Cubs open 2018 season at Moscow

MOSCOW - Both the Moscow Blue Devils and the Lewis-Clark Cubs came to play Thursday evening during an American Legion baseball doubleheader at Moscow Middle School - just not in the same game.

Moscow dominated the first affair 11-0 behind the arm of pitcher Jack Dunn and a huge first inning in which the Blue Devils went up by six runs. Moscow won the game in five innings via the 10-run mercy rule.

But in the second game, it was the Cubs' time to shine with a 10-6 victory and a six-run frame of their own.

"It really was a tale of two games," Moscow coach Stan Mattoon said.

Give the game ball to Dunn in the first contest. The Moscow senior tossed nine strikeouts - including five of the first six batters he faced - and pitched a five-inning complete game shutout.

"I gotta tip my hat to that guy," Lewis-Clark coach Ramon Royce said. "He was locating, he was throwing two pitches for strikes. That's definitely a quality arm there."

It was also a fast start for the Blue Devils at the plate. In the first inning, Moscow scored six runs and didn't look back from there. The Cubs pitching staff walked 10 batters and the Blue Devils added seven hits to clinch the win.

In the second game, it was a complete turnaround on the mound and at the plate. Lewis-Clark found its pitching, while the Blue Devils struggled.

Cubs pitcher Justin Spencer allowed two earned runs and struck out three in 41/3 innings and his squad poured on six runs in the second to build a quick 6-1 lead. From there, Lewis-Clark never let Moscow get closer than three runs the rest of the way.

The doubleheader marked the first games of the season for the Cubs, so it was good to get the first one out of the way and get rolling, Royce said.

"This was the first time we've been on the field as a team this year so we were excited to get some live reps off the bat defensively and (we) just had to make some adjustments," he said. "The second game I think we kind of got our focus together. It helped to get one under our belt."

In the second game, Rylen Nimon led the Cubs with two hits, two runs and an RBI while Reece Shoults added three runs.

Moscow was led during both games by Billy Adams (five hits, two runs and two RBI).

"Billy came through on numerous counts where he had two strikes on him and he was still able to get a base on the end," Mattoon said.

Also for the Blue Devils in the first game, Cam Vis shined with three runs and four RBI. In the second, Hayden Thompson supplied two hits, two runs and an RBI.