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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

10-inning loss knocks out Devils

The second game of Friday’s loser-out doubleheader in the Northwest Regional American Legion baseball tournament ended with the Spokane Blue Devils suffering another stomach-churning loss and the Missoula Mavericks earning a much-appreciated second chance for atonement.

The Mavericks, a perennial state power in Montana, managed to turn back the host Blue Devils 10-9 by pushing across a no-out unearned run in the bottom of the 10th inning at Gonzaga University’s Washington Trust Field.

Ben Roberts, who opened Missoula’s half of the 10th with a walk off Spokane reliever Tyler Moore-Long, scored the game winner when Blue Devils outfielder Drew Abelman failed to come up with the ball cleanly on Kendal Meier’s hard single to left.

In Friday’s other loser-out game, Wausau (Wis.) used a pair of home runs and seven RBIs from first baseman Mike Parman to bull its way past Anchorage 13-3 in a game shortened to seven innings by the 10-run rule.

Missoula 10, Spokane 9: The Mustangs, after blowing an early four-run lead and falling behind 9-8, scratched out a run in the ninth to force extra innings and then won it in the 10th.

Moore-Long, the first of two Spokane relievers, took over from starter Matt Walker with no one out in the fifth and worked the next five innings, allowing just four hits and three runs – one of which was unearned – and retiring seven straight hitters during one stretch.

But he was pulled after walking Roberts to open the 10th and watched from the bench as the winning run scored.

“Tyler pitched great, but that’s what he does,” Spokane manager Tony Byrne said after watching his team suffer a second-consecutive one-run loss. “He throws strikes, he competes and gets bad swings.

“It just sucks that we don’t get to play together any more. This is special group of kids, and they’re going to be missed.”

Missoula manager Brent Hathaway liked the way his team responded after losing its early lead, but was not pleased with its overall effort. The Mavericks left nine runners on base, committed five errors and allowed six unearned runs.

“We’re extremely pleased, and fortunate, to have a chance to play again,” Hathaway said.

The Blue Devils (34-23) saw their season end despite pounding out 14 hits that included three singles from Abelman. Catcher Tyler Pfeffer had a pair of hits for Spokane, including a run-scoring single in the fourth inning and a leadoff home run in the sixth.

“We were just a couple of inches and a couple of plays short,” Byrne said. “I think we represented Spokane pretty well, and I’m proud of that. And I think Spokane should be proud, too.”

Wausau 13, Anchorage 3 (7): Wausau, after being shut out 14-0 in Thursday’s opener against Roseburg (Ore.), rediscovered its offensive punch against an Anchorage team (25-8) that was outscored 31-6 in its two losses.

Along with Parman’s contributions at the plate, Wisconsin’s regional representative got a single and two-run home run – the first of his career at any level, Bulldogs manager Tom Magnuson said – from catcher Jason Kyle, along with two hits each from Tanner Blaschka and Seth McMullen.

“The ball must look like a grapefruit to him right now,” Magnuson said of his power-hitting first baseman Parman, who had a run-scoring double in the second, a two-run single in the third, a three-run homer in the fifth and a solo shot in the seventh as part of a career day at the plate.

Starting pitcher Adam Kramer pitched into the seventh inning for the Bulldogs and picked up the win, despite walking eight batters.