Missoula's staff ace Cody Burgmeier pitched the Mavs to a convincing 7-2 victory in the opener before Taylor King's bat lifted the home team to an 8-1 win in the late game.
The two wins lifted Missoula to 6-0 in conference play and 28-9 overall, drawing a smile from veteran manager Brent Hathaway after the Mavericks swept the four-game conference series with Kalispell.
After giving up a single to Lakers leadoff hitter Derek Keller in the top of the first of Game 1, Burgmeier retired 12 straight en route to a complete-game victory that boosted his team-leading record to 7-1. The two runs he allowed came after a bunt single, a bloop single and a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Adam Olson's wind-aided home run in the seventh. Burgmeier allowed six hits and no walks while striking out six.
“It was exactly what we expect from (Burgmeier),” Hathaway said of his starter's outing. “He threw strikes with all three pitches, changed speeds and kept people off balance all afternoon.”
Missoula got right to work, scoring twice in the bottom of the first highlighted by second baseman Kendal Maier's sacrifice fly before catcher Sean Dwyer's run-scoring double put the Mavs up 3-0 in the third.
An RBI single by center fielder Ben Roberts began a two-run fourth. Taylor Nordby drove in a run with a single in the fifth and Roberts' second home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth, accounted for the Mavs' seventh run.
Roberts finished 3-for-3, King went 2-for-4, and Sam Sopko added a pair of singles.
Greg Neils took the loss for Kalispell, going 6 1-3 and allowing 10 hits, three walks and fanning four.
King doubled, tripled and drove in two and Missoula scored six times in the second inning in the nightcap.
Jake Schilling (3-2) tossed a solid six innings for the Mavs before tiring and yielding to Lincoln Mansch, who got the final two outs in order. He surrendered an RBI single to pinch-hitter Dustin Stimpson in the seventh, but escaped trouble by scattering nine hits and three walks. He struck out one.
The Mavericks sent 10 to the plate in their big second inning and pounded out five hits including RBI singles from Roberts and Brendan Brown as well as a two-run triple by King. Maier added a two-RBI double in the fifth.
Ben Sansaver and Brian Sneck collected two singles apiece for the Lakers, who slipped to 1-4, 14-13.
Despite the two wins and several positives, Hathaway saw some room for improvement.
“We made some base-running mistakes, which are mental,” he said. “But I thought Taylor King had an awesome day at shortstop and I'm thrilled with the performance by Jake Schilling today, going out and giving us everything he had until he just ran out of gas.”
In their next action, the host Mavericks play their first game of the Scott Klaudt Memorial Tournament against the Post Falls, Idaho, Cardinals at 7 p.m. Thursday at Lindborg-Cregg. The annual tournament runs through Sunday.
First game
Kalispell 000 001 1 - 2 6 4
Missoula 201 211 x - 7 10 0
Greg Neils, Brian Sneck (6) and Zach Brosten. Cody Burgmeier and Sean Dwyer. W - Burgmeier (7-1). L - Neils.
KALISPELL - Derek Keller 1-3, Ben Sansaver 1-3, Tyler Reichhoff 1-3, Brosten 0-2, Pat Hergesheimer 1-3, Sneck 0-3, Adam Olson 2-3, Toby Liechti 0-3, Austin Roehl 0-3.
MISSOULA - Taylor King 2-4, Ben Roberts 3-3, Brendan Brown 0-2, Dwyer 1-3, Kendal Maier 0-1, Drew Lytle 0-3, Taylor Nordby 2-3, Sam Sopko 2-3, Cubby Pierre 0-2.
2B - Dwyer, Nordby. HR - Olson, Roberts (2). RBIs - Brosten, Olson, Roberts 2, Dwyer, Maier, Nordby.
Second game
Kalispell 000 000 1 - 1 9 0
Missoula 060 020 x - 8 8 2
Reichhoff, Sansaver (6) and Brosten. Jake Schilling, Lincoln Mansch (7) and Andy Freeman. W - Schilling (3-2). L - Reichhoff.
KALISPELL - Keller 0-3, Sansaver 2-4, Reichhoff 1-2, Brosten 0-4, Hergesheimer 1-3, Olson 1-4, Sneck 2-3, Dustin Stimpson 1-1, Roehl 1-4, Liechti 0-4.
MISSOULA - King 2-3, Roberts 1-4, Brown 1-3, Dwyer 1-2, Maier 1-2, Burgmeier 1-3, Nordby 1-2, Freeman 0-1, Pierre 0-1.
2B - Smith, King, Maier. 3B - King. RBIs - Stimpson, King 2, Roberts, Brown, Maier 2, Freeman.
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