Fort Macleod Royals enter the American Legion baseball playoffs this week as the seventh seed.
The Royals won four and lost 24 games in the Northern Montana District regular season, putting them in seventh place.
The Royals open the district playoff tournament against host Lethbridge Miners at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, July 25 at Prairie Baseball Academy.
Royals 13 Knights 4
Carter Baron pounded out four hits July 16, driving in two runs and scoring twice himself to lead the Royals to a 13-4 win over the Knights in the first game of their doubleheader.
Leading 6-4 going into the top of the seventh, Fort Macleod exploded for seven runs to put the game out of reach.
Cashe Kropinak pitched an inning for the Royals, striking out two batters and giving up three runs on three hits and two walks.
Zak Wright pitched six innings, striking out four and allowing one run on three hits and one walk to record the win.
Junior Young Pine went 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in two RBIs and scored a run for the Royals.
Wright also went 2-for-4, scoring two runs and Brody Wynder, Cooper Hall, Theo McDougall, Nathan Coast and Ethan Patterson each had a hit.
Knights 7 Royals 6
After battling back from a four-run deficit to hold the lead in the seventh inning, the Royals saw the nightcap slip away.
Fort Macleod scored in the top of the seventh to take the lead, but Medicine Hat replied with two runs in the bottom of the inning to win 7-6.
Brody Lindgren pitched four innings for the Royals, striking out two and allowing five runs on five hits and two walks.
Nixon Strangeway pitched three innings in relief, allowing two runs on two hits and one walk.
Lindgren went 3-for-3 at the plate and scored a run, Hall went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run, and Wright went 2-for-3 and scored a run.
Baron went 1-for-2 with an RBI and scored three runs and Young Pine and Coast each had one hit.
Redbirds 10 Royals 1
A five-run first inning powered Lewiston Redbirds to a 10-1 win Saturday to open their doubleheader.
Patterson went 2-for-2 with an RBI and Wright had the only other Fort Macleod hit.
Coast pitched three innings, striking out six and giving up eight runs on six hits and seven walks.
Jarren Beck pitched in relief, striking out two as he gave up two runs on two hits and two walks.
The Redbirds also won the nightcap 11-1. Statistics were not available.
Chargers 11 Royals 6
Great Falls Chargers scored five runs in the fifth inning Sunday and held off a late rally to beat the Royals 11-6.
Kropinak pitched four innings for Fort Macleod, striking out four while giving up five runs on five hits and wo walks.
Finn Nowlin gave up a run in a brief mound appearance, and McDougall struck out three while allowing five runs on five hits and two walks.
Patterson went 3-for-4, driving in two runs and scoring one.
Coast went 2-for-4 and scored a run and Baron and Wynder had the other Fort Macleod hits.
Chargers 9 Royals 6
Trailing 3-0, the Charges exploded for seven runs in the third inning on their way to a 9-6 win in the second game of the doubleheader.
Wynder pitched 2 2/3 innings, striking out two as he gave up seven runs on four hits and six walks.
Young Pine pitched 3 1/3 innings in relief, striking out one and allowing two runs on five hits and one walk.
Young Pine went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Patterson went 1-for-3 with two RBI and scored a run.
Kropinak had the other Fort Macled hit and scored a run.
Following are the final regular season standings.
Team | W | L | Pct |
---|---|---|---|
Vauxhall | 24 | 4 | .857 |
Lethbridge | 22 | 6 | .786 |
Havre | 17 | 11 | .607 |
Lewistown | 15 | 13 | .536 |
Medicine Hat | 14 | 14 | .500 |
Tri-County | 13 | 15 | .464 |
Royals | 4 | 24 | .143 |
Great Falls | 3 | 25 | .107 |
Theo McDougall pitching for the Fort Macleod Royals.