The AA Kalispell Lakers invaded the A Libby Loggers home turf at Lee Gehring Field on Tuesday, storming to a 13-1 win in a game that ended after eight innings in accordance with the 10-run margin rule.

The Lakers bombed the Loggers with eight runs in the second frame and held a commanding lead throughout the game.

“We got ourselves into trouble with some walks and they made us pay with a few timely hits, including the grand slam,” said Loggers’ head coach Kelly Morford.

The homerun was courtesy of Laker Patrick O’Connell, who finished the game with four RBIs for the visitors.

After the second, Libby played the Lakers much closer, only giving up two runs in the fourth inning and then another three in the eighth. 

“I thought the boys rebounded and competed pretty well. We started to make some plays defensively in the second half of the game and that was really good to see,” Morford said.

Morford had some good things to say about his players in the five and six spots. 

“Dylon Lane picked up some balls at third and made some outs and Jared had a great game at short. He handled some really tough ground balls and made some nice plays. It is great to see him get back into his groove out there,” he said. 

Coming out in relief in his second solid outing of the year for the Loggers was Braydan Thom. 

“He is throwing strikes and got some outs with his cut fastball, which he has been working on this spring,” Morford said. “Our pitchers haven’t really been commanding their secondary pitches all that well yet so that is something we will continue to work on.”

For the Lakers, Tyler Whitaker had two hits, including a double, and collected two RBIs.

He also earned the win on the mound, pitching the first three frames. He held the Loggers scoreless while allowing three walks and two hits.

The Loggers didn’t do themselves any favors by picking up five errors in the game.

Libby’s Mason Chapel led the Loggers with a pair of base hits.

“All in all, we are taking some positive steps forward,” Morford said. “We just need to keep racking up the innings and keep getting more comfortable out there.”

Kalispell 0 8 0 2 0 0 0 3   13 8 2

Libby      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0    1 6 5

Tyler Whitaker, K. Mohl (4), Leif Ericson (6) and n/a. Luke Haggerty, Braydan Thom (2), Dylon Lane (8). W – Whitaker. L – Haggerty.

KALISPELL – Tyler Whitaker 2-6, Walker Malmin 0-5, Brandon Mason 1-3, Sam Compton 0-1, Patrick O’Connell 1-4, L. Brennamen 0-3, Ericson 0-3, Quinn Barber 0-3, Logan Decock 0-1, Jason Combs 2-3, K. Mohl 2-3.

LIBBY – Luke Haggerty 0-2, Dylon Lane 1-4, Jared Winslow 1-4, Oliver Grupenhoff 1-4, Braydan Thom 0-2, Collin Johnson 1-1, Erik Lauer 0-2, Austin Pattie 0-1, Brandon Sadewasser 0-2, Taylor Wisdom 0-1, Kolten Winebark 0-3, Mason Chapel 2-3.

2B – Whitaker, Combs; Johnson. HR – O’Connell. RBIs – Whitaker 2, O’Connell 4, Combs, Moh.