Loggers peak at right time; finish fourth at state
<p>The Fourth-place Libby Loggers after their loss to Glasgow are, from left to right, Micah Germany, Jared Winslow, Luke Haggerty, Cameron Burkes, Andrew Haggerty, Oliver Grupenhoff, Nic Robertson, Josh Foote, Will Reichel, Matt Willis, Assistant Coach Jack Helber, Assistant Coach Jake Swartzendruber and Head Coach Kelly Morford.</p>
<p>Oliver Grupenhoff slides at home plate against the Glasgow Reds in the Loggers last game at the state tournament. They would finish fourth after being seeded No. 3 in District.</p>
It wasn’t a favorable hand to be dealt. Libby, fresh off a second-place finish in the Legion baseball Western District Tournament, was slated to face the three-time state champion Laurel Dodgers.
Unfortunately, this didn’t appear to be a Cinderella story in the making, as the Loggers went down 9-0…in the second inning.
“To start with, we were probably a little intimidated that we were playing Laurel,” said Head Coach Kelly Morford. “But, the guys never gave up, and we were able to come back and get closer.”
Come back they did, and Will Reichel (who was given the loss on the mound) swung a big bat for Libby, going 4-for-6 with three runs and two RBIs to bring the Loggers to a tie with Laurel at the top of the eighth.
Four quick runs from the Dodgers placed them on top, 17-13, sending Libby to the losers bracket with an incredible amount of confidence.
This shined through in two dominating victories over the Gallatin Valley Outlaws and Great Falls Chargers, 15-4 and 19-8.
Reichel pitched again in the first game, and this time he was on the right end. In a seven-inning performance, he allowed eight runs. With the lineup batting in 17 runs with 15 hits, Great Falls was overpowered. Nic Robertson and Josh Foote each had four RBIs in the mercy-rule shortened game.
Gallatin Valley also fell to the motivated and lucky Loggers, powered by Jared Winslow, redeeming his effort against Laurel.
Winslow threw all seven-innings, allowed seven hits and struck out 11 batters in the 15-4 win. Winslow, Micah Germany and Oliver Grupenhoff had three hits each and batted in eight runs.
More than anything, the Outlaws had seven errors, dooming any effort they had to best Libby.
With two emphatic wins, Libby was one game away from the state championship game and yet another rematch with the Mission Valley Mariners.
Glasgow stepped in the way.
The Reds were able to stem the Logger tide 16-6, sending Libby home in fourth place.
“Really, all of the balls that fell for us the rest of the tournament were hit right at guys against Glasgow,” Morford said. “We always knew that if we make it out of the Western District, we could compete and be right in the mix of things at state.”
Morford’s squad appeared shaky at many times this season, a testament as much to the quality of competition as to the inexperience of the Loggers, but even after some harsh losses, the team stayed on point.
“It would have been pretty easy for the kids to stop believing at some point,” he said. “But they stayed committed. I can’t say enough about how proud I am of these kids.”
In good news for Loggers fans and bad news for competition, every player is eligible to return next season.
“We still have to get our numbers up, pick up a few good kids from Babe Ruth,” Morford said. “But we’ve got a real shot at the state title next season.”