Loggers split twin bill with Kalispell
Second baseman Dylan Buckner lays the tag on Kalispell's Braden Capser as he tries to steal for the first out in the top of fifth inning. Loggers fall 8-4. (Paul Sievers/The Western News)
The Libby Loggers claimed a doubleheader split with Kalispell Friday evening in American Legion baseball action at Lou Gehring Memorial Field.
The Loggers dropped the first game by an 8-4 count before claiming a 3-2 win in the nightcap. The Loggers broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the bottom of the fifth and made it 3-1 with another tally in the sixth.
The run was a big one after the Lakers scored once in the seventh.
Caden Williams threw a gem for the Loggers in the second game as he struck out several Lakers.
Walks were costly for the Loggers in the first game.
Three Loggers pitchers issued a total of nine walks to Lakers batters and six of them scored as Kalispell scored an 8-4 win in the first game of a doubleheader.
Pitcher Aydan Williamson started the first game and lasted one-third of an inning while allowing four runs. He walked three batters and allowed one hit. He did fare better Saturday against the Mission Valley Miners in a 3-2 loss in the second game of a doubleheader.
The Loggers (4-12) lost both games of the twinbill Saturday. The Mariners won the first game, 13-3, in five innings.
Against the Lakers in the first game, Libby trailed 5-0 after the top half of the first, but kept battling to make it a one-run game in the second inning.
The Loggers scored twice in the bottom of the first. Tripp Zhang’s one-out double got things started. He scored two batters later on a Kalispell fielding error. Aydan Williamson, who reached on the error, scored when Cy Williams doubled.
After Loggers pitcher Caleb Moeller pitched a scoreless second, the hosts scored two more in the bottom of the frame.
Aiden Rose’s two-out single was followed by a Dylan Buckner single. Zhang, who was 3-for-4, singled to right to score Rose. An error in the outfield allowed Buckner to score to make it 5-4.
But the Loggers didn’t score again and Kalispell tacked on three more runs to set the final.
The Loggers did get a leadoff double from Williamson in the third. He took third on a wild pitch, but he was stranded there.
The Loggers are in the midst of a big road trip. They play in Miles City tonight before heading to Gillette on Wednesday, then Mitchell, South Dakota, on Thursday, and to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, Friday and Saturday.