Chargers zap Twins' rally

The Glacier Twins blew a late-game, one-run lead in a twin bill with the Great Falls Chargers at home June 30, letting a chance to chalk up a much-needed conference win slip away.

An impressive nine-run fifth inning helped the Twins scratch their way to a 14-13 lead, but Great Falls' Casey Johnson responded in the sixth with a two-out, 2-RBI double. The Twins left two stranded in the bottom of the sixth and posted a zero in the seventh to cap the 14-17 defeat.

"We couldn't hold their bats down in the end," Twins coach Lindsay Fansler said. "Usually, 14 runs will win it. We have to stay tough mentally. Once we come back and get a lead, we have to protect it better than we did. We need shutdown innings."

He gave credit to the Chargers' bats for their rally.

"They hit it as well as any conference club," Fansler said. "They were just out there swinging the bats."

Despite the heartbreaking loss, Fansler liked the way the Twins rallied from being down 11 runs to take a lead.

"That says a lot about the kids," he said. "They're never out of a ball game."

The Twins' big inning started with a leadoff walk from Cody Elek. Kyle Yogodzinski followed with a blooper single to center, setting up Zach Maassen's RBI-double down the left-field line.

After a Great Falls pitching change, Kyler Blades ripped an RBI-single to center field. The next play, Carl Talsma hit an infield grounder, forcing Blades to slide into second base and break up a double-play opportunity. While the Chargers unsuccessfully attempted to turn two, Maassen scored from third.

Dustin VonFeldt took a pitch in the arm during the next at-bat to load the bases. The Chargers then walked in a run, and Geoff Streeter hit an RBI-single up the middle to make the score 10-13.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Trevor Miller sent a drive down the left-field line. The ball looked poised to be foul, but it hooked to the inside of the foul pole and out of the park for a grand slam. The homer capped the Twins' nine-run, five-hit inning, giving them a 14-13 lead.

The Twins came out deflated in game two and didn't score a run or tally a hit until the bottom of the fifth. Great Falls cruised to a 12-1 win to sweep the doubleheader.