Twins take third at Sapa Johnsrud tourney
The Glacier Twins snapped a mid-season skid with a pair of big wins at the 30th annual Sapa Johnsrud Memorial Tournament.
The Twins (25-18-1) rolled to a 10-1 victory over the Calgary Red Birds on Sunday to finish third in the baseball tourney at Memorial Field.
“I like what’s going on,” Glacier coach Bob Rupp said of the Twins strong finish. “We had a downfall a little bit, but now we’re starting to come alive.”
“We went through the same stuff last year, but didn’t respond like we are this year. We haven’t lost any of our games by big margins — we have been in every game.”
Glacier blew open Sunday’s game against the Red Birds in the third inning when Tyler Murphy reached on an infield single that brought home a pair of runs to make it 6-0.
Vincent Smith crushed a two RBI triple to center field in the fourth to push Glacier in front 8-0. Glacier took a 10-0 lead in the fifth frame to push the Red Birds out of reach.
Starting pitcher Jesse Walburn allowed one hit and no runs in three innings of work. Austin Robins was stellar in relief, getting out of jams in the third and fourth frame with key strikeouts.
“Jesse did a great job,” Rupp said. “Then Austin came in and shut things down. When he gets into that mode, he’s hard to beat.”
Glacier picked up their first win of the tourney Saturday morning with a nice 8-1 romp over the Calgary Jr. Dinos.
Six runs in the second inning pushed Glacier in front for good with starting pitcher A.J. Wetsch giving up just one hit in four innings of work.
Smith and Walburn led the way at the dish going 2 for 3. Walburn also put in work with the leather, making a nice running snag in right field to keep the Dinos at bay.
The Twins opened the tourney Thursday with a pair of tough losses to the Red Birds and Spokane Cannons.
Glacier held a 4-2 lead over Calgary before the Red Birds rallied to notch four runs in the final frame for the 6-4 victory.
The Twins held a 7-2 lead in the sixth inning over Spokane, but fielding errors let the Cannons storm back with nine runs in the final inning to steal the game 11-7. Four Glacier batters were 2 for 4 at the dish, and Tristin Steinwand and Dakota Bridwell each posted two RBI.
Friday, Glacier dropped another close game to the Lethbridge Elks 11-7. Murphy was 2 for 2 at the plate, and Colton Gove hit two RBI.
The Calgary Jr. Dinos topped the Lethbridge Elks in the championship game.
Glacier hosts Medicine Hat July 15, travels to Kalispell A July 16, hosts Kalispell A July 17, then travels back to Kalispell A on July 19.
The district tournament begins July 23.
“We’re starting to peak at the right time,” Rupp said. “We played good ball all weekend, but now we can concentrate on getting ready for the districts.”