Loggers Legion baseball splits with Mariners; set to host Big Bucks

Hunter Rooney went 3-for-3 with three RBIs as Libby took a 13-9 victory over Mission Valley in the opening game of a Legion baseball doubleheader Thursday.

In the nightcap the Mariners got a big game from Cole Wadsworth in a 16-4 win that lasted just six innings.

In the opener Rooney also scored three runs while Loggers teammate Ian Thom picked up a pair of hits with three RBIs and crossed the plate three times. 

Rooney sparked a seven-run third for Libby (4-7) with a two-run single to left field. Thom capped the outburst with a bases-clearing single to left that gave the Loggers a 10-3 advantage. 

Mission Valley (5-4) was led by two hits from Hunter Luedtke in the leadoff spot. He drove in a run and scored once. Six different Mariners drove in a run. 

Liam Jackson tossed two scoreless innings in relief for Mission Valley, allowing one hit and striking out four. 

Dalton Cannon allowed three runs on the bump over four innings. He surrendered five hits and fanned four batters. 

In the second game Mission Valley put up seven runs in the second inning and five in the third to take command. The Mariners (6-4) worked five Libby pitchers for 10 walks, two hit batters and eight hits. 

Wadsworth had six runs batted in: He hit a three-run double in the second, and RBI single in the third and a three-run double in the sixth in which the third run scored on an error.

Paxson DuMont also had a double and Jason Leishman and Hunter Luedtke each scored three times. 

Wadsworth also started on the mound, going 2 1-3 innings, allowing two hits, a walk and one run with four strikeouts. Jake Heiser took over in the third and also had four strikeouts in 3 2-3 innings. 

The Loggers were scheduled to host the Kalispell A Lakers Monday evening. 

The Loggers will host the Big Bucks Tournament this weekend at Lee Gehring Field. Action begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against the Moscow Blue Devils.

Friday, the Loggers will face Spokane Wild AAA at 5:45 p.m. Saturday, they'll play the Flathead As at 6 p.m. Sunday's games will depend on the results of the previous three days.

    Libby's Hunter Rooney delivers the 1-1 pitch to Cody Haggard for ball two in the top of the seventh with two outs. The Loggers beat the Mariners 13-9 in the first of a doubleheader June 18. (Paul Sievers/The Western News)
  

    Libby Loggers Ian Thom slips past the tag of Mission Mariners third baseman Cody Haggard in the bottom of the first of the second game of a doubleheader June 18. (Paul Sievers/The Western News)