After the dust settled
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BONNER —The Mission Valley Rockies rallied from behind to defeat the Clark Fork Valley Cougars and earn a spot in the Pioneer Daze championship game at Kelly Pine Park in Bonner.
It was the second week in a row that the Rockies had to come from behind to beat the Cougars, but this time they were able to dig themselves out of a much bigger hole. Last week, the senior Babe Ruth team erased a two-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Cougars 5-4. Sunday at the tournament, the Rockies trailed 10-2 at the end of four, before Eneas Inmee sparked their astonishing comeback in the top of the fifth.
Inmee led off the inning with a solo home run and tripled the second time he came to bat in the inning. The Rockies had 15 hitters come up to bat in the inning and pushed nine runs across the plate to take an 11-10 lead.
“Eneas was the catalyst in the fifth inning. His home run must have woke everybody up,” Mission Valley manager Alan Anderson said. “Offensively, it was like a light bulb came on and everybody started hitting.”
Once the Rockies started hitting they didn’t stop. The Rockies added five runs in the sixth and another five in the seventh to hold on for the 21-16 victory and earn a rematch with the tournament host Missoula Pioneers in the championship game. The Pioneers beat the Rockies 9-3 Friday to open the tournament.
Inmee finished 5 for 5 with two home runs, a triple and five RBIs. He also relieved Jame Petersen in the fourth and gave up only one run in two innings of work to pick up the win.
The Rockies also fell behind to the Cougars early in a 13-6 loss to Clark Fork Friday. The Rockies gave up eight runs to the Cougars in the first inning and trailed 11-0 at the end of two. It was the first time that they have lost to the Cougars this season.
Anderson said after the disappointing loss to Cougars Friday, he wasn’t sure how his team was going to respond after falling behind to them early again Saturday morning.
“Most teams would’ve hanged their heads and folded, but they decided they weren’t done playing yet and they wanted to make the championship,” Anderson said.
The comeback against the Cougars may have taken a lot out of the Rockies, as they lost to the Pioneers 23-1 in five innings.
