The last time Bob Rupp headed north to Alaska was to bring back a prisoner.

“I was a cop,” he said.

“I went up there years and years ago.”

Well, the retired deputy sheriff is headed back to The Last Frontier, but this time as coach of the Glacier Twins, the Montana/Alberta State A American Legion baseball champions. Rupp and the Twins are at the Northwest A Regionals in Anchorage. Tournament action starts Friday with the Twins playing Fairbanks, Alaska, at 3:15 p.m. Alaska time at Mulcahy Stadium.

“It’s an exciting mission,” Rupp said of this journey.

“The boys are excited. The are peaking at the right time.

“I’m looking forward to our trip,” he quickly added.

“We’ll go up and play and try to bring home some hardware.”

The Twins left Tuesday, driving as far as Seattle. They spent the evening in The Emerald City and were scheduled to fly to Anchorage today at 9 a.m.

The teams and coaches will attend a banquet on Thursday with play starting the following day.

The American Legion pays for air fares for players and coaches along with van and car rentals. The Twins, however, must raise $10,000 to cover the other expenses — trip to Seattle, motels, meals and other incidentals.

“We’re slowly getting there,” Rupp said of meeting that financial obligation.

The tournament runs through Aug. 12.

“An amazing season,” Rupp said.

“This bunch of boys, I have a new nickname for them — Dirt Dogs. They never quit. They dig down and go after it.”

 After losing to Laurel 9-1 in the semifinals at state in Lewistown last weekend, the Twins won three straight — 11-9 over Mission Valley, 14-4 over Belgrade and 8-4 over Laurel in the title game of the double-elimination tournament. Glacier went 5-1 at state to improve to 37-22-1 overall.

AJ Wetsch was named the state tournament MVP for pitching. Teammate Vincent Smith was named the MVP for hitting.

Wetsch’s bid for a no-hitter in the championship game ended in the seventh inning. He went 2-0 at state. He’s 11-2 for the season with a 2.76 ERA.

Smith is hitting a team-high .413 for the year. His on-base percentage is .455.

Smith’s 81 hits, 21 doubles and seven triples are all team bests.

“One of the things that has impressed me with this bunch of boys is they became a team,” Rupp said.

“At the beginning, they just were individuals coming from Whitefish and Columbia Falls.”

Glacier opened the season with three-straight losses before roaring back to win 16 of their next 17 outings.

The Twins hit a slump in early July, dropping seven straight and nine of 10.

“Right after that downfall, they started to come together,” Rupp said.

“They started climbing the ladder at that point. We just haven’t stopped climbing yet.”

Rupp said he was worried about the team’s pitching heading into the season because it was an area of struggles the year before. He said pitching coaches Scott Murray and Jeremy Nielsen have assembled a solid mound staff, which also includes Jesse Walburn (9-1), Austin Robins (5-3) and Jonny Sapa (5-3).

“The boys bought into their (Murray and Nielsen) program,” Rupp said, “as well as coach (Kevin) Slaybaugh and mine on hitting.”

The Twins are hitting .333 as a team with an on-base percentage of .429.

Hitting over .300 are: Robins (.327), Colten Parker (.362), Colton Gove (.341), Jayce Fagerland (.378), Walburn (.363), Kyler Howke (.335) and Tristan Steinwand (.307).

Rupp said Murray has not decided who will start on the mound against Fairbanks.

NOTES: Mission Valley’s Mariners advanced to regional play in 2007. Unlike AA, regional play is the finale for all A teams. AA teams, however, advance to the World Series.

Northwest A Regional

at Anchorage, Alaska

Mulcahy Stadium

All Times AKDT

Friday’s first-round pairings

9 a.m. — Idaho vs. Juneau, Alaska

Noon — Wyoming vs. Oregon

3:15 p.m. — Montana vs. Fairbanks, Alaska

6:30 p.m. —  Utah vs. Dimond (Anchorage) Alaska