Through nearly 40 games of the American Legion season, the Lewis-Clark Twins have mostly been able to avoid self-implosions like the one that occurred Saturday in the opener against Walla Walla.
Their 30-9 record also indicates that they're more than capable of bouncing back from such catastrophes when they do occur.
After absorbing an 11-0 loss in the first game - L-C pitchers walked seven batters while the offense mustered only four hits - the Twins responded with a 10-7 win in the nightcap to forge a split and claim win No. 30 at Harris Field.
"We flat out did not compete on either side of the ball in the first game," L-C coach Kyle Blackwell said. "That was not a good baseball game for us."
The second game was much better.
Luke White continued his hot streak with three hits and two RBI, while Jake Munoz allowed only two runs in five innings of relief after Michael Murphy's hot start on the mound took a quick turn for the worse in the second inning.
"Munoz competed his tail off on the mound," Blackwell said. "I was happy with his attitude, too. He had a presence about him."
The Bears put up five runs in the second inning to take a commanding four-run advantage, but the Twins answered with an offensive surge of their own in the fifth, scoring eight runs to take the lead for good.
FIRST GAME
Walla Walla Bears 330 42-11 12 0
Lewis-Clark Twins 000 00- 0 4 2
Taylor and Watilo. Poe, Powell (5), Way (5) and Fuller.
Walla Walla hits - LaFontaine 2, Gray 2, Yenney 3, Lesmeister, Watilo, Smith 2, Cakaretta 2.
Lewis-Clark hits - Olson, Munoz, Tibbits, Fuller.
SECOND GAME
Walla Walla Bears 050 002 0- 7 3 2
Lewis-Clark Twins 102 080 x-10 7 1
McKinney, Smith (5) and Watilo. Murphy, Munoz (2) and Grijalva.
Walla Walla hits - LaFontaine 2 (2B), Lesmeister.
Lewis-Clark hits - Way, White 3 (2B), Phillips, Powell, Robinson.
Asotin Co. 10, North Central 3
ASOTIN - Nine Asotin County players contributed to the hit column and the Blues, now needing just one victory to book a spot in the state tournament, routed North Central of Spokane 10-3 Saturday in the district tournament.
In a winner-to-state contest, Asotin County will meet the Pullman Posse at 3 p.m. today at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane. The loser will have another opportunity to play for State.
Asotin County is 1-3 this season against the Posse, who recorded a perfect 9-0 mark in league play.
"It'll be a good test for us," Asotin County coach Perry Black said, "but we've been in every game that we've played against them, so it'll nice to have a good challenge."
Nine Asotin County players tallied 11 hits Saturday, led by Brady Chadwick and Elliott Marks, who each recorded two and each picked up a double.
Chadwick and Mitch Miller finished with two RBI apiece.
On the mound, Miller scattered nine hits, but limited the damage to just three runs - one each in the second, fourth and sixth.
"We didn't have any blow-up innings which has been our Achilles' heel," Black said. "If we can continue that, we have a shot to go quite a long ways."
North Central 010 101 0- 3 9 2
Asotin County 241 003 x-10 11 2
Kevin Prabitz and Isaac Struck. Mitch Miller, Cameron Bean (7) and Elliott Marks.
North Central hits - Adrian Amaga 2, Josh Tucker 3, Tristan Davidson 2 (2 2B), Zac Kramer 2.
Asotin County hits - Brady Chadwick 2 (2B), Miller (2B), Grant Kinzer (2B), Marks 2 (2B), Devin Fry, Josh Wilkinson, Travis Cowdrey, Treyson Lejameyer, Dalton James.
CROSS COUNTRY
Vandals release 2016 schedule
MOSCOW - The Idaho cross country team will stage the Big Sky Conference Championships and two other meets during the 2016 season.
The Vandals, who recently released their fall schedule, will open the slate at home with the Clash of the Inland NW. The Vandals will go head-to-head with Gonzaga in a dual meet before heading to Seattle for the Washington Invitational. The Vandals close out the regular season with the Montana Invitational and Inland Empire Classic.
UI will then hold the conference meet on Oct. 28 at the University of Idaho golf course.
