Twins down Lakers to push winning streak to 11 games

It’s all wins for the Twins, who closed out the regular season on an 11-game winning streak.

Glacier capped off their run with a pair of wins over the Kalispell Lakers over the weekend as part of a two-game series.

The Twins opened game one with six unanswered runs in the first three innings and added four more in the final two frames for the 10-6 win.

Terek Bistodeau was the winning pitcher in that game, and also went 4 for 5 at the plate. Dan Seymour went a perfect 4 for 4 at bat as well.

In game two, it was a five-run seventh inning that deflated the Lakers en route to a 12-4 win. Matt Morrison got the win on the mound.

Earlier in the week they dropped the Bitterroot Red Sox AA in a home doubleheader, 3-2 and 9-0.

Coby Clark-Dickenson allowed just three runs in the tight game one, coming out as the winning pitcher in that battle.

Bistodeau had the hot bat, going 2 for 2 with a triple and a pair of RBIs for the Twins.

As close as the first game was, game two was just as tight until a sixth-inning explosion by the Twins.

The Twins took a one-run lead in the first inning, which they held until scoring eight runs in the sixth inning.

Seymour, Clark-Dickenson, Bistodeau, Jack Schwaiger, Tom Hellwig and Caleb Meehan all notched RBIs in that inning. Nathan Hader allowed only two hits in the shut-out.

Head coach Scott Murray said some mid-season competition against AA teams set up the hot streak his team has been on.

“I think because we set ourselves up in mid-season to play all those tough AA teams, it taught us how to compete,” he said. “We see the ball a lot better, offensively. Defense is pretty solid. And pitching got better too, because against those guys if you make a mistake they’ll make you pay.”

The way his team’s been hitting makes for more forgiving baseball on the defensive end, he added.

In the 11-game stretch of wins, Murray said his team has outscored their opponents 144-38.

“That makes up for a lot of miscues. You can struggle here or there, but when you hit like that, it just gives us breathing room,” Murray said. “I think they’re feeling confident. They can match up against anybody if we play hard and we go one play at a time.”

Plus, after seasons of falling short to the Bitterroot Red Sox, Murray said it was nice to overcome the thorn in his team’s side and take home the league title.

“The Red Sox had been the powerhouse for years, we just couldn’t get by them,” he said. “We got them twice this year, and that got us over the hump to win the division.”

The District Tournament begins today in Hamilton, where the Twins will take on Libby in their first game.

The Twins have bested Libby in all four of their matchups this year, but Murray said that doesn’t change how his team is approaching this game.

“Their number one pitcher is going to be a strong factor in this game,” he said. “So we are definitely not overlooking Libby.”

Bitterroot Red Sox A 200 000 0 — 2 3 0

Glacier Twins A 101 010 x — 3 7 2

WP—Coby Clark-Dickenson; LP—Omlid.

GLACIER TWINS A — Caleb Meehan 1-4, Ryan Veneman 1-3, Clark-Dickenson 1-3, Terek Bistodeau 2-2, Jack Schwaiger 1-3, Matt Morrison 0-2, Tom Hellwig 1-2, Dan Seymour 0-2, Quintin Schriver 0-2, Forrest Kobelt 0-0.

2B—Meehan; 3B—Bistodeau; RBIs—Clark-Dickenson, Bistodeau (2).

Bitterroot Red Sox A 000 000 0 — 0 2 0

Glacier Twins A 001 008 x — 9 6 1

WP—Nathan Hader; LP—Fisher.

GLACIER TWINS A — Meehan 0-2, Veneman 0-4, Clark-Dickenson 1-2, Bistodeau 1-3, Schwaiger 3-4, Hellwig 1-3, Kobelt 0-2, Morrison 0-1, Seymour 0-1.

2B—Schwaiger; 3B—Bistodeau; RBIs—Meehan, Clark-Dickenson, Bistodeau (3), Schwaiger, Hellwig.

Glacier Twins A 220 203 1 — 10 15 1

Kalispell Lakers A 000 210 3 — 6 5 3

WP—Terek Bistodeau; LP— Nate Kelly.

GLACIER TWINS A — Caleb Meehan 1-4, Ryan Veneman 2-5, Coby Clark-Dickenson 2-4, Terek Bistodeau 4-5, Jack Schwaiger 0-3, Tom Hellwig 2-4, Forrest Kobelt 0-4, Matt Morrison 0-3, Donnie Sims 0-1, Nathan Hader 0-0, Dan Seymour 4-4.

2B—Hellwig, Seymour; RBIs—Meehan, Veneman, Clark-Dickenson (2), Bistodeau (2), Hellwig (2), Seymour.

Kalispell Lakers A 100 030 000 — 4 8 6

Glacier Twins A 020 031 51x — 12 13 2

WP—Matt Morrison; LP—Ryan McDonald.

GLACIER TWINS A — Caleb Meehan 1-5, Ryan Veneman 2-4, Coby Clark-Dickenson 2-4, Terek Bistodeau 1-3, Jack Schwaiger 2-3, Tom Hellwig 2-4, Dan Seymour 2-4, Morrison 1-5, Skyler Warner 0-0, Nathan Hader 0-3.

2B—Hellwig; RBIs—Clark-Dickenson, Bistodeau (2), Schwaiger, Seymour, Morrison, Hader.