Spurs head south for State tournament

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

After a fantastic showing in Districts, the Vauxhall Spurs were on their way back south for States this past week. Starting on July 30, the Spurs were in the U.S. to compete in their final tournament of the year. 

Starting with a matchup against the Gallatin Valley Outlaws, the Spurs came out firing. Thanks to a big four-run fourth inning, the Spurs were able to take the first game 9-2. The Spurs outhit the Outlaws 11-1 while also committing no errors. Langdyn Cummins had two hits and three RBI while Eric Reiling and Ryley Jensen each contributed with a pair of hits. Roman Pavka, Mark Vulcano, Tanner Bullock, Sidney Pedersen, and Parker McLaughlin all had a hit in the Spurs’ opening game win. Randon Lauwen started on the mound and gave the Spurs four solid innings with five strikeouts and a single hit allowed. Daxton Schrader was the first pitcher out of the bullpen, and the great pitching continued with 2.1 innings where he allowed a single earned run on three walks and three strikeouts. Pedersen came in as a reliever and collected one out while allowing an earned run on a walk. His lone out came from a strikeout. Vulcano finished things off with a third of an inning. 

The Spurs didn’t have much time to regroup as they were back on the diamond the following day as they took on the Bitterroot Red Sox. While the first game was clean for the Spurs, the second game saw walks and errors come into play as they fell 12-2. The Spurs committed a pair of errors in the game and were outhit 5-3. Reiling, McLaughlin, and Landon Howg all had doubles in the loss. Tanner Bullock was the starting pitcher for Vauxhall, and walks were an issue as he allowed seven runners on base, with three of them coming home. He also had a strikeout in his 2.2 innings of work. Micah Fontaine struggled out of the bullpen as the reliever collected one out while allowing seven runs (four earned) on three hits and two walks. The lone out came from a strikeout. Jacob Falkenberg finished things off with an inning and a third where two earned runs scored on two hits and three walks. 

Vauxhall was looking for a bounce back on Friday when they were back at it, this time against the Bitterroot Bucs. A big five-run fifth blew things wide open for Vauxhall as they walked away with a 9-2 win. The teams each had six hits in the game, and no errors were committed. McLaughlin hit a solo home run while Jensen hit a double and Cummins, Howg, Vulcano, and Randon Lauwen all had a single. Schrader pitched a complete game with one strikeout and two earned runs on six hits and a walk. 

Moving to the semi-final, the Spurs took on the Bozeman Bucks with a chance to win the State banner. In a back-and-forth battle, the two teams saw plenty of runs across the first six innings. The Spurs were down 6-2 heading into the seventh inning. Thanks to three doubles, a single, and a walk, the Spurs were able to tie the game 6-6. In the bottom of the seventh, the Spurs collected two quick outs before a pair of walks put two runners on. A Bucks’ single would score one to walk off the Spurs 7-6. Howg led the way offensively with three hits and three RBI, Bullock had two hits, and Cummins, Pavka, and Reiling all had a hit in the game. Lauwen got the start for Vauxhall and went 3.2 innings with four earned runs allowed on eight hits, a walk, and he struck out four hitters. Fontaine came in and provided three innings with three earned runs allowed on two hits and five walks. The pitcher also had three Ks over his three innings. 

In the State final, the Bucks beat the Red Sox 2-1.