Twins take second in district tournament; head to state

In an eventful West A District Legion baseball tournament, the Glacier Twins fought until the end to make the championship game.

Unfortunately, the Twins eventually succumbed to the Bitterroot Red Sox on Sunday evening after falling behind early; the 13-1 defeat landed the team comprised of players from Whitefish and Columbia Falls in second place in the district tournament.

The placing does qualify Glacier to compete in the American Legion State A Tournament this week though. The Twins will face off against Laurel in Belgrade on Wednesday at 1 p.m. for the team’s first game of the tournament.

Last year the Twins won the West A District title and came up just shy of the State A title.

To begin districts last week, the Twins started off with a commanding victory over the Cranbrook Bandits, 11-3, on Thursday. Glacier finally claimed the lead in the fifth inning, scoring 9 runs in that inning alone. The offensive spurt consisted of doubles by Hayden Meehan, Mason Peters, and Mikey Glass, singles by Kellen Kroger and Owen Shilling, a triple by Stevyn Andrachick, and a sacrifice fly by Maddox Muller.

Glacier then faced the Bitterroot Bucs on Friday. The Twins held a small 3-1 lead over the Bucs for most of the game until extending in the fifth inning with 5 more runs. The Bucs were able to put one score on the board in the top of the seventh, but Glacier held on to win.

Peters was steady on the mound for the Twins. The pitcher lasted six and two-thirds innings, allowed 10 hits, and 2 runs and struck out four. Glacier had zero errors in the field and Andrachick made the most plays with seven.

On Saturday night the Twins ran into a little trouble as they faced the third-seeded Bitterroot Red Sox for the first time in the tournament. The Sox blanked Glacier 10-0.

All 10 of the Red Sox’s runs came in the fourth inning.

The blow on Saturday set up a must-win game Sunday morning against the Bitterroot Bucs. Glacier put up runs in every inning played in the close game. Glacier won 14-11.

The Twins had a 5-run third inning that put them on top for good, though the Bucs battled back. Glacier had 14 hits in the game. Glass, Peters, and Andrachick each collected multiple hits and Glass led with four hits in four at-bats.

In the championship the Twins couldn’t find their offense and also gave up several runs facing the Bitterroot Red Sox — again. The Red Sox put up 4 runs in the first. Glacier’s only run came in the first inning when Kroger doubled on a line drive to right field with two on base; Glass scored on the play. Bitterroot’s Tim Hickey was the starting pitcher and he surrendered 1 run on five hits over six innings — pitching well enough to keep the Twins scoreless after the first inning. The Sox piled on 6 runs in the top of the seventh which secured the 13-1 championship win.

The Twins are entering the State A tournament as the second seed from the West A District. Glacier will face the No.1 seed out of the East A, the Laurel Dodgers, on Wednesday, July 27 at 1 p.m. in Belgrade. The state tournament will is a double-elimination format and the Twins will play again on Thursday regardless of if they win or lose the first game.

The State tournament stretches through the weekend with the championship game scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. The games will be streamed live by Montana Prep Sports Network at https://mpsn406.com/