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Twins extend winning streak to 8 games

by Daniel McKay
Whitefish Pilot | June 16, 2020 12:27 PM

It was another big week for the Twins (12-3), who have been red hot since their opening 1-2 weekend.

The team went 4-0 on the week, defeating the Kalispell Lakers and Bitterroot Bucs twice each to bring their winning streak to eight games.

On Wednesday the team took on the Lakers in Kalispell, coming home with an 8-2 win.

The Twins gradually built up their offense at the plate, notching their first run in the second inning before adding a whopping five in the third inning. As a team they notched eight hits to Kalispell’s five.

Devin Beale led the team with three hits and two RBIs, while George Robbins tallied four strikeouts in seven innings pitching.

Then on Thursday they followed that up with a 7-4 win at home.

Glacier did all its scoring in the second and fourth innings in that game, scoring two and then five to open a 7-2 lead heading into the sixth.

Kalispell wasn’t done, however, and scored two more in the sixth to bring things to 7-4, but the Twins’ defense and pitching held strong in the seventh to secure the win.

The Twins had nine hits to Kalispell’s eight.

Cade Morgan led the team with three RBIs.

Jake Polumbus worked on the mound for the Twins, notching two strikeouts in three innings.

Things weren’t as close on the weekend.

On Sunday Glacier faced off against the Bitterroot Bucs in an away doubleheader, winning 14-3 and 6-3.

Austyn Andrachick led the bats in the first game, with three hits and three RBIs.

Mason Peters and Beale both added three hits of their own.

Zach Veneman got the win in the first game, striking four out in as many innings on the mound.

Andrachick followed that game up with another trio of hits and an RBI in game two. Stevyn Andrachick got the win on the mound, striking out four.

Head coach Kevin Slaybaugh said he’s been impressed with how his team has been playing in the last few weeks.

“We’re coming together. The boys are just really focusing and we’re starting to hit the ball a little bit. Our pitching has been a little better,” he said.

Now, as the team moves into the meat of its schedule, Slaybaugh said he’s hoping to continue the improvement at the right pace.

“We’ve had a nice little upward plane of fixing mistakes and getting better at the details. If you get on too steep of an incline for your improvement you might not peak where you need to be,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of real tough competition coming up. We’re playing in three AA tournaments in the next three or four weeks, so that’ll give us a good indication of where we’re at.”

The team’s got plenty of baseball to play this week.

On Tuesday after press time they hosted the Mission Valley Mariners A squad for a doubleheader at Memorial Field.

Then over the weekend they’ll play in the Missoula AA Tournament.

“It’s going to be a tournament where there’s not going to be away scores,” Slaybaugh said. “It’s a good chance to really focus and try to keep it close and see if we can hang with some really good teams. We look at it as a learning process.”

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Coach Rob Veneman praises Jack Price after a base hit against the Lakers A squad last Thursday at Memorial Field. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)

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Payton Davisson gets the out at third against the Lakers A squad last Thursday at Memorial Field. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)