COULEE CITY – On Sunday, the ACH Legion A baseball team swept the North Idaho Lakers in a doubleheader in Sandpoint, Idaho. With their two wins, they secured fourth place in their league.  

“It was great,” head coach Hunter Lee said. “It was exactly what we needed to do with those two wins. We clinched fourth place in our league, which means that we get to host this upcoming Wednesday. So it was, it was a really big result for us.” 

In game one, Legion A started out with a defensive battle but eventually took over. Throughout the first three innings, the game remained scoreless as a pitching battle ensued. According to Lee, they were able to get hits, but some of them were going straight to Lakers players, which prevented them from getting home. 

In the top of the fourth inning, Legion A got on the scoreboard with three runs. Ethan Martinez, Cade Carstensen and Jordan Balderas all scored for the Legion A team.  

In the top of the fifth inning, Legion A would score five more runs and increase their lead to 8-0. According to Lee, the Lakers made a change at pitcher, and they were able to take advantage of it. Carstensen came in during the fifth inning to take over the pitching duties and held the Lakers scoreless.  

In the top of the sixth inning, Legion A would go on another tear for five runs. Carstensen held down the fort and threw out the Lakers' batters. Legion A secured a 13-0 win in their first game of the day.  

“We had some clutch hitting,” Lee said. “When we had guys in scoring position, the guys stepped up at the plate and just drove in runs and did what they needed to do. So that was really big for us.” 

Lee said it was important for his players to preserve energy to combat the heat heading into their second game. In their second game, they were able to carry the momentum they had built. In the first inning, Legion A scored three runs and held the Lakers to one score.  

In the top of the second inning, Legion A was able to score two more runs and increase their lead to 5-1. According to Lee, they were focused on being aggressive offensively in both games. One way they did that was by stealing bases.  

“Base running is something that we really preach in our program and youth baseball,” Lee said. “It's huge at the amount of pass balls and wild pitches and any extra base that you can get just puts you closer to scoring.” 

Legion A would go scoreless at the top of the third inning while the Lakers were able to score another run and cut the deficit by a small margin. However, Legion would respond in imposing fashion by scoring four runs in the top of the fourth, increasing their lead to 9-2.  

The Lakers would log two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and cut the score to 9-4. Carstensen once again came in to relieve the pitching efforts. Both teams would go scoreless through the fifth and sixth innings.  

Legion A would take the opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin at the top of the seventh inning with two more runs. With an 11-4 lead, they just had to prevent any comeback attempts by the Lakers. They would be successful after only allowing one run to be scored before securing the win and a clean sweep.  

According to Lee, Carstensen had a big day on both sides of the ball.  

“He closed out both (games), and he did exactly what he needed to do. He just came in and threw a bunch of strikes; he swung it also in that first game. He also made a couple of great plays at third (base). He had a backhand ball right over third base and threw it all the way across the diamond. He was huge for us that whole day,” Lee said.  

In addition to pitching six strikeouts, Carstensen also logged five RBI’s and two stolen bases. Nolan Grindy was Legion A’s leading pitcher in both games; he also contributed four stolen bases across both games Sunday.  

Legion A now prepares to host their district tournament games on Wednesday in Hartline. They will play in another double header against an opponent that is still to be determined. The first game is at 2:30 p.m. and the second at 5 p.m. According to Lee, if they finish first Wednesday, they will host again Friday.  

Box Score 

Game One: 

ACHL: 0 0 0 3 5 5  13 

NRTH: 0 0 0 0 0 0    0  

Game Two: 

ACHL: 3 2 0 4 0 0 2  11 

NRTH: 1 0 1 2 0 0 1   5 

    ACH Legion A’s Ethan Martinez throwing a pitch against the North Idaho Lakers. Martinez accounted for three RBI’s in game one of their doubleheader.
  

    ACH Legion A’s Cade Carstensen hauls in a ball while on defense against the North Idaho Lakers. Carstensen relieved pitcher Nolan Grindy in both games and excelled according to head coach Hunter Lee.
  

    ACH Legion A’s Jackson Elder takes a swing at home plate against the North Idaho Lakers. Elder recorded an RBI in their second game of the day against the Lakers.