The Clark Fork Valley Riverdogs socked the Sox Sunday by claiming doubleheader victories at Amundson Sports Complex in Plains.

The American Legion team, comprised of players from Sanders and Mineral counties, now have 15 wins and 11 losses after taking two wins from the Bitterroot Red Sox Sunday. The Riverdogs had split a doubleheader with the Sox at Hamilton in May.

The Riverdogs were short two critical players Sunday, but poured on the heat right away in the first game with a new pitcher that gave the Plains team a 14-3 win. Jody Page of Hot Springs had been a key player for the Plains Outlaws in the Babe Ruth class this year, which ended the season in third place. The 16-year-old Page pitched the entire game, chalking up seven strikeouts and one RBI. Beau Crabb, 14 of Plains, was also added to the Legion roster. 

Riverdog Kody Carter had two RBIs while teammates Nate Zigler, Orion "Bean" Plakke, Jack Taylor, Tanner Day and Garth Parker each had one. Plakke played both games with a possible broken hand, an injury he sustained Friday in a game in Kalispell. "I'm proud of him. He's really tough and he's played hurt so many times. He just loves to play," said Shawn Plakke, Orion's father and an assistant coach for the Riverdogs, along with Sam Carter. The Riverdogs lost the first game in Kalispell 12-11, but won the second one 4-3. 

"I was happy with Jody throwing a complete game, but our normal cast of characters also came through," said Jon Zigler, the Dogs' head coach for the second consecutive year. This is Zigler's last year as coach. He plans to apply for the new coaching position of the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks baseball team next year. Thompson Falls High School superintendent Bud Scully served as the plate umpire for both games Sunday, while his son, Jake, was the field umpire.

The Riverdogs started scoring in the second inning and never lost the lead. Bitterroot scored their first run in the third and another in the fourth, but no others until the fifth. The Sox loaded the bases in the top of the third, but a Trenis McDonald outfield catch stopped them from scoring and ended the inning. In the sixth, Page drove in a run, followed by a single by Bryson McCormick of Thompson Falls to drive in Day and finish the game with a 10-run rule.

The second game against the Sox started bad for the Dogs, who were immediately down 3-0 in the top of the first with McCormick on the mound. He was replaced after the first inning with a sore arm and replaced with McDonald, who threw 53 pitches before he and Taylor, the catcher, switched in the fifth. Zigler pulled Taylor in the sixth to save his arm for an upcoming game and put in Day, who had never pitched Legion ball, on the mound. Two wild pitches allowed the Sox to score and by the end of the top of the sixth the score was Dogs 14, Sox 13. In the bottom of the sixth, Nate Zigler singled, then stole second, third and home for a two-run lead. 

In the first pitch by Day in the seventh, the Sox singled, but the Riverdogs nabbed a double play with the next batter. A line drive to left field put another run on the board for the Sox, which made them only one run behind. With a full count, Day hit the next batter to load the bases. Things didn't look good, especially when the next Sox player hit the ball long to McDonald, who fired a bullet to Taylor behind the plate for the final out and the win. 

"We played well below our potential," Jon Zigler said of the second game. He added that the schedule prevented him from utilizing his top pitchers in game two. He attributed a big part of the win to his son, who got the additional run with great base stealing. He said the game saver was the double play by Zigler, Page and Plakke in the top of the seventh, as well as the perfect throw from McDonald to Taylor. 

Ed Moreth

QUICK PITCH – Riverdog pitcher Jody Page heaves one in for a strike against a Bitterroot Red Sox batter while Jack Taylor catches and Bud Scully makes the calls.

Taylor and Plakke had two hits apiece with Taylor getting two RBIs. McDonald and McCormick each had two RBIs. "At the end of the day it was two wins and we'll take it," said Zigler. The Riverdogs are scheduled to play two single games at home on Saturday, July 2, starting at noon against the Libby Loggers. The Loggers then face the North Idaho Lakers at 2:30 p.m., followed by the Riverdogs taking on the Lakers at 5 p.m.