Sluggers 18U 2nd at Mavericks Memorial tourney
Daily Inter Lake | Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 4 hours, 7 minutes AGO
MISSOULA — The Sluggers 18U baseball team had its hands on the championship of the Missoula Mavericks Memorial Tournament, only to see the host Mavericks put up some crooked numbers and take i away.
Walks and timely hits fueled the Mavs’ come-from-behind 11-6 win on Sunday at Lindborg-Cregg Field, which avenged a 13-9 loss to the Kalispell-based Sluggers on Saturday. A six-run third inning, highlighted by Ethan Paugh’s go-ahead two-run double, ate up a 4-0 Sluggers lead and sent the Mavs on their way.
The Sluggers (9-5) went 4-2 at the tournament, including an 8-0 win over the Walla Walla (Wash.) Bruins earlier Sunday that put them in the title game.
Mavericks 11, Sluggers 6
Rowan Burow’s two-run double sparked a four-run second inning for Kalispell, and Carson Bramme’s single brought in Burow. Bramme advanced to third on the play and scored on a passed ball for a 4-0 lead.
Missoula’s third inning got going with a one-out singe by Gabe Gibbs, and the next six Mavericks reached base. Key were back-to-back doubles from Rowan Miculka and Paugh that put the hosts ahead 5-4.
Jett Pitts’ RBI single closed the Sluggers to 6-5 in the fifth but they got no closer. Colter Nicolarson’s three hits included an RBI single. Missoula banged out 12 hits against a trio of Sluggers pitchers: Tyce Van Orden, Finny Ryan and Kaeden Kahler.
Seamus Kane went 6 1-3 innings for Missoula (11-4), allowing eight hits, two walks and four earned runs. He fanned three.
Sluggers 8, Bruins 0
The Sluggers set the tone with a five-run first inning, highlighted by Pitts’ two-run home run.
Kaeden Kahler followed with a double, came in on Reyd Hobart’s single and Bramme capped the outburst with a two-run single.
Kahler added a solo homer in the third and later in the inning, Bramme picked up his third RBI by drawing a bases-loaded walk.
Burow needed just 59 pitches to navigate five scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and two walks and struck out six. Burow helped his own cause with two RBIs. Tate Kahler had two hits as well.