Loggers finish fifth in tourney; Wicka hurls one-hitter finale
Playing concurrently with Logger Days, the Libby Loggers baseball team held its annual Big Buck Tournament, and the defending 2010 champion Loggers managed a fifth-place finish with a 9-0 victory last Sunday over the Prairie Cardinals.
During the course of the tourney, the Loggers finished with a 2-3 record.
“We just haven’t been playing that well,” said assistant coach Dave Horelick before the matchup with the Cardinals to decide fifth place.
The Mission Valley Mariners were tourney champions by virtue of their 8-7 victory over the Lewis & Clark Cubs.
The Strathmore AB Reds grabbed the third-place title with a 13-12 win over the Bitterroot Red Sox and the Moscow Blue Devils were seventh with a 9-5 win over the Tri-County Cardinals.
The difficulties the Loggers experienced in their first four games to post a 1-3 record seemed to be behind them in their tourney finale as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning and never looked back.
Logger hurler Justin Wicka saved the best performance for the last game of the tourney as he tossed a one-hitter against the Cardinals. The Cardinals’ Grey Krallman picked up their only hit in the top of the third when he laced a 2-2 Wicka offering for a single. Wicka was on his mark, as he pitched seven innings, struck out 11 — yes, eleven — and walked just one. Wicka threw 96 pitches, 65 of which were strikes.
The Cardinal pitching, consisting of starter Kenny Cooper and reliever Aaron Smith, combined to give up six hits and nine runs. Cooper, who lasted just 2-2/3 innings, gave up five hits, nine runs, struck out one and walked five. Smith struck out three, walked two and yielded just one hit.
The hitting star for the Loggers was third baseman Will Reichel who was the only batsman to register multiple hits — 2. Reichel also scored two of the Loggers nine runs.
Others to contribute to the hit parade were second baseman Jared Winslow, shortstop Chris Herbig, right fielder Luke Haggerty and Wicka, who was as good with the bat as he was on the mound, driving in four RBIs and coaxing a walk.
The Loggers rounded out the scoring in the third by scoring six to jump to the 9-0 lead and then just let Wicka shut down the Cardinals offense.
Each team committed an error.
Prairie Cardinals 000 000 0 —0 1 1
Libby Loggers 036 000 x —9 6 1
Cardinals: Evan Johnson 0-3; Bumgarner 0-3; Charbonneau 0-3; Shelton 0-3; Bushbocker 0-3; Prokish 0-2; Khoma 0-2; Smith 0-2; Krallman 1-1; Lebsock 0-1. LP: Kenny Cooper; IP-2.2; H-5; R-9; ER-8; BB-5; K-1.
Loggers: Wicka 1-3, 4RBI; Winslow 1-4; Herbig 1-3; Cislo 1-1; 0-2; Bradeen 0-2; Germany 1-1; Bluhm 0-1; A. Haggerty 0-1; L. Haggerty 1-2; Reichel 2-3. WP: Wicka IP-7; H-1; R-0; BB-1; K-11.