Smith and Doty Lead Missoula Impact to Sweep of Libby
BONNER - Cole Smith and Matthew Doty provided the offensive firepower to back another weekend of solid starting pitching, leading the Missoula Impact Baseball Club to 12-3 and 6-3 victories over the Libby Loggers on Saturday afternoon at Kelly Pine Field in Bonner.
Smith, the senior lefty hitter that has committed to Lake Region State College on a baseball scholarship, drilled two triples off the right field fence and collected four hits on the day. Doty, an impressive freshman, also had a four-hit day including three ringing doubles. Nolan Oschell and Kody Evans tossed six and four impressive innings, respectively. Caleb Hoppe spun a dominant three innings of hitless ball in the opener and Hunter Johns picked up the save in the nightcap.
“The boys really came out to win this weekend and play with a chip on their shoulder,” said Ryan Roche, Missoula Impact Manager. “Our pitchers did an outstanding job throwing strikes and giving us a chance, while the bats came out in a big way.”
In the opener, Libby threatened in the first inning with a walk, stolen base, and a single to right by Ian Thom, but right fielder Smith threw a strike to Dillon Gunlock to nail Cy Williams at the plate attempting to score.
Doty got Impact rolling with a sharp double down the left field line to lead off the second inning, and Joey Supola worked a walk. Smith then crushed a high fastball off the fence in right for a two-RBI triple, and scored moments later on a passed ball.
Evans cruised through the first two innings, striking out the side in the second, then pitched out a bases loaded jam in the third by inducing a groundout by Tanner Wolfe. Libby finally broke through in the fourth on singles by Noah Gillespie and Brody Gilmore, a walk, and a double to deep left center by Williams, knotting the score at 3-3.
Smith ripped a sharp single to right to lead off the fourth, Landin Ramsay lined a single to left center, and following an error and hit batsmen, senior Gunlock delivered a clutch two-run single to left to add to his team-leading RBI total. Oschell capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly, stretching the lead to 7-3.
Smith keyed another rally in the fifth by hammering a one-out triple to deep right field. The next five batters reached base via walks or hit by pitches and Missoula piled on five more runs. Hoppe relieved Evans and threw three sparkling innings in relief, striking out seven consecutive batters, to secure the victory.
In the nightcap, Libby struck first with a booming two-out double to left-center by Rusty Gillespie and an RBI single by Wolfe. However, catcher Marek Hall killed the rally by nabbing Wolfe on a wide turn at first base.
Evans lined a double over the left fielder’s head to lead off the second and Doty delivered a sharp RBI single up the middle to even the score. The see-saw battle continued in the third when Rusty Gillespie lined an RBI single to give the Loggers a 2-1 lead. However, Oschell hit his stride on the hill with a sharp fourth inning, fanning the last two batters.
Oschell helped his own cause in the fourth with a line drive single to left. Doty then smoked a long line drive to the fence in left field for an RBI double. Hall followed with a line drive RBI double over the right fielder’s head. Supola capped the decisive rally with a line drive RBI single to right-center for his second hit of the game, stretching the lead to 4-2.
Libby scored an unearned run in the fifth but Oschell got tougher as the game went along, striking out the side in the sixth to cap his most efficient outing of the season.
Oschell and Doty crushed booming doubles in the sixth to give Missoula two important insurances runs. Johns walked the first two batters in the seventh but retired the dangerous Gillespie on a long fly to left. Hall threw out Aiden Rose trying to steal third, and shortstop Karvandi closed out the game with a nice throw to third on a ground ball in the hole, nailing Williams.
“I was proud of our kids for really competing in that second game,” said Kelly Morford, Libby Head Coach.
Missoula (7-5 on the season) is back in action on Saturday, returning the favor by traveling to Libby for a doubleheader at the Lumber Yard. First pitch is at 1:00.