Ponce leads 13-0 walk-over of Loggers

It was the last stop for a California baseball team in Montana, and they looked like the momentum they gained in Whitefish showed no signs of stopping.

The Chino (Calif.) Reds stopped in Libby on the way to Spokane, Wash., and blanked the Loggers 13-0, thanks to their powerful hitting and Libby making multiple defensive mistakes. The Reds put in bench players by the sixth inning, and the game was called because of the mercy rule after the seventh.

“They are a very talented ballclub, but we didn’t do our part,” said Loggers Head Coach Kelly Morford. “It might have been a mental thing. Our guys knew we were playing a good team and let it get to them.”

Chino scored its 13 runs on only 13 hits, in large part because the Loggers walked far too many players to stay competitive. All it took was a swat to centerfield for Cody Ponce to notch a three RBI double. Ponce, a 6-foot, 5-inch player with a nasty cutter on the mound and a smooth swing at the plate, was pleased with his team’s play and his four RBIs and three runs scored.

“I just do what I can for the team, but I’m feeling good today,” he said. Ponce had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning of a game against Club Spokane in Whitefish the day before. “Montana has been fun, a really good experience.”

Each team committed two errors; it just happened that Libby’s errors came when the bases were ringed with Reds.

“Most of our fielding mistakes were because we were not aggressive enough,” Morford said. “We need to be mentally tougher.”

Andrew Haggerty earned the loss, walking three, allowing three hits and five earned runs.

The Loggers seek to turn around recent offensive woes at the Lewiston (Idaho) Tournament, which goes from Thursday to Sunday.