A Lakers win 3 of 4 in Helena
HELENA – The Kalispell A Lakers pounded out 11 hits and rallied for a 6-2 win over the Bozeman A Bucks while splitting two games at the Cloninger Classic Legion tournament Sunday.
In their second game the host Helena Reps jumped out to an 8-0 lead on the way to a 10-2 victory, leaving the Lakers with a 3-1 record at the tourney.
In the opener, Caleb Morgan, Elijah Owens, Nic Gustafson and Ayden Driear each had two hits, while Joe Schlegel had a critical two-run single in the fourth inning. That made it 5-2; Nic Gustafson had earlier broken a 2-2 tie with an RBI single of his own.
Gustafson scored twice against the Bucks. Grady Drish, Morgan and Owens also drove in runs.
Holden got the win on the mound, going four innings and fanning five. Blake Franklin finished up with three innings of one-hit relief for the save.
In the second game the Lakers managed just two fifth-inning runs, on a two-run single by Driear.
Driear and Drish each had two hits in the loss.
First game
Lakers A 002 301 0 - 6 11 3
Bucks A 110 000 0 - 2 4 2
Max Holden, Blake Franklin (5) and Nic Gustafson. Daniel B, Bryce H and Lane H. WP – Holden.
Second game
Lakers A 000 02 - 2 7 4
Helena Reps 341 02 - 10 10 1
Joe Schlegel, Caleb Morgan (3) and Drish. Hunter Bratcher and Will Brent. WP—Bratcher. LP — Schlegel.
Late Saturday
Glacier Twins 17,
Eagles BC 9
WHITEFISH – The Glacier Twins A answered a 3-run first inning by the Missoula Eagles Baseball Club with an 11-run frame and went onto score a 17-9, mercy rule-shortened win Saturday at the Ed Gallo Tournament.
Zach Veneman had two singles and drove in two runs during the big outburst, and Austyn Andrachick drove in a game-high three for the Twins.
Stevyn Andrachick also drove in two runs, while Payton Davisson had a double among his two hits and scored three times. The Twins took advantage of eight errors by their opponent. Veneman and Cade Morgan each scored three times as well.
Connor Bryson drove in for three for Missoula and Braxen Williams had a pair of doubles.
Late Sunday the Twins took on the B Lakers in a semifinal game. That had not ended at press time.
Eagles 301 05 - 9 9 8
Glacier A (11)10 41 - 17 14 3
C. Bryson, L Bierig (3) and C. Richardson. Mason Peters, Payton Davisson (3), Austyn Andrachick (5), Cade Morgan (5) and Zach Veneman. WP – Davisson. LP – Bryson.
A Lakers win 2 Saturday
At Helena, an 8-run fifth inning, helped by an errant throw home, rallied the Lakers A to an 8-6 win over Livingston at the Cloninger Classic.
The Lakers trailed 5-0 before the big inning, but got RBI singles from Grady Drish, Caleb Morgan and Wyatt Freund as well as a two-run single by Max Holden. The go-ahead runs came home on Blake Franklin’s grounder to short; an attempt home let both Carver Van Aken and Holden to score. That made it 7-6, and Freund added the insurance run.
Earlier Saturday, Joe Schlegel and Holden scored two runs each and both Owen Shilling and Nic Gustafson each drove in a pair of runs in an 11-4 win over Havre. Ayden Driear threw five innings of four-hit ball for the Lakers.
Livingston 300 020 1 - 6 13 1
Lakers A 000 080 x - 8 9 1
Livingston battery unavailable. Charlie Hinchey, Gabe LaCroix (6), Caleb Morgan (7) and Grady Drish. WP – LaCroix.