Twins go 3-2 at Apple Valley tourney
The Glacier Twins AA squad ended a good run through the Apple Valley Invite last weekend in impressive fashion.
Kris Gross hit a one-out 2-RBI double in the seventh and Cody Hill followed with a pinch-hit walk-off single to cap a 7-6 win against the Marysville Hawks. Behind seven strong innings from pitcher Zach Maassen, the win pushed the Twins record to 3-2 in the Wenatchee, Wash. tournament.
More importantly, it gave the Legion baseball club a shot of momentum as they prepare to get back into the conference schedule this weekend in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
"We are feeling pretty good coming off that walk-off win," coach Lindsay Fansler said.
The coach said Glacier is in good position to make a conference run if the veterans can continue to carry the team with their bats and the pitching rotation stays solid.
The club takes on Medicine Hat Saturday and the Lethbridge Elks Sunday in Lethbridge.
The elite competition at the Apple Valley tourney was a good test for the team after dropping a set of conference games to Missoula and Kalispell last week.
"We keep telling the guys, 'Use these tournament experiences to make yourself better,'" Fansler said.
Most of the clubs in the tourney weren't in Legion baseball, Fansler explained, but rather select teams that send out invitations to players from across Washington.
"I thought there was a lot of good competition over there," he said. "The games we lost, I thought we had a chance in all of them. It can be intimidating to play these select clubs that suit up 20 guys for a game."
In the tourney opener, Trevor Miller hit a 2-run homer and Wade Martinson went 4-for-4 with five RBIs to lead Glacier to a tough 12-9 win over Marysville. Kyle Knox scored the win for Glacier despite letting the Hawks slip back into it after opening a 12-3 lead early.
"Knox battled hard," Fansler said. "We let them creep back in. It was a pretty gutsy performance."
In the second game, the Twins went cold as the team lost 8-0 to host Apple Valley.
"Apple Valley came out swinging the bats," Fansler said. "They looked great."
Glacier bounced back from the loss by taking down the Seattle Shockers 9-1, clinching a No. 1 seed for the final day of the tourney.