Lakers fall to alumni team

SANDPOINT — They say there is no substitute for experience, and the old axiom proved true again last Friday night, when the Riley Creek Lakers alumni team beat the current squad 7-2 under the lights at War Memorial Field.

The alumni team was made up of former Legion players Shaun Warren, Dustin Logan, Cody Reichart, Matt Peak, Dustin Reichart, Mike Peak, Chris Widdig, Cory Johnson, Chris Karle, Kelly Karle, Steve Wold, Adam Hodges, Jeremy Way, Ricky Klontz, Ryan Argabrite, Zac Manor, Jake Howell and Vince D’Orazi.

Wold led off the game with a line drive double, helping the alumni score four runs in the first inning. Logan added a triple and two RBIs, Dustin Reichart drove in two and Hodges added a triple, as the Alumni team built a comfortable 7-0 lead after four innings.

Youth was served in the fifth, as Joel Cramer, who had two hits, drove in Nick Halpin and the current Lakers scored their only two runs. Cole Tonnemacher also added a double, and struck out three hitters on the mound.

Dustin Reichart struck out three batters to lead the Alumni pitchers, who held the Lakers to just three hits, as each team delved deep into their respective bullpens.

One of the highlights — or lowlight, as it were — of the game came when Warren, one of the elder players on the field, lost his footing while digging for second base and came up a little short, much to the delight of all in attendance.

“He dove head first while trying to steal second and came up 15 feet short. He crawled and somehow made it in there,” laughed current Lakers coach Mike Givens, who had coached nearly every player on the field at some point. “The highlight is getting all the guys back together again. Watching them grow up, coming back with a family; it was kind of like a family reunion.”