'Dirt Dog' grit lifts Twins to State A title

Resiliency, heart and some “Dirt Dog” grit lifted the Glacier Twins to its first state championship in nearly three decades.

Glacier defeated the Laurel Dodgers 8-4 in the wee hours Sunday morning to win the Montana/Alberta State A American Legion baseball tournament in Lewistown.

The last time the Twins won the state tournament was 1986.

Glacier (37-22-1) advances to the Northwest A Regionals in Anchorage, Alaska. They open Thursday against Juneau.

The championship game, slated to start at 4 p.m., was delayed until 9 p.m. due to heavy rain. The late start didn’t seem to deter the Twins as they posted five runs unanswered.

Twins pitcher AJ Wetsch held Laurel hitless through six innings before the Dodgers finally pushed four runs across to tighten the score at 5-4.

Glacier responded with three runs in the eighth and reliever Jonny Sapa came on to seal the victory.

Colton Gove had two RBI, and Kyler Howke, Tristan Steinwand and Tyler Murphy each tallied two hits for Glacier in the win.

Wetsch fanned one batter and walked just three in the win. He was named the most valuable pitcher in the tourney.

Twins slugger Vinny Smith was hitless against Laurel, but was named the tournament’s best hitter for his performance throughout the week. He was batting .600 before the championship game.

Glacier piled on 19 hits to defeat Belgrade 14-4 in the loser-out semifinal game on Saturday. Smith and Gove each had four hits in the win. Colten Parker had three RBI. Pitchers Jesse Walburn, Smith and Austin Robbins combined to hold Belgrade to eight hits.

On Friday, Glacier ousted Mission Valley from the tourney with an 11-9 win. The Twins took an early 5-0 lead and expanded it to 8-1 in the sixth.

Parker was 3 for 4 with a triple and an RBI. Smith had 2 RBI. Wetsch pitched five innings to get the victory.

Glacier road a bus to Seattle on Tuesday to catch a flight to Anchorage, Alaska, for the Regional tourney.

The team needs to raise about $15,000 for the trip. Donations are being accepted online at www.gofundme.com/ckvsvg or mailed to P.O. Box 2007, Whitefish, MT 59937. Donations can also be made at First Interstate Bank or Park Side Credit Union, under Glacier Twins State Champs.