Twins win state American Legion title

Resiliency, heart and some “Dirt Dog” grit lifted the Glacier Twins to its first state championship in nearly three decades.

The Twins defeated the Laurel Dodgers 8-4 early Sunday morning to win the Montana/Alberta State Class A American Legion baseball tournament in Lewistown. The last time the Twins won the state tournament was in 1986.

The Twins (37-22-1) advance to the Northwest Class A Regionals in Anchorage, Alaska, and open Thursday against Juneau.

The championship game was delayed until 9 p.m. due to heavy rain.

The late start didn’t seem to deter the Twins as they posted five runs unanswered.

Twins pitcher AJ Wetsch held Laurel hitless through six innings before the Dodgers finally pushed four runs across to tighten the score at 5-4.

The Twins responded with three runs in the eighth, and reliever Jonny Sapa came on to seal the victory.

Colton Gove had two RBIs, and Kyler Howke, Tristan Steinwand and Tyler Murphy each tallied two hits for the Twins in the win.

Wetsch fanned one batter and walked just three in the win. He was named the most valuable pitcher in the tourney.

Twins slugger Vinny Smith was hitless against Laurel but was named the tournament’s best hitter for his performance throughout the week. Smith was batting .600 before the championship game.

The Twins piled on 19 hits to defeat Belgrade 14-4 in the loser-out semifinal game on Saturday. Smith and Gove each had four hits in the win. Colten Parker had three RBIs. Pitchers Jesse Walburn, Smith and Austin Robbins combined to hold Belgrade to eight hits.

On Friday, the Twins ousted Mission Valley from the tourney with an 11-9 win. The Twins took an early 5-0 lead and expanded it to 8-1 in the sixth.

Parker was 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. Smith had two RBIs. Wetsch pitched five innings to get the victory.

The Twins will bus to Seattle on Tuesday to catch a flight to Anchorage, Alaska for the regional tourney.