Twins end Sapa-Johnsrud on high note

The Glacier Twins ended a tough Sapa-Johnsrud tournament on a high note, taking down the Butte Miners AA 11-1 in their final game.

The win came after losses to the Palouse Patriots AA (10-5), the Lethbridge Elks AA (9-8) and the Kalispell Lakers AA (6-5) in the tournament.

The Miners tied things up at one run apiece in the top of the third inning, but the Twins exploded in the bottom for eight runs to pull ahead for good.

Glacier had 12 hits in the game, led by Ryan Veneman, Terek Bistodeau and Caleb Meehan, all of who went 2 for 3 at the plate. Meehan had three RBIs and Veneman notched a double and two RBIs.

Earlier in the tournament the Twins dropped a pair of games, each by a single run.

Against the Lakers, it was a two-run sixth inning that erased a one-run Glacier lead for good. The Twins managed only five hits in the game.

Against Lethbridge it was more of the same, as the Twins couldn’t take the lead in a tight contest and fell 9-8.

Head coach Scott Murray said despite the 1-3 record, he thought his team showed up to compete.

“We lost some close ones, but I think we’re looking good. Defensively, we played really well, offensively we put some runs up against some good AA pitchers,” he said.

While Murray said the Lethbridge score was closer than the game actually seemed, he said the tough battle with Kalispell was a good learning experience for his team.

“We had a chance in the bottom of the seventh to come back, but we hit three pop flies in a row to kind of shoot ourselves in the foot,” he said. “We just needed to do what we were doing all game, hitting line drives and getting on base, but we didn’t do that. I think they learned something out of that — don’t change your approach.”

It’s the final stretch for Glacier before the District Tournament at the end of the month.

Today they’ll travel to Libby to take on the Loggers, and they’ll face the Cranbrook Bandits in a four-game series this weekend.

The first doubleheader will be on Saturday at Memorial Field, starting at 5 p.m. On Sunday they’ll head north for the second half of the series.

After that, the Twins have series against the Missoula Mavericks, the Bitterroot Red Sox and the Lakers A to close out the season.

“I like where we’re at right now,” Murray said. “Really by the time that we’re done with the regular season, we’ll know exactly where were sitting. I’m proud of the boys, I think we’re playing some really good baseball.”

Glacier Twins A 001 130 0 — 5 9 3

Palouse Patriots AA 500 401 x — 10 7 1

WP—NA; LP—Matt Morrison.

GLACIER TWINS A — Ryan Veneman 1-4, Jack Schwaiger 1-3, Coby Clark-Dickenson 3-4, Terek Bistodeau 1-4, Tom Hellwig 0-4, Morrison 0-0, Donnie Simms 0-1, Dan Seymour 0-1, Forrest Kobelt 1-2, Caleb Meehan 0-3, Quintin Schriver 2-3, Billy Barret 0-0, Nathan Hader 0-0.

2B—Schriver, Veneman; HR—Clark-Dickenson; RBIs—Veneman, Clark-Dickenson (3), Morrison.

Kalispell Lakers AA 200 202 0 — 6 9 4

Glacier Twins A 300 110 0 — 5 5 2

WP—Drew Scherrer; LP—Coby Clark-Dickenson.

GLACIER TWINS A — Ryan Veneman 1-4, Jack Schwaiger 1-4, Clark-Dickenson 1-4, Terek Bistodeau 0-2, Matt Morrison 0-0, Forrest Kobelt 1-2, Dan Seymour 0-2, Tom Hellwig 0-2, Caleb Meehan 1-3, Quintin Schriver 0-3, Billy Barret 0-0.

2B—Stultz, Seaman (2); RBIs—Stultz, Morton (2), Seaman (2), Jones; Clark-Dickenson, Kobelt, Seymour.

Butte Miners AA 001 00 — 1 2 0

Glacier Twins A 108 2x — 11 12 2

WP—Zach Veneman; LP—Justin Summers.

GLACIER TWINS A — Ryan Veneman 2-3, Jack Schwaiger 1-2, Coby Clark-Dickenson 1-1, Terek Bistodeau 2-3, Matt Morrison 0-1, Billy Barret 0-0, Dan Seymour 1-3, Tom Hellwig 1-2, Nathan Hader 1-1, Caleb Meehan 2-3, Forrest Kobelt 1-3.

2B—R. Veneman; RBIs—R. Veneman (2), Clark-Dickenson (2), Bistodeau, Seymour, Meehan (3).