Letting go of ego
Group effort scores tourney title for all-star team
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There were no growing pains for the Mission Mountain All-stars at the Fireball Invitational tournament in Polson over the weekend.
The newly formed 10U Cal Ripken Baseball team with players from across the valley were able to check their egos at the door and rattle off six straight wins to win the eight-team tournament.
“All the kids came together really well. The support between the kids was great. There were no egos,” Mission Mountain manager Lenny Hales said.
The M&Ms consist of two Arlee players, one St. Ignatius player, three from Ronan and six from Charlo. They had only two practices together before the tournament, but that didn’t slow them down at the tournament. They outscored their opponents 51-9 in their four wins in pool play.
In the championship game, the M&Ms trailed Columbia Falls 6-5 in the top of the fourth, when Charlo’s Sayre Perry tied the game with a home run.
Misson’s Kaleb Durglo led off the fifth with a triple down the third baseline and to the left field fence. Durglo came home for the game-winning run, when Arlee’s Phillip Malatare hit a grounder to the shortstop.
In the bottom of the fifth, Durglo gave up a leadoff single and walked the next Columbia Falls hitter, before striking out the side to give the M&Ms a 7-6 championship victory.
Mission Mountain started Sunday with a 6-2 win over the Kalispell Knights in the semifinals. Cousins Phillip and Alex Malatare teamed up for the win. Phillip, who was named MVP in three of Mission Mountains’ six games, and Alex each gave up one run.
The M&Ms were trailing 1-0 in the third, when Durglo started a two-out rally with a triple.
Durglo stole home to tie the game. Bryant Hales followed with a walk and came home on a Phillip Malatare triple. Malatare stole home to extend their lead to 3-1.
Ronan’s Brendon Blood added a run in the fourth and Perry and Tyson Petticrew each crossed the plate in the fifth.
Charlo’s Mason McNeel was Mission Mountain’s best hitter at the tournament. McNeel went 16 for 18 at the three-day tournament.
The Polson All-stars opened the tournament with a 7-4 win over Florence, but couldn’t get back in the Winner’s Circle the rest of the tournament. Kohl Tracy and Logan Erickson each pitched three innings in the win. Tracy struck out eight Florence hitters. Hunter Peterson, who walked all three times he was at bat, scored three of Polson’s seven runs in the game.
Polson was eliminated from the tournament with a 10-0 loss to Kalispell Sunday morning. Polson will compete in a Kalispell tournament this weekend. Both Mission Mountain and Polson will compete at the state tournament in Columbia Falls starting July 8.
