Lakers nip Twins in marathon game
After nearly four hours of
back-and-forth baseball, the Kalispell Lakers stole another game
from the Glacier Twins at home July 6 at the Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial
tournament.
Michael O’Connell put the Lakers in
control just before midnight with a solo homer that made the final
score 10-15.
Glacier used a strong offensive
performance through seven innings to build a lead, but pitching
woes in the wee hours let the Lakers slip back into the conference
game.
The Twins jumped out to 4-0 lead in the
opening frame after a Geoff Streeter RBI and a Chris King two-run
homer.
Kalispell equalized in the top of the
second, but Kyler Blades crushed an RBI single to left in the
bottom half to make the score 5-4.
In a key defensive stop in the third,
Devyn Rocker knocked down a grounder, tossed it to Blades at second
who then hit Cody Hill at first for an inning-ending double
play.
Kalispell took the lead in the fifth
off of a two-run dinger from O’Connell.
The Twins took the lead back in the
seventh when Jack Cronin connected for an RBI triple to make it
10-9.
Mistakes plagued Glacier in the eighth
as Kalispell scored runs on a wild pitch, a walk with the bases
loaded and a fielding error.
“Our offense did a good job of giving
us a chance,” Glacier coach Lindsay Fansler said. “Defensive errors
let us down. That’s a recipe for losing games.”
He noted the slow tempo didn’t play in
their favor.
Five Twins had two hits, including
Jeremy Nielsen (2-for-4), Cronin (2-for-5), Blades (2 for 4),
Streeter (2-for-5) and King (2-for-3).
Kalispell won both games against
Glacier this season at Memorial Park. The Twins topped the Lakers
in Kalispell on June 2.
Glacier earned a win at their home
tourney July 8 with a 3-2 win over Apple Valley. Talsma drove in
Cody Elek with an RBI single to center in the third inning to help
the Twins get the victory. Rocker scored the win on the mound.
Glacier finished 1-4 in the
tourney.
The Twins (3-9 league) next host
Lethbridge on Friday, July 15 in a conference doubleheader.
Glacier needs to play near perfect
baseball through the remaining conference schedule to have a chance
at the playoffs, Fansler said.
“We need a few things to happen,” he
said, “but all we can do is take care of our business.”