The Kalispell Lakers AA came from behind and held off the Lethbridge Elks in Game 1 before being humbled in the night cap, as the teams split the American Legion doubleheader on Wednesday night at Griffin Field.

Lethbridge put up two runs in the first inning of the opener, but the Lakers came right back with five unanswered runs of their own.

Kalispell scored three runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by catcher Adam Frandsen’s two RBI single that scored right fielder Brandon Maassen and second baseman Levi Brenneman.

“I was just trying to drive the ball the other way,” Frandsen said.

“I haven’t been doing that much this year, so I wanted try something new. I thought we answered pretty well. It didn’t sit well, them scoring first. We wanted to come out and show our home fans how we play.”

After holding the Elks scoreless in the second, the Lakers added two more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Frandsen had another RBI single as he finished 2 for 2 with three RBIs.

Charlie Obermiller, 1 for 3, drove in the other run of the inning.

With a 5-2 advantage, Kalispell ace Justin Wallace allowed just one more run in the opening contest, leading the Lakers to a 5-3 victory. He finished with four strikeouts in six innings of work.

“Answering those runs kind of allowed Justin to settle down and get into his groove,” Kalispell manager Ryan Malmin said.

“He’s our ace and we expect big things from him everytime he comes out to pitch.”

Maassen finished 2 for 4 while Walker Malmin added an RBI in Game 1.

The night cap was a different story for the Lakers.

The Elks started the second game of the twin bill exactly like the opener, scoring two runs in the top of the first.

Jack McDonald ripped a double off the left field wall to drive in pitcher Nick Ankermann.

Unfortunatley for the Lakers, the Elks weren’t done.

Lethbridge totaled 15 hits, four of which went for extra bases, en route to a 10-0 victory.

Ankermann kept the Lakers off balance at the plate. His steady dose of breaking balls allowed him to carry a no-hit bid into the fifth inning until Kalispell’s Brett Thomas broke it up with a single.

“We don’t want to be satisfied. We want to be hungry,” Malmin said of Game 2.

“We left the ball up early and allowed them to jump on us a little bit, and we didn’t have a very good approach at the plate.

“It was a little frustrating in that respect but it was important to at least get one.”

Brenneman, Malmin and Chasen Eaves all had hits for the Lakers, who are off until Monday when they host a doubleheader against Medicine Hat. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Griffin Field.

Game 1

Lethbridge Elks 200 100 0 — 3 7 0

Kalispell Lakers 320 000 x — 5 8 3

Landon Bourassa, Shawn Grandmont (3) and Carter Witbeck. Justin Wallace, Colton Wiley (7) and Adam Frandsen. W — Wallace. L — Bourassa.

LETHBRIDGE — Dayton Johnston 0-4, Erik Davies 1-3, Nick Ankermann 1-4, Jack McDonald 1-4, Justin Sturm 1-4, Carter Witbeck 2-3, Shawn Grandmont 0-3, Nick Tetzlaff 0-2, Wilson Holt 0-1, Austin Huculak 1-3.

KALISPELL — Brandon Maassen 2-4, Levi Brenneman 1-3, Charlie Obermiller 1-3, Adam Frandsen 2-2, Andy Bemis 0-3, Walker Malmin 1-3, Colton Wiley 0-3, Brett Thomas 1-3, Jake Barstow 0-3.

RBIs — Sturm, Ankermann, Frandsen 3, Malmin, Obermiller.

Game 2

Lethbridge Elks 231 101 2 — 10 15 1

Kalispell Lakers 000 000 0 — 0 4 3

Nick Ankermann and Marcus Pierce. Walker Malmin, Adam Frandsen (4) and Brandon Maassen. W — Ankermann. L — Malmin.

LEHTBRIDGE — Dayton Johnston 1-3, Erik Davies 1-3, Landon Bourassa 0-1, Nick Ankermann 2-4, Jack McDonald 3-5, Justin Sturm 2-4, Shawn Grandmont 2-4, T. Shirakawa 1-3, Marcus Pearce 2-4, Austin Huculak 1-4.

KALISPELL — Brandon Maassen 0-3, Chasen Eaves 1-1, Levi Brenneman 1-4, Charlie Obermiller 0-3, Adam Frandsen 0-2, Andy Bemis 0-1, Sam Crompton 0-1, Walker Malmin 1-2, Brett Thomas 1-2, Justin Wallace 0-2, Jake Barstow 0-2.

2B — McDonald 2, Ankermann, Brenneman. 3B — Davies. RBIs — McDonald 2, Sturm 2, Davies, Ankermann 3, Huculak.

Mission Vly. Mariners 13, Glacier Twins 9

WHITEFISH — T.J. Olson hit a double and a home run to finish with three RBIs, leading the Mission Valley Mariners over the Glacier Twins for an Americn Legion victory on Wednesday night.

Deadlocked at 3 in the top of the third inning, the Mariners put up eight runs and followed Bradley Pichler’s arm for the win.

Zeke Webster Yaqui finished 2 for 5 with four RBIs while Ryan Pablo went 3 for 6.

The Twins, who scored five runs in the seventh inning were led by Austin Robbins’ 3 for 5 performance. He also drove in three RBIs. Tristien Steinwand went 3 for 4, and Vincent Smith drove in two run while going 2 for 4 from the plate.

Mission Valley 128 000 002 — 13 15 7

Glacier Twins 120 100 500 — 9 14 3

Bradley Pichler, Jared Young (7) and Alex Killian. Johnny Sapa, A.J. Wetsch (6) and Dakota Bridwell. W — Pichler. L — Sapa.

MISSION VALLEY — Ryan Pablo 3-6, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 2-5, Alex Killian 1-5, T.J. Olson 3-4, Jared Young 1-4, Derek Peel 2-4, Bradley Pichler 0-1, Jacob Harrod 1-3, Bransen Krebs 2-4, Trevor Paro 0-3.

GLACIER — Colton Gove 0-4, Jayce Fagerland 2-5, Tristin Steinwand 3-4, Vincent Smith 2-4, Kyler Howke 2-5, Jesse Walburn 0-4, Austin Robbins 3-5, Dakota Bridwell 1-3, James Ratzlaff 1-5.

2B — Olson, Fagerland. HR — Olson. RBIs — Pablo, Webster-Yaqui 4, Olson 3, Peel, Harrod 2, Krebs, Paro, Smith 2, Howke, Robbins 3, Ratzlaff.