BRINGING DOWN THE CHAMPS

ST. IGNATIUS — Sometimes a win just means more. When it comes against a rival, it means a lot.

The three-time state champion Missoula Pioneers had never lost to the Mission Valley Rockies until last Saturday when the Rock Show put on a hitting, pitching and defensive display that the Senior Babe Ruth power just couldn’t handle. After trouncing Mission Valley in the first game of a doubleheader, 8-0, Missoula lost their composure while the Rockies found theirs.

ST. IGNATIUS — Sometimes a win just means more. When it comes against a rival, it means a lot.

The three-time state champion Missoula Pioneers had never lost to the Mission Valley Rockies until last Saturday when the Rock Show put on a hitting, pitching and defensive display that the Senior Babe Ruth power just couldn’t handle. After trouncing Mission Valley in the first game of a doubleheader, 8-0, Missoula lost their composure while the Rockies found theirs.

Mission Valley, after three years, defeated Missoula for the first time and did it in resounding fashion, destroying the Pioneers 11-4.

“I knew we were capable of it,” Rockies manager Alan Anderson said. “We were right there barking at their heels so far this season and we finally beat them.”

Missoula and Mission Valley have arguably been the two more successful programs in Montana Senior Babe Ruth. The Rockies took second in the state last year and took third in 2010. The team they fell to in the state championship game last season? The Pioneers.

Starting pitcher Jeremiah Crawford, who’s been a staple on the Rockies roster and an overall leader, took the mound for the team not because it was his time to start but because he wanted to win it.

“He told me before that he wanted the mound for the second game,” Anderson said. “He’s been there and done that, getting beat by these guys. He pitched a great game and the defense definitely backed him up.”

Crawford pitched all seven innings, struck out seven and allowed just four runs from a powerful Pioneers lineup. The game got off to a quick start for the Pioneers, who scored two runs off errors by the Rockies. They added another run to go up 3-0 in the top of the second but Mission Valley didn’t back down.

Chris Geiber drove in a run while shortstop Nick Grogan had a two-RBI double in the bottom of the second as Mission Valley tied it up 3-3. Crawford would allow just three hits by Missoula the rest of the way.

In the bottom of the third, Ryan Anderson and Ryan Turner each drove in runs to give the Rock Show a 5-3 lead. They would add onto that in the next inning as Bransen Krebes drove in a run off a Missoula error. Things would go from bad to worse for the Pioneers in the bottom of the fifth. Geiber had an RBI double, while Grogan was able to plate another run to make it 8-3. Then Krebes had the play of the game, knocking a ball to the outfield for a single with two baserunners on. Missoula had trouble fielding the ball, allowing two runs to score as Krebes used his Mach 5 speed to get around the base paths and slide home to make it 11-3 and electrify the dugout.

“He’s the youngest kid on the team but he’s always been a solid hitter,” Anderson said. “That was good seeing him get that hit and he’s also got some wheels.”

Krebes also helped turn a key double play in the fourth with a Missoula runner in scoring position. Missoula would score a run in the top of the sixth but it was too little, too late. Crawford struck out two batters in the top of the seventh and cemented the victory for Mission Valley.

“In that game, we were hitting the ball better and our baserunning was taking advantage of their mistakes,” Anderson said. “You’ve got to take advantage of their mistakes because they don’t make many.”

Missoula committed an uncharacteristic eight errors in the game, including five in the fifth. However, had they cleaned that up it still might not have meant much since Mission Valley batters were tagging the ball hard at the plate.

“We’ve always been able to hit the ball but just not that hard,” Anderson said. “We’ve been working on it all year and they are starting to really get the bat on the ball. That was huge and it showed. It felt pretty good to win that game and that’s a big weight off our shoulders.”

It avenged the first game of the doubleheader, a game that saw the Rockies lose 9-0. They managed just one hit against the Pioneers but got seven base runners on. James Ruleson pitched the final three innings of that game and struck out five.

Crawford had the Rockies one hit in the game.

“It was kind of a disappointment but the guys realized that we needed to play up to the level that we knew we could play at,” Anderson said.

The Rockies got lots of production from their younger players and their veterans also contributed mightily in the doubleheader. Anderson said he’s been really happy with the good, young players on the team and what they’ve been able to do. The Rockies had five 15-year-olds on the roster.

“They feel that playing Babe Ruth and Senior Babe Ruth pushes them and makes them a better player,” Anderson said.

Mission Valley was missing their normal first baseman, who was attending his high school graduation. That left Anderson with a hole in the defense that he was struggling to fill with the backup first baseman, Crawford, taking the mound for the second game.

Anderson said he asked who had played first base before in the dugout and Turner responded, “I did play first base in little league.”

“And Ryan ended up doing a great job over there at first base filling in,” Anderson said. “Damian Mathis also did a good job at catcher.”

The Rockies did have an injury as a ball hit their other catcher, Sorrell, in the shoulder but Anderson said he should be back and be ready to play. Mission Valley will play at home against Florence and Darby, at 1 p.m. on Saturday. On Sunday, they’ll travel to Great Falls for a doubleheader.

“One thing we’re going to work on is that it seems whoever we play we tend to play up or play down to the level of competition,” Anderson said. “I know we can beat Great Falls and the same thing with Florence, we also 10-runned Darby before, but we don’t want to take that team lightly. We just have to play our game.”

The Rockies can now look at their victory over Missoula as a signature win, and use that a measuring stick as well.

“It’s given everyone confidence,” Anderson said. “The confidence level is huge after that win and now they don’t want to leave the field.”

MISS. 9, MV R 0

M - 122 - 210 - 1 - 9

MV - 000 - 000 - 0 - 0

Missoula - 11 hits, 2 errors. MV - 1 hit, 2 errors

Rockies batting - Nick Grogan 0-2, Warren Wood 0-3, Ryan Turner 0-1, Jeremiah Crawford 1-3, Ryan Anderson 0-3, Davin Sorrell 0-2, James Ruleson 0-3, Chris Geiber 0-2, Damian Mathis 0-2, Tanner Tammaro - 0-2, Keith Woodward 0-1, Bransen Krebes 0-1, Joey Anderson 0-0.

R Pitching - Davin Sorrell (10 hits, 4IP, 7 runs, 2K),

James Ruleson (1 hit, 2 runs, 3 IP, 5K)

MV R 11, MISS. 4

M - 210 - 000 - 0 - 4

MV - 032 - 150 - x - 11

Missoula - 6 hits, 9 errors. MV - 5 hits, 6 errors

Rockies batting - Nick Grogan 1-3, Bransen Krebes 1-2, Keith Woodward 0-2, Jeremiah Crawford 0-3, Ryan Anderson 0-2, Davin Sorrell 2-2, James Ruleson 0-1, Chris Geiber 1-3, Damian Mathis 0-0, Ryan Turner 0-2, Warren Wood 0-0, Joey Anderson 0-0. 2B - Grogan, Geiber. RBI - Grogan 3, Krebes 2, R. Anderson, Geiber 2, Turner.

R Pitching - Jeremiah Crawford (6 hits, 7K, 4 runs)