Glacier Twins claim Ed Gallo tourney trophy
<p>Glacier Twins catcher Zac Darling, of Columbia Falls, makes a throw after tagging out a Missoula Frontiers runner at home plate during the Ed Gallo Tournament championship game at Memorial Field in Whitefish on June 30.</p>
The Glacier Twins A team capped off a perfect run through the annual Ed Gallo Tournament with a tough 11-9 victory in the title game over the Missoula Frontiers.
The Twins kept their cool down the stretch, as temperatures climbed into the mid-90s on a scorching Sunday at Memorial Field.
“These guys stayed focused, worked hard and did the things they needed to do,” Twins head coach Bob Rupp said after the win. “We bunted well and ran the bases really well. It’s been a long time since we’ve won the Ed Gallo.”
The intense championship battle heated up in the second inning, with the Twins down 6-7. Peter Seymour crushed a long drive to right field to bring in the tying run. Zac Darling walked with the bases loaded, and Robert Simmons hit a sacrifice fly to right to make it 9-7.
With Missoula threatening in the top of the third, Twins third baseman Jake Slaybaugh made a critical play for the final out of the inning. Missoula’s baserunner beat the throw to third but overslid the bag, allowing Slaybaugh to stick the tag on the second attempt and get the Twins out of a jam.
Austin Robins had the hustle play of the game in the third inning when he beat a throw to first off an infield hit. Missoula’s first baseman mishandled the throw, allowing Robins to make it all the way to third.
Jayce Fagerland brought in Robins with an RBI single. Seymour capped the Twins’ scoring with an RBI infield hit to make it 11-8.
Missoula could muster only one more run, as Twins relief pitcher Robins held their lineup in check. The Frontiers fell apart in the sixth when their assistant coach was tossed from the game for arguing a called strike.
Robins was pulled from the mound in the same frame due to heat exhaustion.
“We had to ice him down,” Rupp said. “He’s a gamer.”
Fagerland sealed the win with two innings of work on the mound.
On Friday, the Twins topped the Kalispell Lakers 10-3 in a nine-inning conference game that put the Twins in the tournament championship. The Lakers jumped out to an early 3-1 lead before the Twins scored nine runs in the final five frames.
“That’s our rival,” Rupp said. “Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. Our boys came together. I really like the fact that they never quit.”
Seymour tallied three RBIs off two hits to lead the Twins. Shane Marcial and Darling each added a pair of hits. Brandon Maassen pitched 3 2/3 innings with three strikeouts. Hugh Ramlow pitched 5 1/3 innings and tallied five strikeouts.
“Hugh pitched well for us all week,” Rupp said.
The Twins have won three tournaments this season. The win on Sunday pushes their overall record to 23-11.
The Twins played two conference games at Eureka on Monday, then hosted the Kalispell Lakers A team in a conference match-up on Tuesday. They will play two more conference games against Libby on Sunday at home at 5 p.m.