C-Falls 12U wins Zerr tourney crown

Columbia Falls' 12-and-under all-star baseball team "ran the table" in the Jack Zerr Tournament last weekend at Smith Fields in Whitefish, capturing the tourney title.

A key for C-Falls was pitching depth, as Bret Almos, Colton Gove, Ty Morgan, Nakia Alexander, Jayce Fagerland and Daniel Garwood were all outstanding on the mound.

"We have six pretty quality pitchers," C-Falls head coach Brandon Rice said.

The all-stars opened with a 9-4 victory over Kalispell Nationals. Almos and Gove split the pitching duties, allowing a combined two hits.

Morgan and Alexander scattered five hits between them as C-Falls slipped by the Bitterroot Bolts, 4-2. They combined to strike out 10 Bolt batters. Austin Kimmet had the key hit, a two-run double in the fourth.

Almos, Fagerland and Garwood held Whitefish to two hits, combining for a 13-0 shutout. C-Falls scored six runs in the top of the sixth inning. Alexander was 3-for-4. Almos and Morgan each scored three runs.

Behind the four-hit pitching of Morgan and Almos, C-Falls topped Kalispell Nationals 4-1 in the fourth game. They combined to strike out nine. Fagerland went 3-for-3, and Almos was 2-for-2 with a walk.

The 4-0 record advanced the U12 all-stars to the championship game against Bitterroot, and C-Falls earned a 7-3 victory to take the title. Fagerland hit a solo home run in the first inning. Morgan, who was 2-for-3, blasted a three-run homer in the second as C-Falls took a 5-0 lead. Teamwise, C-Falls had 10 hits.

"We hit the ball well all weekend," Rice said.

A defensive highlight came when right fielder Gove caught a fly ball and gunned down a Bolts runner at the plate in the sixth inning. Alexander, Gove and Almos pitched, and Fagerland came on in the sixth with one out and the bases loaded — getting his team out of the jam. Fagerland was 2-for-3 at the plate.

C-Falls' U12 all-stars compete in the Firecracker Invitational this Friday through Sunday in Kalispell.