Twins lose in opener, but go down fighting

L-C rallies from 10 runs down, but ultimately falls to Yakima 13-11 in Northwest regional opener

MISSOULA, Mont. - The Lewis-Clark Twins lost their opening game in the American Legion Northwest regional tournament Wednesday, but the other seven teams in the field probably aren't counting out the Lewiston club.

The Twins pieced together a huge rally over the last four innings, erasing most of a 10-run deficit and bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth.

But Yakima Pepsi Pak was able to just barely hold off the charging Twins and claim a 13-11 morning victory.

L-C (35-11) will try to keep its season alive at 8:30 a.m. PDT today against Juneau Post 25 of Alaska. And even though the Twins are coming off a loss, they have some momentum.

L-C entered the bottom of the sixth trailing 11-1 and got its rally started with four runs. Chase Adkison and Chris Powell slapped run-scoring singles, and Riley Way drove in two with a single.

Before the Twins' at-bat in the sixth, "it was kind of the first moment where I may have thought they felt a little defeated this year," coach Kevin Maurer said.

"I told them this isn't about the game any more. In life you're going to get challenged and get knocked down, but you never give up. Life, we're blessed to live it, and we need to take advantage of every moment. And they did that.

"From the sixth on, we really took control of that game," Maurer added. "Offense and pitching. We were finally able to get things going."

The Twins kept chipping away with one run in the seventh and two in the eighth to make it 11-8. Even when Yakima scored two in the top of the ninth to go back up by five runs, L-C didn't stop pushing.

Chris Powell doubled to lead off the ninth, then Kolt Olson singled to put runners on the corners. Way then delivered a two-run double.

After an out and an AJ Davis single again put two runners on, Luke White came up to bat. The cleanup hitter had three would-be homers drift foul earlier in the game, and the players and coaches in the Twins' dugout anticipated a big blow in this at-bat, Maurer said.

But White flew out, which did score Way from third. The next batter, Jaden Phillips, smacked a ball into the gap, but Yakima's left fielder chased it down to record the game's final out.

L-C must now win five consecutive games over four days to claim the regional title. Maurer isn't counting out his team.

"The loser's bracket is not going to phases us. Like I said, we responded to a challenge, and that's kind of how we're built. It's going to be a tough road, and we've got some tough players."

Powell finished with four hits and two RBI while White and Chase Adkison added two hits and two RBI apiece. Way plated four runs with his two hits.

Yakima leadoff man Bryce Helgeson went 5-for-6 with a three-run homer in the third.

Yakima Pepsi Pak 153 011 002-13 19 2

Lewis-Clark Twins 000 104 123-11 19 4

Orejudos, Quincy (7) and Moen. Baldwin, White (2), Robinson (5) and Adkison.

Yakima hits - Helgeson 5 (HR), Archer, Vandebrake 4 (2B), Orejudos 3, Dietrich, Towsley (2B), Bailey, Moen, Belton 2.

Twins hits - Way 2 (2B), Light 3, Davis 2, White 2, Phillips, Adkison 2, Robinson, Powell 4 (2B), Olson 2.