NEWS PHOTO SEAN ROONEY
Great Falls' Josh Lowery beats the tag from Medicine Hat's Ethan Boutkan at home plate during the sixth inning of an American Legion AA game at Athletic Park Tuesday, June 26, 2018.
Medicine Hat News
With a few dozen alumni looking on and the tension rising, it looked as though the Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs were coming on strong.
They’d just scored two runs to tie Tuesday’s opening game of a doubleheader against the Great Falls Chargers, and had momentum on their side heading into the last inning.
Nobody told the Chargers the noise wasn’t for them.
Great Falls rallied for four runs on four hits in the top of the seventh, claiming a 9-5 win.
At Athletic Park, Derick Spring drove in the last of his 4 RBI, finishing 3-for-5 as Great Falls sent eight men to the plate in their last at-bat.
Ethan Loran tripled and scored in the sixth for the Monarchs, who got a solid start out of pitcher Ethan Boutkan but also committed three key errors that kept the Chargers ahead most of the game.
Boutkan went 5 2/3 innings, two of the five runs against him unearned when third baseman Wyatt Bergen threw wildly to home in the top of the sixth.
Boutkan also had 2 RBI on a 2-for-4 day batting.
Cavan Kolody took the loss for Medicine Hat, throwing the final inning. Cal Cromwell got the win for Great Falls, throwing two innings in relief of Matt Houlihan.
The Monarchs fell to 4-8 in Montana-Alberta AA American Legion league play, while the Chargers improved to 3-8. The second half of the doubleheader wasn’t finished by press time.
