Minors put away Lewiston Purple, Hayden
(Photo courtesy of RICKY KLONTZ) Landon Day pitches in the Sandpoint Minors’ 15-5 win over Lewiston Purple.
(Photo courtesy of RICKY KLONTZ) Lewiston and Sandpoint teams gather for the Challenger game on June 30. Challenger is a division of Little League for kids with physical or mental limitations that prevent them from enjoying a sport that millions of other kids around the world get to play every year. Players from other divisions help host by being “baseball buddies,” in which they help Challenger players hit, field and run the bases.
The Sandpoint Little League Minors All-Stars posted 15-5 and 18-7 wins against Lewiston Purple and Hayden, respectively, bringing them one win away from the District Championship.
Pitching performances from Landon Day and Andrew Aexel kept the Bengals’ offense at bay and set the stage for a late rally by Sandpoint.
Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Sandpoint put up three runs to take a two-run lead.
After a scoreless top half of the fifth, Sandpoint exploded for eight runs to end the game by way of mercy rule.
The high-powered offense showed up late against Hayden as well. Blake Bogadi and Carson Resso led the way on the mound for Sandpoint and the defense was solid all game long — most notably with a ground-ball double-play in the bottom of the first inning that second baseman Allen Rozok and shortstop Landon Day turned to end the inning.
Sandpoint blew the game open by sending 16 batters to the plate in the top of the fourth inning en route to scoring 12 runs to cap off the 18-7 win.
After the Lewiston game, Sandpoint was selected to sponsor the Challenger Game, which helps kids with disabilities experience Little League play. The players took part in the game as sponsors to not only help cheer on the Challenger players, but also help them hit, run, field and throw.
The Minors play Lewiston White today at Canfield Field No. 1 in Coeur d’Alene at 9 a.m.