Baseball: Hamilton HR lifts Bigfork over Libby

LIBBY — Bigfork’s Ryder Hamilton hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the fourth inning, and the Vikings downed Libby in a back-and-forth baseball game Saturday at Gehring Field.

Hayden Mayer and Mason Lewis combined to allow four hits to the Loggers. Mayer gave up three hits, six walks and three runs (one earned) in 4 2-3 innings; He fanned eight. Lewis allowed one hit and one walk, striking out two.

Hamilton’s two-out homer to right field scored Grady Campbell, who’d hit a leadoff single for the Vikings (10-3). It came one inning after Libby (5-9) went ahead 3-2 on an RBI single by Dalton Cannon and a wild pitch that scored Ian Thom, who reached on an error.

Thom hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning for Libby, scoring Bransen Holzer. Bigfork went up 2-1 in the top of the third thanks to three walks and Lewis’ two-run single.

The Vikings got an insurance run in the sixth after loading the bases with two walks and a single; Hamilton’s RBI fielder’s choice made it 5-3.

Blake Michalkiewics and Cannon handled the pitching for the Loggers. Gannon threw three innings of relief, allowing two hits, two walks and one earned run.

Polson 11, Noxon 1

POLSON — Hunter Luedtke and Caleb Gfroerer combined on a five-inning two-hitter for Polson, and the Pirates used six hits with six walks issued by Noxon to cruise to the win.

A six-run second inning – Brayson DuMont, Cole Wadsworth and Holden Emerson hit RBI singles – put the Pirates (10-7) in command, 8-0. Wadsworth had two hits and two runs scored.

Luedtke allowed both Noxon hits in 4 2-3 innings. He walked two and struck out three. Gfroerer retired the only batter he faced on one pitch, and the game ended under the run rule.

Eureka 4, MAC 2

Eureka 15, MAC 0

EUREKA — Leif Burow, Mason Parrish and Rogan Lytle held the Mission-Arlee-Charlo bats in check Saturday, with Lytle’s four-inning one-hitter capping Eureka’s doubleheader sweep.

In the opener Burow went six innings, allowing three hits, three walks and two unearned runs. He struck out 12 and helped his cause with an RBI double in the third inning. Eureka scored two more runs in the inning when Colter White’s RBI grounder led to an error.

Mission (3-12) got its runs in the fifth inning when Hudson Hawkaluk’s bases-loaded, two-out grounder was misplayed for an error.

In the second game Lytle allowed one third-inning single by MAC’s Jake Helser and two walks, striking out seven.

The Lions (9-5) scored nine runs in the first — Brody Chapman hit a three-run triple to make it 7-0 and Emmet Kim hit an RBI single and a two-run single in the inning — and ended the game under the run rule with five runs in the bottom of the fourth.

McKim scored the game’s 15th and final run on a passed ball; he had the big hit in the inning as well, a two-run single that gave him five RBIs. Burow had a double; Tristan Libby had three hits, drove in two runs and scored twice.