Babe Ruth All-Stars rock Kalispell Tournament

The Panhandle Babe Ruth League All-Stars performed well in their first head-to-head competition of the postseason, winning three of four games played.

Unfortunately there was no double elimination bracket, making it impossible to accurately know who was the overall winner. Coach Mike Givens was happy with how the athletes played, saying the tournament accomplished his goals of seeing who did well in game situations.

Kyle Bradbury, Tyler Gordon, Tevin Hamilton, Michael Lorden and Sam Nitcy pitched “by committee” to combine for some great games and a low aggregate ERA. Meanwhile, the offense was active with a team 600 on-base percentage.

The team handily beat the Bitteroot All-Stars in the opener with Michael Lorden leading the offense with a triple and three RBI. The team tallied nine hits en route to a 12-5 win. The second game, against the Kootenai All Stars also was won in a dominant fashion with Sam Nitcy and Scott Snow combining for 6 RBI extra base hits and the team winning by a score of 12-8.

The third game Saturday didn’t go as well with errors allowing the Medicine Hat All-Stars to jump to an early lead. Panhandle battled back to a 7-5 deficit and had the bases loaded for the heart of the order, but failed to capitalize on the opportunity.

On Sunday Panhandle bounced back behind strong pitching by Sam Nitcy and Tevin Hamilton. Scott Snow belted a triple and a double, driving in three runs and Tyler Gordon added two more RBI in what ended as a 5-2 win.

A twilight exhibition double header is planned for this Saturday.