NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs' second baseman Asha Frey turns a double play in the Monarchs' opening game of the American Legion AA State Tournament held at Athletic Park. The Monarchs lost 7-2 to the No. 1 seed Helena Senators on Wednesday.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs battled Wednesday and will have to keep battling to stay alive at the AA State Tournament.
The Monarchs trailed the No. 1 seed Helena Senators by just a run through four innings in their first game at the locally-held American Legion State Tournament, before a three-run fifth inning propelled the Senators to a 7-2 win.
Medicine Hat, the No. 8 seed in the tournament, entered with a 1-3 record against Helena in the regular season. Head coach Lyall Foran liked how they played against the tournament’s top seed.
“It’s a tough loss because I thought we played pretty well for the majority of the game,” Foran said. “They’re a good team. They were first in the conference for a reason, because they’re able to really battle and in tight games, they have a way of finding a way to get on top.”
The Monarchs tallied a pair of two-out hits in the top of the first for early momentum but it was the Senators on the board first.
Helena scored in the second inning on a sacrifice fly to left field for an early 1-0 lead.
The Monarchs responded in the top of the third with an RBI single from starting pitcher Kaleb Bozek, scoring Asha Frey, who doubled with two outs, from second base.
Helena grabbed their second lead of the game, scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third.
The Senators opened their lead in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run home run, capitalizing on a single and a walk for the 5-1 lead.
Bozek was lifted in the sixth for Ryler Straarup who worked two outs. Helena scored twice in the inning for a 7-1 lead.
The Monarchs scored in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Parker Hunt but couldn’t mount the comeback.
Foran says there’s confidence to build from the loss as they turn the page to the next game.
“We know that we can compete with the best teams in the state, we’ve shown that even though our record may not reflect it,” Foran said. “We can stay in games and hang with anybody in the State Tournament. All it takes is a hit here, a hit there, and that can dictate the outcome of a game.
“So we just need some big performances. Ayden Anderson, he’s pitched great for us all year, he’s going to get the ball tomorrow and I know he’ll do the same thing. We just have to find a way to support him and get some runs.”
The Monarchs face the Bozeman Bucks today at 1 p.m., with the winner moving on in the tournament and the losing team eliminated.
State tournament Wednesday results
The No. 3 seed Billings Scarlets beat the No. 6 seed Kalispell Lakers in the opening game of the State tournament Wednesday.
The Billings Royals, entering the tournament as the No. 4 seed, beat the Bozeman Bucks (No. 5 seed) in a 14-4, five-inning mercy win.
In the second-last game of the opening day, the Missoula Mavericks scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to beat the Great Falls Chargers 2-0.
