Vauxhall Spurs catcher Landon Howg tagged Brody Lindgren of the Fort Macleod Royals out at home plate in a recent game against the Vauxhall Spurs.
The Fort Macleod Royals season ended Saturday with a nail-biting 4-3 loss to the Lethbridge Miners.
It was the Royals second loss in the Northern District Class A American Legion baseball playoff tournament in Lewistown, Mont. and eliminated them from further competition.
Knights 9 Royals 3
Seeded No. 4 going into the tournament, the Royals took on No. 5 seed Medicine Hat Knights in their first game on Thursday.
The Knights jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first inning and went on to a 9-3 victory.
Medicine Hat scored runs in each of the second and third innings before adding three in the fourth to lead 9-1.
Fort Macleod fought back with runs in the bottom of the fourth and the fifth but could not get closer than 9-3.
Jack Hewlett got the start and pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up six runs on seven hits and one walk, with five strikeouts.
Brody Lindgren pitched one inning in relief, allowing thee runs on three hits and one walk.
Easton Wright pitched 3 1/3 innings, shutting out the Knights.
Ty Gertner went 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run for the Royals and Cashe Kropinak went 2-for-4 and scored a run.
Easton Wright hit a double, Nixon Strangway went 1-fo-2 with an RBI and Cal Schmid and Zak Wright had the other Royals hits.
The loss sent the Royals to the B side of the tournament, where they met the Lethbridge Lakers, who were beaten 12-6 by No. 1 seed Havre Northstars.
Royals 15 Lakers 1
The Royals made short work of the Lakers on Friday, beating the Lethbridge team 15-1.
Fort Macleod started strong, scoring six unanswered runs in the first, adding another in the second and exploding for seven in the third.
The Royals added one more run in the fourth before Lethbridge got its only run in the fifth.
Zak Wright got the start on the mound, scattering two hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings.
Gertner pitched two innings, giving up one run on two hits with one strikeout and Strangway closed out the win, allowing one hit.
Zak Wright and Junior Young Pine both went 1-for-3 with two RBI and scored two runs and Hewlett also drove in two runs.
Schmid went 2-for-2 with an RBI, Cooper Hall and Nathan Coast each had a hit and an RBI and Strangway had a single.
The victory advanced the Royals to a game against the Lethbridge Miners.
Miners 4 Royals 3
In a do or die game for both teams, Lethbridge built a two-run lead Saturday and held on for a 4-3 win to eliminate the Royals.
Kaden Lee pitched a complete game for the Royals, allowing four runs on three hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
Young Pine went 3-for-3 and Schmid went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Kropinak went 1-for-3 with an RBI and Hall had the other Fort Macleod hit.
In the tournament championship on Saturday, the Vauxhall Spurs came back from the tournament’s B side to beat Havre Northstars 21-15 and 7-0 to be crowned champions.
Following are the final regular season standings.
| Team | W | L | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Havre | 26 | 6 | .813 |
| Vauxhall | 23 | 9 | .719 |
| Leth. Miners | 22 | 10 | .688 |
| Fort Macleod | 17 | 14 | .549 |
| Medicine Hat | 16 | 16 | .500 |
| Lewistown | 15 | 17 | .489 |
| Tri-County | 10 | 22 | .313 |
| Leth. Lakers | 8 | 23 | .258 |
| Great Falls | 6 | 26 | .188 |
