The calendar inside the Glacier Twins’ team room has three prominent dates highlighted in bold lettering.
The district tournament in Kalispell in late July. The state tournament in Lewistown in early August. And the regional tourney in Alaska in mid August.
As skipper Bob Rupp tells it, Whitefish’s legion baseball team is unabashed and sincere about its goal this season: regaining the old successful tradition of the Twins.
After years of lamenting at the bottom of the standings, and last season’s stumbles in the final weeks, there’s a profound motivation driving this club, and it’s apparent in the way they’re playing so far.
The regional tourney is “something we talk about and that’s something we’re shooting for. If they play like they can, it’s a good possibility they’ll be there. It’s up to them,” Rupp said. “They hate to lose. They’re hard workers. They don’t quit. They do not quit. These guys, even when they’re down, they don’t give up.”
Bolstered by a deep pitching rotation, the Twins are off to another strong start this season, at 18-7 overall and 5-3 in the Western A standings. The boys split with the Bitterroot Red Sox last weekend, falling 11-4 in the opener but bouncing back to win 10-8 in the nightcap.In that game, Glacier smacked 15 hits, a barrage that was led by Jayce Fagerland, Colten Gove, Colton Parker and Vincent Smith. Gove led with four RBI. Fagerland, Gove, Austin Robins and Kyler Howke are captaining this latest squad with impressive results.
As the only Class A team at the annual Canadian Days Tournament in Kalispell, the Twins took down the Class AA Lakers and finished second overall. At a recent tournament in Post Falls, Idaho, the team played 28 innings of baseball and lost only one. The boys also twice got past Libby, another tough Class A squad that placed fourth at the state tournament last season.
“We definitely have a lot of potential on this team,” said Fagerland, the team’s standout shortstop. “We push ourselves. That’s the key. We like to work hard and have fun playing.”
Last season’s squad, playing in Class A for the first time, enjoyed a similar hot start, jumping out to 14-9 and 8-1. But the momentum slowed in the final weeks as the team’s small pitching rotation fell victim to wear and tear.The Twins’ season ended at the district tournament with an overall record of 29-25.
“What hurt us last year was the pitchers got tired. We used Austin all the time and didn’t have any other pitchers,” Rupp said. “This year we don’t have to do that. We got six pitchers and coach (Scott) Murray has them down to the tee.”
The Twins have relied on the talented arms of Robins, Smith, Parker, Jonny Sapa and AJ Wetsch, who have all turned in strong performances this spring. The team has not had to use more than two pitchers in one game yet.
“It’s made a big difference in our games,” Rupp said.
The defense has provided solid backup, too.
“That gives our pitchers confidence to put the ball in play,” Rupp said.
The Twins are hosting two longtime tournaments in the upcoming weeks. The 25th annual Ed Gallo Tournament is this weekend, June 26-29, at Memorial Field in Whitefish and is attracting teams from as far as Calgary and North Dakota. The Twins won the tournament last year.
On July 10-13, the Twins are hosting the annual Sapa-Johnsrud Tournament, a popular longtime event that similarly draws competitive teams from across the region. At the event, a new scholarship will be announced and a winner will be awarded.
Glacier is also slated to host the Mission Valley Mariners on July 9, Medicine Hat on July 15, the Kalispell Lakers A team on July 17 and the Havre Northstars on July 18.
The Western A District Tournament is in Kalispell, July 23-27. Libby won last year’s tourney, upsetting top seeded Mission Valley to claim its first title since 2011.
“We’re headed in the right direction. It doesn’t happen overnight but we are rebuilding the program,” Rupp said.