Glacier AllStars win local tournament

By DAVID ERICKSON

Whitefish Pilot

If this weekend was any measurement, the future of Legion Baseball in the North Valley is looking bright.

The Glacier AllStars 14-15-year-old team won the Babe Ruth League's Guy Houston tournament this weekend in Columbia Falls by beating Mission Valley 13-11 on July 8.

The 13-year-old Prep AllStars went undefeated in pool play before losing close games to tough Helena and Kootenai Valley teams in double elimination.

"The Twins should be looking forward to this group coming up," said Ray Queen, president of the Glacier Babe Ruth league. "The kids just played great."

Glacier AllStars

As the temperatures in the valley climbed to scorching levels over the weekend, the Glacier batters went on a bit of a hot-streak as well.

After losing a close opening game to Mission Valley 8-9, Glacier got fired up and blew out Bitterroot Valley, 26-0, finishing 1-1 in pool play. Strong performances by pitchers Willy Roach, Cody Hill and Kris Gross helped shut down any opposing offense.

Advancing to bracket play, Glacier opened up looking to even their record against Mission Valley, this time winning convincingly, 12-2.

Glacier then advanced to a night game against the Kalispell Scarlets. The 11 p.m. starting time offered a reprieve from the heat but not from the toughness of their southern rivals.

Relying on the strong pitching of left-hander Cody Hill, Glacier came out on top 7-5 to advance to the championship game against none other than Mission Valley.

In the packed-attendance championship game July 8 at Sapa-Johnsrud field in Columbia Falls, excitement was not in short supply. The lead changed four times, and things were looking grim in the fourth inning as a series of mental errors by Glacier allowed Mission Valley to score six runs.

In the seventh inning, however, Chris King, of Columbia Falls, saved the day. He ripped a three-run home run in the seventh inning to give his team the lead, and Glacier held on to win, 13-11. There wasn't a dull moment in the game, according to Queen.

"What was real nice was the excitement level," he said. "People were on the edge of their seats. You could definitely see that baseball is on an upswing here."

Glacier Prep AllStars

The Glacier Prep baseball team came out swinging strong in pool play by handling the Helena Blue Devils, 15-9, on July 6. Every player in the line-up got a hit for Glacier, and pitcher Jimmy Dunnigan kept the bats idol for Helena.

Glacier then moved on to beat Bitterroot Valley, 6-2, while relying on solid defense and great pitching.

Although they went undefeated in pool play, the AllStars couldn't keep up the momentum moving into double elimination, even though they entered as the number-one seed. After dispatching Bitterroot once again, 10-4, they faced a hungry Kootenai Valley team, losing 5-9.

"This team from Eureka and Noxon-plus surrounding area puts out great baseball," Queen said. "Glacier couldn't get it done against this team with talent."

Glacier stayed alive to face Helena one more time. Costly errors proved to be a huge factor as Helena won that one to advance past Glacier to the championship against Kootenai. Kootenai Valley went on to win the tournament.

"The Glacier Prep AllStars did a very good job of playing and taking on the responsibilities of the tournament," Queen said. "Staying at the field all day long Saturday being the hosts took its toll on the young men, but it's a sacrifice you make."

Because the Babe Ruth league is the training ground for the Glacier Twins, Queen is optimistic about the programs future.

"What we're doing is molding these kids to be winners now, and that's going to translate when they're playing for the Twins as well," he said. "Here on out, the Babe Ruth league is a winning program."

The Glacier AllStars and the Glacier Prep AllStars travel to Kalispell on July 13-15 for the district tournament for the state qualifier.

"Team chemistry is the key to success," Queen said. "Hopefully, we'll take that into this weekend."

For more information, contact Ray Queen at 406-253-0857.