The Kalispell Lakers A piled on five runs in the third inning to build a commanding lead against Priest River (Idaho), holding off the River Dawgs for a 7-6 win in the home team’s finale at the John R. Harp Memorial American Legion baseball tournament on Saturday at Griffin Field.

The Lakers entered the bottom of the third trailing 1-1, having tied the game on an error in the second. Kalispell put its first two batters on base, and after a strikeout, saw four consecutive singles, each scoring a run. The Lakers led 6-1 after the frame, and added another run in the fourth inning to take what seemed like a convincing lead into the game’s second half.

“We started a little slow, but we finally got the bats going,” Lakers A coach Jesse McFarland said. “It was good to see us end the tournament on a high note.”

Priest River rallied in the sixth inning, recovering from a strikeout in their first at-bat to draw three consecutive walks. After a sacrifice fly scored the inning’s first run, Kalispell’s Taylor Cady walked another two batters and surrendered a bloop single to short center field before striking out the ninth batter in the inning to preserve a 7-6 Lakers lead.

Cady found his form in the seventh, forcing a pair of flyouts and striking out the final batter of the game.

“Taylor lost the zone for a little while, but he ended up finding it and finished strong,” McFarland said. “He hasn’t gotten a ton of time to pitch this year. To see him finish up like that was great.”

Designated hitter Spencer Pisk was 2 for 3 from the plate with an RBI to lead the Lakers. Cade White had two RBIs with a 1 for 3 hitting performance.

The Lakers lost to Medicine Hat 7-3 earlier in the day. Done for the tournament, Kalispell will host Libby in a nine-inning conference game on Wednesday.

Priest River 100 005 0 — 6 6 3

Kalispell 015 100 x — 7 7 2

W—Jonas Nyman. L—John Bogetti.

PRIEST RIVER—Bogetti 1-4, Clay Wilson 0-3, Nathan Pettit 1-3, Austin Sanchez 2-2, Hunter Peterson 0-4, Antony Storro 1-4, TJ Trepanier 1-3, Kody Koprenko 0-2, Jeremy Perkins 0-1, Cameron Reeves 0-1, Ethan Harrison 0-1.

KALISPELL—Gunnar Marsh 1-4, Haydn Schlepp 1-3, Eric Seaman 0-4, Torin Bowen 1-4, Spencer Pisk 2-3, Nyman 0-1, Keaden Morisaki 1-3, Cade White 1-3, Dawson Smith 0-2, Taylor Cady 0-2.

RBIs—Bogetti, Sanchez 3. Bowden, Pisk, Morisaki, White 2.

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Saturday’s Other Scores

Mountain View 9, Vauxhall 5

Okotoks 10, Priest River 0

Kootenai Valley 5, Edmonton 3

Vauxhall 15, Calgary 4

Edmonton 6, Mountain View 0

Medicine Hat 14, Cranbrook 9

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Today’s Schedule

Archie Roe Field

10 a.m. — Edmonston vs. Vauxhall

12:30 p.m. — Calgary vs. Mountain View

Griffin Field

10 a.m. — Cranbrook vs. Okotoks

12:30 p.m. — Priest River vs. Medicine Hat

3:15 p.m. — Championship Game (winners of two pools)