Legion baseball opens season with 3 in Eureka

The Libby American Legion baseball team opened the season this past weekend with three games at an informal tournament at Eureka.

The Loggers dropped a 15-1 decision to Mission Valley but then rebounded to defeat Glacier A, 10-4, on Saturday. The next day, Kootenai Valley out of Eureka took a 13-8 win over Libby.

In the opener, perennial power Mission Valley limited the Loggers to just two hits in the game. Josiah Coker had an RBI single and the other hit was a single by Kelly May.

Mission Valley led 3-0 through the first three innings and then erupted for a 10-spot in the top of the fourth.

Colton Cannon went 3 1/3 innings at pitcher, allowing five runs – two of those earned – and three walks while striking out two.

Libby scored three in the top of the first and later added five runs in the fifth in a 10-4 victory over Glacier A.

Dustin Morningstar had a hot bat with a 3-for-4 effort, which included a triple. Cannon, Derek Willis and Eric Stevenson each had two hits. In all, Libby collected 14 hits in the victory.

Chris Herbig picked up the win at pitcher by going 3 2/3 innings and allowing three runs. Stevenson relieved and got the save with 3 1/3 innings pitched. He allowed two hits and one run.

Kootenai Valley, the host team, then downed Libby, 13-8, on Sunday. Libby led 3-0 early but Eureka’s bats got hot later with five runs in the fourth and five in the sixth.

Coker went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for the Loggers. Herbig added a pair of hits.

Morningstar (4 innings) and Adam Stapley (2 innings) each saw time on the mound.

Libby (1-2) will play its home opener on Friday at 6 p.m. against Eureka. The Loggers will then play a doubleheader on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Glacier A.