Loggers gear up for stretch run with third at Big Bucks tourney

The Libby Loggers Legion baseball team came out of the Big Bucks Tournament with three wins in four games and optimism for the rest of the season.

“Our goal coming into the tournament was to use it as a jumping off point for the second half, we won a few games and learned we can play well and compete,” Loggers manager Kelly Morford said. “We know baseball is the most fun when you’re in close games and now we just have to be ready to compete every time we go out.”

The Loggers, which had two wins entering Big Bucks, opened strong Thursday with a 13-3 win in five innings over the Moscow Blue Devils.

The Loggers battled in an 8-5 loss to Lewis Clark Friday, then turned around and made the third-place game with a 2-1 win over the Central Alberta Wolves.

Sunday, the Loggers avenged the Lewis Clark loss with a 5-1 win over the Cubs. 

In Thursday’s win over Moscow, three pitchers combined to stifle the Blue Devils. Cy Williams started and worked two innings. He got plenty of offensive support with the Loggers scoring 10 runs. Cody Todd threw two innings and Tanner Wolfe pitched the final frame.

Mason Crowe had a standup triple in first when Libby took an 8-0 lead. Isaac Lamere tripled in the fourth and the game ended when the Loggers turned a double play in the fifth.

Friday, Lewis Clark took a 3-0 lead in the second before the Loggers trimmed the lead to one run with single tallies in the third and fourth innings. The Cubs got some breathing room with a five-spot in the sixth, but the Loggers made them sweat with three in the bottom of the inning.

Aidan Rose worked four innings for Libby before Rusty Gillespie worked the fifth, Wolfe threw in the sixth and Boe Miles finished the sixth. Noah Gillespie pitched the seventh. 

Against Central Alberta, Williams worked into the fifth and didn’t allow a run. The Loggers picked up one run in each of the fifth and sixth to take a 2-0 lead. The Wolves got a run in the seventh, but Rusty Gillespie didn’t allow any more and the Loggers held on.

Libby’s strong pitching continued Sunday in the 5-1 win over the Cubs. Cody Todd worked two scoreless innings. Noah Gillespie came on and had some trouble before Wolfe kept the damage to a minimum.

Crowe knocked in a run in the second inning while Wolfe slammed a run-scoring double to give Libby a 3-1 lead. Ian Thom and Dalton Cannon finished the pitching for the Loggers.

“One of the things that we did well was when one kid got in trouble on the mound, the next one who came in got us out of trouble and didn’t compound any mistakes,” Morford said. 

The Bitterroot Bucs claimed the tourney title with a 9-1 win over the North Idaho Lakers. 

This Saturday, the Loggers host the Bucs for a conference doubleheader with a 3 p.m. start time. Tuesday, they played a conference doubleheader at the Glacier Twins, dropping both games, 19-3 and 15-2. According to the Daily Inter Lake, Ian Thom had Libby’s lone hit in the second game and Isaac Lamere had two hits in the opener for the Loggers.

Thursday, the Loggers were scheduled to play at Kootenai Valley.

“We’ll play a lot of conference games to the end and hopefully we can rack up some wins and make some noise at districts,” Morford said.

The regular season ends July 20 at Bitterroot and the district tournament runs from July 25 to July 28.

    Libby third baseman Cy Williams puts the tag on the Central Alberta's Ayren Henry for the final out top of the seventh inning Saturday in a 2-1 win. (Paul Sievers/The Western News)
  

    Libby right fielder Mason Crowe posts an RBI on the 3-2 pitch from Cubs' pitcher Jimmy Woody in the bottom of the second inning Sunday at Lee Gehring Field. (Paul Sievers/The Western News)
  

    Central Alberta’s Graison Gallais stretches for the safety of first base as Libby's Tanner Wolfe checks his runner on a throw from pitcher Rusty Gillespie in the top of the seventh inning with no outs. The Loggers won, 2-1, Saturday during the Big Bucks Tournament at Lee Gehring Field. (Paul Sievers/The Western News)