching duties for the Twins, going three innings each. Derosa allowed one hit and no run. He fanned one. Murphy scattered six hits and struck out five.
Bandits 7, Mariners 3
Olly Williams scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie for the Cranbrook Bandits.
Another passed ball paired with an RBI single from Ethan Greenwood and a sacrifice fly helped the Bandits pull away from Mission Valley.
The Mariners took the lead in the second on a single from Justin Brown to third, then a fielder’s choice made it 2-0.
After three runs in the fourth from the Bandits, Mission tied it at three in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to left from Landon Pablo.
On the mound, Cody Haggard went the distance for the Mariners, allowing seven runs on seven hits. He fanned five.
Mission Valley takes on Missoula Friday at 10 a.m. in a loser out game, while the Bandits advance to the winners semifinals against the Bitterroot Bucs at 4 p.m.
Bucs 7, Mavericks 1
Drew Wagner drove in a pair of runs, while McCoy Endres went 3-for-4 for the Bitterroot Bucs.
Wagner’s two-RBI single helped the Bucs to a 4-0 lead after two innings.
Wes Potter and Cole Germane singled during a three-run fifth to make it 7-0.
Everett Roberts scored the lone run for the Mavericks after stealing home in the sixth.
Isaiah Testerman went six innings on the mound for the Bucs, striking out four and allowing one run on seven hits.
Western A District Tournament
July 24-27, Memorial Field, Whitefish
Thursday
Game 1: Bitterroot Bucs 7, Missoula Mavericks 1
Game 2: Cranbrook Bandits 7, Mission Valley Mariners 1
Game 3: Kalispell Lakers 7, Libby Loggers 5
Game 4: Bitterroot Red Sox 5, Glacier Twins 4
Friday
Game 5: Missoula Mavericks (17-21) vs. Mission Valley Mariners (25-21), 10 a.m.
Game 6: Libby Loggers (14-33) vs. Glacier Twins (5-28), 1 p.m.
Game 7: Bitterroot Bucs (24-15) vs. Cranbrook Bandits (24-21), 4 p.m.
Game 8: Kalispell Lakers (28-22) vs. Bitterroot Red Sox (33-12), 7 p.m.
Saturday
Game 9: Loser 7 vs. Winner 6, 10 a.m.
Game 10: Loser 8 vs. Winner 5, 1 p.m.
Game 11: Winner 7 vs. Winner 8, 4 p.m.
Game 12: Winner 10 vs. Winner 9, 7 p.m.
Sunday
Game 13: Loser 11 vs. Winner 12, loser third, 10 a.m.
Game 14: Winner 13 vs. Winner 11, championship 1 p.m.
Game 15: If necessary, 4 p.m.