Chiefs fall to Bigfork in home opener
The Ronan Chiefs opened their home schedule on Friday afternoon but couldn’t keep pace with a surging Bigfork squad, falling 10-3 in a Class A baseball contest.
The loss drops Ronan to 0-1 on the season, as defensive miscues and missed opportunities at the plate made it difficult to stay in the game against the visiting Vikings.
Ronan kept things close early, answering Bigfork’s first-inning run with one of their own to tie it 1-1. The Chiefs stayed within striking distance through four innings, thanks partly to a solid start on the mound from Liam Wills. The right-hander went three innings, allowing just one hit and two earned runs while striking out four.
After Bigfork edged ahead 3-1 in the third, the Chiefs put together their best rally of the game in the bottom of the fourth. With the help of a Denzel Baltz double and an RBI single from Liam Wills, Ronan pushed across two runs to make it a 3-3 ballgame.
But the comeback was short-lived. Bigfork’s bats came alive in the fifth, with a string of doubles and aggressive base running leading to two more runs. The Vikings added five more insurance runs late to put the game out of reach.
Baltz, Wills, and Everett Lozeau provided Ronan’s only hits on the afternoon, with Baltz’s extra-base knock being the lone highlight in an otherwise quiet day for the Chiefs' offense. Ronan struck out 10 times and couldn’t capitalize on four errors committed by Bigfork.
Ronan’s bullpen had trouble slowing Bigfork’s momentum once the game turned. Hunter Luedtke took over in the fourth and pitched into the sixth, allowing five runs on five hits before handing the ball off to Ben Mitchell, who closed out the game. Combined, the three Chiefs pitchers gave up nine hits, including five doubles, and issued seven walks.
Despite the loss, Ronan showed early promise, especially on the mound in the first half of the game. Wills displayed poise in his start, keeping the Vikings off-balance.
BIGFORK 10, RONAN 3
Bigfork - 101 - 123 - 2 - 10 - 9 - 4
Ronan - 100 - 200 - 0 - 3 - 3 - 0
BIGFORK HITTING: Ryeln Rodriguez 0-2, Grady Campbell 1-2, Liam Benson 1-3, Hayden Mayer 0-3, Sam Plummer 0-3, Mason Lewis 2-3, Holland Jantzen 1-4, Ryder Hamilton 1-4, Cavin Wiest 3-3; 2B: Wiest 3, Lewis, Hamilton; RBI: Campbell, Benson, Lewis, Hamilton, Wiest 2
BIGFORK PITCHING: Liam Benson (4IP, 3H, 3R, 1ER, 1BB, 4SO); Hayden Mayer (3IP, 0H, 0R, 6SO)
RONAN HITTING: Hunter Luedtke 0-4, Ben Mitchell 0-2, Liam Wills 1-2, Damien Hess 0-3, Everett Lozeau 1-3, Kanyon Mock 0-3, Denzel Baltz 1-3, Treysin Sinclair 0-3, Baylan Hess 0-3; 2B: Baltz
RONAN PITCHING: Liam Wills (3IP, 1H, 3R, 2ER, 5BB, 4SO); Hunter Luedtke (2 and 1/3IP, 5H, 5R, 5ER, 1BB, 2SO); Ben Mitchell (1 and 2/3IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 2SO)