Loggers open with Wood Bat Tournament
<p>Will Reichel first pitch of the 2014 season for a strike vs. Missoula Pioneers first game of the Wood Bat Tournament Friday, May 9.</p>
<p>Ryan Huffman caught stealing second vs. Missoula Pioneers during first game of Wood Bat Tournament Friday evening.</p>
<p>Luke Haggerty pitching top of fifth inning vs. Cranbrook Bandits 5-10-14.</p>
The Loggers kicked off their season Friday with the Wood Bat Classic tournament at Lee Gehring Field. It was a learning experience for the team, who ended the tournament with one win and two losses.
The Loggers ended the weekend on a winning note when they beat the Cranbrook Bandits, 5-4, on Sunday afternoon. The Logger offense was led by Luke Haggerty and Cameron Burkes, who both went 2-4. Will Reichel, Dylon Lane, Quincy Grupenhoff and Haggerty each had an RBI.
Haggerty was the starting pitcher for the game and pitched 5 1/3 innings and struck out two batters. Lane also tried his hand on the hill and pitched for two-thirds of an inning and struck out one batter. Erik Lauer was the winning pitcher for the Loggers, with Oliver Grupenhoff behind the plate. Lauer pitched the final inning of the game and struck out one batter.
Despite his team’s slow start, Libby Coach Kelly Morford saw some strengths in his team.
“All in all, it was a positive weekend for us,” Morford said. “We don’t have a ton of experience on the hill, but we have good depth and a lot of arms. They just need some experience. They will continue to develop and get better.”
Several Loggers manned the hot corner during the weekend. However, one of those third basemen, Luke Haggerty, said his team has quite a bit of room to improve.
“Third base is our weakest position, the weakest position in the entire world. We are really bad there,” Haggerty said. “We need to get better at fielding, for sure.”
On Saturday evening the Loggers battled it out with the Strathmore Reds. Reichel, Lane and Burkes each went 2-4. Ryan Huffman, Oliver Grupenhoff, Collin Johnson, Lane and Burkes all pitched during the game. Huffman led all pitchers with four strikeouts. Lane also led the team with two RBIs. Strathmore took the win, 14-5.
“We made some mistakes that you would expect to make at the beginning of the season,” Morford said.
Friday evening, the Loggers played the Missoula Pioneers. Matt Willis and Reichel went 1-3, and Austin Marshall had the only RBI for the Loggers. Missoula’s Pitcher, Troy Wolff, was a tough opponent, striking out eight of the Logger’s batters. Pitchers for the Loggers were Reichel and Johnson. Missoula took the win, 4-1.
“We started off hitting pretty shaky, but you can expect that for the beginning of the year. I think our hitting will get better,” Haggerty said, reflecting on the weekend.
This tournament helped the Loggers gauge their skills compared to the other teams for the start of the season. Based on the team’s performance, Morford knows exactly where his team needs to improve.
“We need to get better defensively,” Morford said. “I think we will hit the ball a lot better than we did this weekend once we see a few more pitches.”
The Loggers will host the Kalispell Lakers AA at 6:05 p.m. on May 14.