Riverdogs are for real

The new American Legion youth baseball team of Sanders County nabbed second place at the "Boys of Summer" tournament at Belgrade last week after being defeated by the Belgrade Bandits 10-2.

"The boys were disappointed that they didn't win the championship, but I was pleased with their performance," said Jon Zigler, head coach of the Clark Fork Valley Riverdogs, the only American Legion team in Sanders County. 

The Clark Fork Valley Riverdogs were one of six teams in the weekend play. Zigler said the tournament consisted of four pool play games and the Riverdogs were among the top four teams to move on to the final competition.

In the first pool play, the Bitterroot Red Sox claimed a 12-3 victory over the Riverdogs. Even though the Riverdogs outhit the Red Sox, they fell behind early in the game and could not capitalize with runs with players on base, said Zigler. Casey Johnston went two-for-two at the plate and both Jack Taylor and Kody Carter went two-for-three. The Riverdogs took game two against Miles City with a 24-6 victory. "Orion Plakke was an RBI machine as he went three-for-three with five RBI's. Eli Ratliff went two-for-three with four RBI's, Kody Carter went three-for-four with three RBI's, and Nate Zigler scored five runs and had four stolen bases," the coach said.

The Riverdogs then beat the Coeur d' Alene Lumbermen 12-0 in the third game, thanks in part to "the brilliant pitching" of Trevor Harris, who threw a no-hitter to keep the Lumbermen off balance all day, according to Zigler. The offense was powered by Jack Taylor, who went three-for-three at bat with two triples. Both Eli Ratliff and Nate Zigler went two-for-three. In game four, the Riverdogs faced off against the Belgrade Bandits. With a secured spot in the semifinals, Zigler decided to rest some of his starters and play the team's younger guys. Riverdogs' Garth Parker went one-for-two at the plate with three RBI's, Trenis McDonald went one-for-three with two RBI's and John Thurston went one-for-three with one RBI. Nevertheless, the Riverdogs' pitching couldn't hold the Bandits down and they won 18-8.

The Sanders County team was the number four seed in the semifinals, which matched them up against the Red Sox, the number one seed. "Not being intimidated, the Riverdogs came out hot," said Zigler, whose son, Nate, went three-for-four with three runs scored. Jack Taylor went three-for-three with three RBI's and Orion Plakke went two-for-three with two runs scored, taking the Riverdogs to an 11-0 lead after three innings. "Garth Parker was absolutely fantastic on the mound as he pitched a complete game giving up only one hit while striking out eight as the Riverdogs shocked the top seed with an 11-1 victory to earn a spot in the championship," said Zigler, a baseball coach for 10 years.

In the championship game, however, the Riverdogs lost to the Bandits and finished in second place. Zigler noted that Kody Carter had a solid pitching performance, but the defense let him down with three errors that led to multiple runs for the Bandits. "The offense couldn't get on track against Bandit pitcher C. Livergood," said Zigler, who added that the only bright spot was Trevor Harris, who went two-for-two at bat.

The Riverdogs have 15 wins and 21 losses in the regular season as of last week, although they started the season with 13 losses and no wins. That turned around in May when the Riverdogs nabbed their first two victories against Libby at Plains, their only home game of the season. 

"I'm very pleased with the progress of this team. They have improved a bunch in the last month," said Zigler. The team was scheduled to play in the Ed Gallo Wood Bat Tournament in Whitefish with nine other teams. Zigler had tried to get another home game scheduled but was unsuccessful. The coach hopes to have "A" and B" teams next season with five or six home games. The Riverdogs are sponsored by American Legion Post 129 of Paradise. Sam Carter of Plains and Shawn Plakke of Superior are the Riverdogs' assistant coaches. The team has players from Trout Creek, Plains, Thompson Falls, Hot Springs, and Superior.