Mission Valley posts five-win week

Mission Valley's Legion baseball club capped a busy week with five wins in seven games, improving their overall record to 19-16. The squad leaned on strong pitching performances and clutch offense to secure victories over Missoula, South Valley, Lethbridge, Kootenai Valley and Bitterroot during a packed holiday week.

The week began July 1 with a gem from Cole Wadsworth, who tossed a complete-game one-hitter to blank Missoula 7-0. Wadsworth struck out six and walked just two over seven innings. Paxson DuMont delivered the big swing at the plate, driving in four runs on a 2-for-4 effort that included a double. Cody Haggard also contributed RBIs as Mission Valley played error-free defense.

The nightcap told a different story, as Missoula bounced back with an 11-1 win, pounding out 14 hits. Despite solid offensive outings from Haggard (2-for-3), Aiden Courville (2-for-2), and Aiden Gfroerer (1-for-2 with a double), Mission Valley couldn't recover from a six-run fourth inning. Pitchers Cash Atkinson and Noah Agliano were tagged with eight combined earned runs in the loss.

Mission Valley returned to the win column Friday, starting with a 4-1 victory over South Valley. Haggard was untouchable on the mound, fanning 13 batters and allowing just three hits in a complete-game effort. The offense provided timely support, including RBIs from Holden Emerson, Gfroerer, and Agliano. Wadsworth added another two-hit game, and Gfroerer contributed a double in the balanced effort.

Later that day, Mission Valley made quick work of Lethbridge, scoring in each of the first five innings in route to a 6-2 win. Emerson drove in two runs, while Wadsworth had his third multi-hit game of the week. On the mound, Atkinson handled the early innings before Justin Brown closed the door with 2 1/3 shutout frames, earning the save.

Saturday brought more late-game drama as Mission Valley edged Kootenai Valley 7-6. After falling behind 5-2 in the top of the fourth, Mission Valley answered with four runs in the bottom half and walked it off with a run in the seventh. Agliano went 2-for-3 and drove in a run, while Zane Newman added an RBI double. Courville earned the win in relief, tossing 3 1/3 innings of one-hit ball and allowing no earned runs.

Mission Valley faced a stiff challenge Sunday in a doubleheader against perennial contender Bitterroot. Game one was a pitcher’s duel, with Justin Brown tossing a complete game but taking a tough 2-1 loss despite allowing just one earned run and striking out four. Agliano drove in the lone run with a fourth-inning single.

The second game saw Mission Valley get revenge. Trailing 1-0 entering the sixth, they tied it with a run in the sixth and walked it off in the ninth. Zane Newman had an RBI. Agliano had a triple. Wadsworth pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed no earned runs, while Brayson DuMont shut the door in relief with nearly three innings of scoreless work.

Tuesday, July 1

MISSION VALLEY 7, MISSOULA 0

Missoula - 0000000 - 0 - 1 - 2

MissVall - 003013x - 7 - 6 - 0

MISSION VALLEY HITTING - Cole Wadsworth 2-3, Cody Haggard 1-4, Paxson DuMont 2-4, Brayson DuMont 1-2; RBI - Haggard, Paxson DuMont 4; 2B - Paxson DuMont, Cody Haggard

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING: Cole Wadsworth (7IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 6SO)

MISSOULA 11, MISSION VALLEY 1

Missoula - 11360 - 11 - 14 - 1

MissVall - 00001 - 1 - 7 - 4

MISSION VALLEY HITTING - Cole Wadsworth 1-3, Holden Emerson 1-3, Cody Haggard 2-3, Aiden Gfroerer 1-2, Aiden Courville 2-2; 2B - Aiden Gfroerer, Aiden Courville

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING - Cash Atkinson 3IP, 9H, 5R, 4ER, 3SO); Noah Agliano (2IP, 5H, 6R, 4ER, 1BB, 2SO)

Friday, July 4

MISSION VALLEY 4, SOUTH VALLEY 1

SouthVall - 1000000 - 1 - 3 - 2

MissVall - 100120x - 4 - 8 - 0

MISSION VALLEY HITTING - Cole Wadsworth 2-4, Holden Emerson 1-3, Cody Haggard 1-3, Paxson DuMont 1-2, Aiden Gfroerer 1-3, Noah Agliano 1-3, Justin Brown 1-2; RBI - Emerson, Gfroerer, Agliano; 2B: Aiden Gfroerer

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING - Cody Haggard (7IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 13SO)

MISSION VALLEY 6, LETHBRIDGE 2

Lethbridge - 0000200 - 2 - 4 - 4

MissVall - 111210x - 6 - 6 - 2

MISSION VALLEY HITTING - Cole Wadsworth 2-3, Holden Emerson 1-3, Cody Haggard 1-3, Paxson DuMont 1-3, Zane Newman 1-1; RBI - Holden Emerson 2; 2B - Cash Atkinson (4 and 2/3IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 2SO); Justin Brown (2 and 1/3IP, 0H, 0R, 1SO)

Saturday, July 5

MISSION VALLEY 7, KOOTENAI VALLEY 6

Kootenai - 1004100 - 6 - 4 - 2

MissVall - 2004001 - 7 - 8 - 2

MISSION VALLEY HITTING - Cole Wadsworth 1-2, Holden Emerson 1-3, Cody Haggard 1-3, Aiden Gfroerer 1-3, Brayson DuMont 1-4, Noah Agliano 2-3, Zane Newman 1-1; RBI - Cole Wadsworth, Emerson, Haggard, Agliano, Newman; 2B - Cole Wadsworth, Zane Newman

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING - Landon Pablo (3 and 2/3IP, 3H, 5R, 1ER, 4BB, 2SO); Aiden Courville (3 and 1/3IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 2SO)

Sunday, July 6

BITTERROOT 2, MISSION VALLEY 1

Bitterroot - 1010000 - 2 - 5 - 1

MissVall - 0001000 - 1 - 5 - 4

MISSION VALLEY HITTING - Cole Wadsworth 1-4, Aiden Gfroerer 1-2, Brayson DuMont 2-3, Noah Agliano 1-2; RBI - Agliano

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING - Justin Brown (7IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 4SO)

MISSION VALLEY 2, BITTERROOT

Bitterroot - 000100000 - 1 - 6 - 4

MissVall - 000001001 - 2 - 7 - 4

MISSION VALLEY HITTING - Cole Wadsworth 2-4, Holden Emerson 1-4, Aiden Courville 1-3, Brayson DuMont 1-4, Noah Agliano 1-4, Zane Newman 1-4; RBI - Zane Newman; 3B - Noah Agliano

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING - Cole Wadsworth (6 and 1/3IP, 4H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 6SO); Brayson DuMont (2 and 2/3IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 3SO)