Glacier Twins snap mid-season skid
<p>Glacier Twins third baseman Colten Parker knocks down a hard grounder for an out against the Calgary Jr. Dinos during the Sapa Johnsrud Memorial Tournament in Whitefish.</p>
The Glacier Twins snapped a mid-season skid with a pair of big wins at the 30th annual Sapa Johnsrud Memorial Tournament.
The Twins (25-18-1) rolled to a 10-1 victory over the Calgary Red Birds on Sunday to finish third in the tourney at Memorial Field in Whitefish.
“I like what’s going on,” Twins coach Bob Rupp said of their strong finish. “We had a downfall a little bit, but now we’re starting to come alive.”
He noted that the team “went through the same stuff last year, but didn’t respond like we are this year. We haven’t lost any of our games by big margins — we’ve been in every game.”
The Twins blew open Sunday’s game against the Red Birds in the third inning when Tyler Murphy reached first on an infield single that brought home a pair of runs to make it 6-0.
Vincent Smith crushed a two RBI triple to center field in the fourth to push the Twins in front 8-0. They took a 10-0 lead in the fifth frame to push the Red Birds out of reach.
Starting pitcher Jesse Walburn allowed one hit and no runs in three innings of work. Austin Robins was stellar in relief, getting out of jams in the third and fourth frame with key strikeouts.
“Jesse did a great job,” Rupp said. “Then Austin came in and shut things down. When he gets into that mode, he’s hard to beat.”
The Twins picked up their first win of the tourney Saturday morning with a nice 8-1 romp over the Calgary Jr. Dinos.
Six runs in the second inning pushed the Twins in front for good, with starting pitcher A.J. Wetsch giving up just one hit in four innings of work.
Smith and Walburn led the way at the plate going 2 for 3. Walburn also made a nice running snag in right field to keep the Dinos at bay.
The Twins opened the tourney Thursday with a pair of tough losses to the Red Birds and Spokane Cannons.
They held a 4-2 lead over Calgary before the Red Birds rallied to notch four runs in the final frame for the 6-4 victory.
The Twins held a 7-2 lead in the sixth inning over Spokane, but fielding errors let the Cannons storm back with nine runs in the final inning to steal the game 11-7. Four Twins batters were 2 for 4 at the plate, and Tristin Steinwand and Dakota Bridwell each posted two RBIs.
On Friday, the Twins dropped another close game to the Lethbridge Elks 11-7. Murphy was 2 for 2 at the plate, and Colton Gove hit two RBIs.
The Calgary Jr. Dinos topped the Lethbridge Elks in the championship game.
The Twins will host Medicine Hat on July 15, travel to Kalispell A on July 16, host Kalispell A on July 17, then travel back to Kalispell A on July 19. The district tournament begins July 23.
“We’re starting to peak at the right time,” Rupp said. “We played good ball all weekend, but now we can concentrate on getting ready for the districts.”