Loggers see luck run out at state tournament

The Western News

After winning its first two games in impressive fashion, the Libby American Legion baseball team saw its luck run out in the next two.

The Loggers dropped a 12-1 decision on Monday night to American Legion State A Tournament host Vauxhall. The following afternoon, Libby was eliminated by Lethbridge, 11-5.

The Loggers end the season with an overall record of 27-25.

Libby had beaten that same Lethbridge squad, 5-2, in the tournament’s opening game on Saturday. After a 4-3 victory over Dillon, the Loggers found themselves in good shape.

Vauxhall took control of Monday night’s game in quick fashion by building an 8-0 lead by the top of the third. The Loggers pushed a run across in the bottom of that inning when Matt Schad drew a bases-loaded walk to score Dustin Morningstar. But that would be it for Libby.

The Spurs followed up with three more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth. The game ended after seven innings on the 10-run mercy rule.

Morningstar had Libby’s lone hit – a single in the third inning. Colt Cannon and Morningstar each saw time on the mound.

The loss dropped the Loggers down into a rematch with Lethbridge, which fought its way back into contention after the day one loss.

The Miners took a 3-0 lead by the third inning. The Loggers couldn’t do much at the plate through the first five but then scored a run in the sixth to cut the deficit to just two. Rory Hendrickson reached on an error and Steve Bertelsen, who got on base via fielder’s choice, scored.

Lethbridge got that run back in the top of the seventh and then the Loggers scored another lone run in the bottom half. Morningstar got on by fielder’s choice when he hit a grounder that forced Chris Herbig out at second. Nate Peltier, who led off the inning with a single, scored on the play.

The Miners issued the death blow in the eighth by scoring six runs. Libby had proven its ability to comeback in games but a 10-2 deficit was a tall order. Still, the Loggers produced a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth to keep their hopes alive.

Ryan Stapley reached on a fielder’s choice and Bertelsen scored to account for the first run of the inning. Later, Hendrickson scored on a Peltier RBI single.

After the Miners added another run in the ninth for an 11-4 lead, Libby put up a run for the fourth straight inning. Adam Stapley came off the bench to pinch run for Derek Benefield, who was hit by a pitch. Stapley came around to score on a Rory Hendrickson groundout.

Lethbridge collected a dozen hits in the game and got a little help from five Libby errors.

On the final stat sheet, Peltier had two hits for the Loggers. All six Libby hits in the game were singles. Hendrickson went seven innings at pitcher, allowing seven hits and four earned runs with five walks and seven strikeouts. Bertelsen relieved and went the final two.