Errors plague LC Cubs in Palouse Summer Series loss

Jun. 28—A tough Palouse Summer Series 17U tournament came to an end for the Lewis-Clark Cubs in a loss on Saturday.

>The Cubs fell to the Kalispell Sluggers of Montana 12-7 in an American Legion baseball game that slipped away early.

>Lewis-Clark (14-8-1) faced a Sluggers (9-3) team that made contact and forced the Cubs to make plays on the ball, and the Cubs struggled to put runners away.

>But Lewis-Clark coach Bill Stevenson said a large issue was the inability to score runners.

>"We had a lot of opportunities to score some runs and when you can't put the ball on the line and put the ball in the air, they had the opportunity to get outs, and so we had a few missed opportunities at the plate," Stevenson said.

>The errors problem

>The Cubs suffered from eight errors in Saturday's contest, while the Sluggers had just two.

>That made a large difference in the game.

>Although most were tough plays to make, many of the Cubs' errors came from the left side of the infield.

>Ground balls were an issue.

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>Stevenson said he'd like to see his team further "compete defensively."

>"We've been working in practice on ground balls pretty severely, and making the plays that are in front of us," Stevenson said. "Defense has to support the pitcher. We had some defensive mistakes. I thought the pitching did pretty well for us, (but) we didn't get the outs when we needed them."

>Kalispell was paced on offense by Brady Lewellen, who doubled in just the third at-bat of the day. He also tripled over the head of the left fielder Kaden Cox in the top of the fourth inning to bring a run home to give the Sluggers a five-run lead at 7-2.

>Finn Ryan also had two hits and two RBI for Kalispell, and five other Sluggers had at least one RBI.

>Stevenson did say the number of errors was substandard, but he believed that if that issue could be resolved, then the Cubs could compete in any game.

>"It's disappointing; however, we just need to get better, just keep practicing knowing that if we can clean that up, we'll be in every ball game," Stevenson said. "If you've seen the ball game, then you'll know that we're always in it."

>What the Cubs did well

>Lewis-Clark matched Kalispell in hits, both teams with 12.

>Ridge Wimer paced the Cubs' offense with three hits.

>Ian Franklin collected two hits and totaled two RBI.

>Joha Hultman and Corbin Clark each had two hits and batted in one run apiece.

>Hultman also started on the mound and pitched four innings. He gave up eight hits and seven runs, but just two of those runs were earned.

>Slater Kuther came in as relief and pitched two innings for Lewis-Clark. He fanned one batter and allowed four hits and four runs, however just one was earned.

>"I was really impressed with my pitcher Joha Hultman, how he goes about himself," Stevenson said. "And then Slater (Kuther) came in, just what I asked him to do. So on the mound they did really well."

>Stevenson also thought the outfielders did a great job in the Palouse Summer Series.

>"Our outfielders, Ian Franklin and (Kaden) Cox and (Kendrix) Jones, they really do well in going and getting the baseball. I've been very impressed with their play this tournament. We didn't win any games, but we did play very hard, and I'm just happy to see them compete."

>Moving on from the Palouse Summer Series

>Lewis-Clark ended at the bottom of the Gleason pool with a total record of 0-4 in the tournament. The Cubs scored just 12 runs and allowed 31.

>Stevenson said that his team is itching for a victory after a tough tournament.

>"I think they're getting hungry for a win, and if we can practice and fix some of the issues that we have, then we'll be in every game," he said.

>The coach said that the opportunity for growth is tremendous.

>"It's just gonna make us better," Stevenson said. "We've seen some pretty talented teams, we've seen some teams hit the ball real hard. We'll just get better, I think it's gonna make us better. We didn't come on top with a win, but I was pleased with the effort I had all four games."

>Sluggers 210 430 2—12 12 2

>Cubs 011 030 2—7 12 8

>M. Lewis, B. Lewellen (6), T. Van Orden (7) and E. Kim; J. Hultman, S. Kuther (5), G. Helm (7) and C. Blackwell.

>Sluggers hits — B. Lewellen 3 (3B, 2B), F. Ryan 2, B. Chapman 2, T. Victor 2, L. Saisbury, M. Weber, E. Kim.

>Cubts hits — R. Wimer 3, I. Franklin 2, J. Hultman 2, C. Clark 2, K. Cox, C. Blackwell, J. Pilon.

>Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X @TrevorJunt.