Sam Waldorf

Reporter

The Libby Loggers Legion baseball team returns home for the annual Big Bucks Tournament, which began Thursday, June 19, and will run until Sunday night.

The results from Thursday’s game were not available as of press time.

The tournament features nine teams from across the Big Sky. The teams are split into two divisions: the Kootenai Pool and the Cabinet Pool.

Coach Kelly Morford said his team has continued to develop during the first half of the season. 

“We are getting more consistent and going in an upward trend in all facets of the game,” Morford said. “This tournament has always acted like a springboard into the second half of the season for our team.”

Libby is in the Kootenai Pool, along with the Helena Reps, the Lewiston Cubs and Rainier Baseball. The Cabinet Pool is made up of the Kootenai Valley Rangers, the Mission Valley Mariners, the Moscow Blue  Devils, the Tri-County Cardinals and the Strathmore Reds.

The winners of each pool will meet in the championship game at 5:15 p.m. Sunday. The second-place team in each pool will play in the consolation final at 3 p.m. Sunday. First place will receive $500, second place $300 and third place $100.

The Loggers just competed in the Cloniger Classic in Helena where they went 2-2.

“If the middle of the lineup doesn’t produce, we are going to struggle,” Morford said. “But when you are hosting your own tournament, the guys want to represent their town.”

Two of the players that have constantly sparked the offense are Will Reichel and Oliver Grupenhoff.

Reichel leads the team with a batting average of .449. He also has 22 RBI’s and 11 stolen bases. Grupenhoff has the only two home runs for the team. He has batted in 22 runs, coupled with his .339 batting  average.

On defense, Reichel, Luke Haggerty and Dylon Lane have taken most of the starting pitching responsibilities, with Ryan Huffman developing into the closer.

Morford said all of his pitchers’ arms should be well-rested because their game with Polson, scheduled for last Wednesday, was rained out.

Reichel leads the team in innings pitched with 33.1, and Huffman leads the team in strikeouts with 29.

The Loggers will play at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Friday) and 7:45 p.m on Saturday. There will be a beer garden at Lee Gehring Field all four days, and breakfast will be served Saturday and Sunday from  8-11 a.m.