Missoula Impact Edges Cranbook Behind Solid Pitching and DefenseBy Dave Smith
LIBBY – Nate Dill spun a sparkling three-hitter over five innings and closer Weston McCollough slammed the door with an overpowering two-inning save to lead the Missoula Impact Baseball Club to a 2-1 victory over the Cranbrook Bandits to take control of the Loggertown Wood Bat Classic Tournament on Sunday morning at the Lumberyard in Libby.
Cole Smith collected one of the four Impact hits and delivered the game-winning RBI in the fifth inning, scoring Brennan Labbe who had crushed a towering double to deep centerfield. However, second baseman Smith’s greatest contribution was a defensive gem in the seventh inning on a bunt play that could have changed the outcome of the game, and the tournament. Following a leadoff walk to Cranbrook’s Clark Reimer, Dallin Rodger laid down a beautiful bunt in front of the plate. The throw to first sailed and appeared destined for the right field corner, but Smith covered and made a spectacular leaping grab and got his foot on the base to nail the runner at first then threw a strike to Dill at third to cut down Reimer trying to advance to complete the double play. McCollough iced the victory moments later by blowing a fastball past Ryan White for a strikeout to end the game.
On a damp morning following a day of rainouts, the game was a crisply played pitcher’s duel. Dill used a crafty assortment of breaking stuff to stifle the Cranbrook bats, allowing only three hits, two walks, and one run over five innings, striking out six. McCollough brought the heat in pitching two hitless innings in relief. Cranbrook’s Owen Relkoff, Michael Clark, and Blake Butler were also tough, surrendering only four hits and one earned run. Missoula loaded the bases in the second inning behind a line drive single by Andrew Hall and two walks but Relkoff notched two strikeouts to kill the rally.
Missoula broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Hall reached second on an infield throwing error, McCollough bunted him over to third, and Davin Nau plated Hall with a RBI groundout to second base. Cranbrook came right back in the bottom of the frame. After a leadoff walk, Butler drilled a ringing RBI double to right-center. With no outs and trouble brewing, Dill and Carson Bay executed a perfectly timed, momentum-changing pickoff to cut down Butler. Dill then worked his way out of the inning to keep it knotted at 1-1.
Impact’s Labbe opened the fifth inning by crushing a Clark fastball over the centerfielder’s head for a double, advanced to third on a deep flyout by Orion Plakke, then scored the ultimate game-winner on a sharp RBI groundout by Smith. Missoula rallied again in the seventh inning. Labbe reached on a hit by pitch, Smith laced a line drive single to leftfield, and Labbe and Smith executed a double steal. However, the hard-throwing Butler retired Hall to end the threat.
On a day when Missoula’s bats didn’t light the world on fire they found a way to win a key early season tournament game against a quality American Legion ballclub, which says a lot about this team according to Michael Hutcherson, Missoula Impact Head Coach: “We have showed so far this season that we can out-slug teams and also win pitching duels if necessary. We played mistake free baseball against Cranbrook and that was the difference in this game.”