12U all-stars third in Firecracker Invitational

Bouncing back from their first loss of the all-star season, the Columbia Falls 12U team routed Trail, B.C., 9-1 to claim third place in the Firecracker Invitational last weekend in Kalispell.

C-Falls hosts the district tournament this weekend. The first game is 1:30 p.m. Friday against Mission. The other teams are Kalispell NL and AL, Polson and Clark Fork. The top three finishers advance to state July 15-19 in Lewistown.

In the tourney opener, C-Falls rolled past Trail 13-3 in four innings, scoring eight runs in the fourth inning. Ty Morgan pitched a 2-hitter, striking out six and walking only two.

C-Falls blanked Colville, Wash., No. 2, 13-0 in five innings. Colton Gove and Nakia Alexander shared the shutout, combining to allow just one hit and striking out seven. Colville had no hits after its first batter. C-Falls scored five runs in the first inning. Jayce Fagerland was 2-for-3 with a walk and scored three runs. Chris Brown and Kyler Kinnison were also 2-for-3.

Bret Almos and Alexander pitched C-Falls to a 10-3 win over Colville No. 1, allowing only three hits — two of them home runs. Fagerland and Trevor Houston were both 3-for-4, and Austin Kimmet was 2-for-3.

With the No. 2 seed, C-Falls went into bracket play and beat Kalispell NL, 6-2. Morgan and Fagerland gave up a combined three hits and struck out seven. Houston blasted a three-run homer in the fourth inning to spark C-Falls. Gove and Brown were both 2-for-3.

C-Falls lost to Kalispell AL 5-3 in the semifinals, letting an early 3-0 lead slip away as Kalispell scored five times in the fourth inning. Alexander pitched into the fourth and was relieved by Fagerland. Kinnison went 2-for-2 at the plate, and Alexander 2-for-3.

Almos, Gove and Houston combined for a 3-hitter in the 9-1 win over Trail. They struck out 10 and walked only two. Morgan had quite a first inning. He ripped the first pitch of the game for a home run, and hit another homer later in the frame. Morgan was 3-for-4, also with a double. C-Falls scored eight times in the first.

"They played great," C-Falls head coach Brandon Rice said. "It's good to see them respond in that first inning after they lost (to Kalispell AL). The loss is kind of a good thing coming into a big tournament like this (district) and to see how they responded. We're looking pretty good.

"The whole season our pitching has been dominating," Rice added, as C-Falls pitchers have struck out 96 batters and walked only 29.

C-Falls 11U finishes third

After going 2-1 in pool play, the Columbia Falls 11U all-star team settled for third place in the Firecracker Invitational in Kalispell last weekend.

Colton Parker blasted two home runs, including a grand slam, leading C-Falls to a 23-0 four-inning victory over Calgary on Friday. Parker and Sean Hoerner combined to pitch the shutout. Tristin Steinwand drove in two runs for C-Falls, while Taylor Pacella, Blake Arneson and Hoerner each had one RBI.

With solid pitching by Parker and Steinwand, C-Falls edged Colville, Wash., 4-3 Saturday morning. Steinwand was the leading hitter, driving in two runs.

C-Falls and Polson were tied 1-1 later Saturday, but a two-run homer in the sixth inning gave Polson the victory. Parker and Cameron Lindstead pitched for C-Falls.

Taking a No. 1 seed into bracket play, C-Falls played the last-place 12U team — Colville. C-Falls led 3-1, but Colville tied it with two runs in the sixth inning and scored in the seventh for a 4-3 win. Parker, Steinwand and Lindstead were the C-Falls pitchers.

Pacella drove in four runs, leading C-Falls to a 15-7 win over Calgary for third place. Ben Hansford had two RBIs, and Lindstead and Greyson Bistodeau each drove in a run. Hoerner, Lindstead and Steinwand handled the pitching chores.

The C-Falls 11U all-stars play in a tournament this weekend. The site was not available at press time.

10U all-stars get revenge

Revenge was sweet for the Columbia Falls 10U all-star team to finish the Fourth of July Tournament last weekend in Helena.

The 10U all-stars lost to Missoula 3-2 in the previous tourney, but rolled to a 13-3 win in the first round of bracket play in Helena. C-Falls was shut out by Idaho Falls 10-0 in the semifinals, then fell to Bozeman 15-3 in five innings in the game for third and fourth.

That served as a tune-up for the state tournament, which began today (Thursday) in Helena. C-Falls plays Polson at 3:30 p.m. The state champ advances to the regional tourney in Medford, Ore.

C-Falls lost to Idaho Falls 13-5 in five innings in the first pool play game Friday, giving up eight runs in the second inning.

"We made some errors," head coach Trevor Kjensrud said. "They scored 13 runs without getting a hit. We were still sleeping."

C-Falls bounced back, outscoring Belgrade, 14-11. A five-running first inning got C-Falls started. Wyatt Green, Terek Bistodeau and Kaleb Gravelin each had three hits.

Behind by three going into the fifth inning, C-Falls rallied to tie Helena and take the lead. Each team scored once in the sixth, forcing an extra inning. C-Falls tallied two runs in the top of the seventh, then Dakota Bridwell retired Helena 1-2-3 in the bottom half. Trevor Hoerner started on the mound and was relieved by Trey Gates.

"Our defense came through. Everyone just hit the ball. It was a total team effort," Kjensrud said.

C-Falls lost to Bozeman 16-6 in the last pool play game. The all-stars scored nine runs in the third inning of the win over Mission, with Austin Green, Storm Kemppainen, Bryce Fagerland and Hoerner leading the way at the plate. Green pitched the win and Bridwell finished the game.

The 11U team played seven games in three days. "They showed a lot of heart," Kjensrud said. "They were worn out.

"Our hitting is dialed in. We're crushing the ball. We need to throw strikes," the coach said of the state tournament.