Royals win 4 of 6 as they prepare for district

The Mountain Home Royals closed out a busy final week of regular season American Legion baseball by winning four of six games as they got ready for the Area B Class A District Tourney.

Boise Barons 4

Mountain Home 3

A seventh inning error spoiled a Mountain Home comeback as the Boise Barons regained the lead and beat the Royals 4-3 last Tuesday night at Mountain Home.

The Barons jumped on Royals pitcher Michael DesPres for two runs in the first inning, and added a single run in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.

Mountain Home battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, getting an RBI triple by Bret Young and an RBI single by Michael DesPres.

Josh Osich reached on an error to start the Baron seventh. He went to second on Justin Letsinger's sacrifice, and to third on a single by Thomas McGuira, and came home on a wild pitch.

In the Mountain Home seventh, the Royals had two on with just one out against Steve Gray, who took over on the mound for Letsinger in the sixth to end the Royals' rally, but Gray retired the next two batters to end the threat, and the Barons prevailed, 4-3.

"In terms of enjoyable ball games for baseball purists, this is probably the best ball game we've been a part of all year, other than maybe a couple of those comeback wins," said Mountain Home Royals head coach Travis DeVore. "(We committed) one error in the game, and (Michael) Despres, what did he have 12 strikeouts -- there's a lot of subtleties that baseball enthusiasts can come and enjoy in a game like that. A well pitched game by Mike, a tough loss for him, but at the same time, it's one of those game leading up to District that can help a team grow, so I'm just hoping that's the approach we take from it."

Michael DesPres suffered the loss despite a 12 strikeout performance. He also had two hits at the plate and drove in a run. Dillon Barresi had two hits, and Bret Young had an RBI triple. Joe Poseley had an RBI single, and Chris Rau, Aaron Swartz abd Jake Hiler also had hits.

Mountain Home 4

Boise Capitals 2

The Royals were involved in another close pitching duel last Thursday at Capital, this time coming out on top, 4-2 at Capital High School.

Mountain Home scored two runs in the top of the first on a two-run double by Bret Young. A walk, a triple and a ground-out tied it for Boise in the bottom of the first.

The score stayed at 2-2 until the sixth, when the Royals scored two runs on hits by Chris Rau and Tim Whitmarsh to take a 4-2 lead.

Brian Fields had runners on in each inning but the fourth, yet got the big plays when he needed them to hold the Capitals to just two runs and improving to 4-2 on the season. The Royals right-hander struck out three, walked four and hit two batters, while giving up seven hits.

Tim Whitmarsh had two hits and an RBI for Mountain Home, and Bret Young had a two-run double. Chris Rau doubled in a run, and Mike Anderson, Michael DesPres and Daniel Rau also had hits.

"We played spotless defense today," said Coach DeVore in radio comments after the game. "Mike Anderson came up with a couple huge plays for us on balls hit up the middle, and Brian (Fields) just seemed to get the pitches that he needed, because he certainly had runners in scoring position the whole game. A lot of credit goes to Capital, because that was a game that could have gone either way."

Mountain Home 9

Eagle Vipers 6

The Royals went to Eagle last Friday night to take on the Vipers and came away with a 9-6 league win. Mountain Home took advantage of four walks, two hits and a hit batter to score four runs in the first. They added two more in the fourth to go up 6-1, and held on for a 9-6 win.

Michael DesPres, Dillon Barresi and Bret Young all had two hits, DesPres drove in two runs, Young, one. Sam Cisners and Joe Poseley both had RBI singles, and Aaron Swartz and David Zito had hits, Chris Rau had two RBIs, and Tim Whitmarsh, one RBI.

Bret Young got the win, throwing 4 1/3 innings of no-hit ball, striking out five, but walking seven and hitting one, giving up four runs. David Zito pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on three hits, striking out three, walking three and hitting one batter. Michael DesPres came in and quashed a seventh inning rally by the Vipers, getting two strike outs in an inning of work.

"I have to admit, I was frustrated with the game," said Coach DeVore in radio comments after the game. "I thought we didn't come in with the enthusiasm we needed to play against a team like Eagle, and I thought they came out the same way. They looked a little sluggish, and when two teams come out and they're both a little bit tired and not at their best game, it makes for ugliness at times, but then, again, there were some other things that happened today. Definitely, our pitching, and that's what's been our strength, and (Michael) DesPres came in and was able to shut them down on just a couple days' rest, that was huge."

Mountain Home 4, 6

Nampa Braves 6, 5

The Royals and Braves played two close games Saturday in Mountain Home, with the Braves taking the conference game, 6-4, and the Royals taking the second game, 6-5.

Mountain Home scored single runs in the first and second innings to take a 2-0 lead in the first game. Nampa took advantage of four walks by Royals starter Chris Rau in the third inning to score three runs and take a 3-1 lead.

Brian Fields and Joe Poseley both had RBI singles in the bottom of the third as Mountain Home regained the lead, 4-3, but Nampa scored three more runs in the fourth to regain the lead, 6-4. Neither team scored after that, as the Braves prevailed, 6-4.

Chris Rau suffered his first loss in five decisions, despite giving up just five hits. He struck out five, but walked seven. Joe Poseley led the Royals at the plate in the first game with three hits and an RBI. Michael DesPres had two hits, Bret Young and Brian Fields each had a hit and RBI, Aaron Swartz and Chris Rau had hits, and Dillon Barresi had an RBI.

In the second game, Nampa got to Royals pitcher Daniel Rau for three runs in the first and two runs in the fourth, but the Royals also scored three in the first, and added single runs in the second, third and fourth to take a 6-5 lead. Neither team scored after the fourth, and the Royals hung on for the win.

Bret Young had an RBI double and an RBI triple to lead the Royals at the plate. Aaron Swartz had two hits, Jake Hiler had a hit and two RBIs, Daniel Rau had a hit, and Brian Fields had an RBI. Daniel Rau went the distance to improve to 3-0 on the season. He struck out four and walked three.

"I thought that both teams played about the same way in both games," said Coach DeVore after the games. "We had moments where both teams could win it, and it's kind of poetic justice that each team walked away with a loss and a win, when both of us gave the other team chances to win, and both of us took advantage at times of those chances."

Mountain Home 6

Boise Gems 2

The Royals bats came alive in the sixth inning as they had two doubles and a triple and scored three runs to open up a close game. David Zito went five innings on the hill for Mountain Home, giving up two runs on five hits, striking out three and walking two. Michael DesPres pitched the final two innings to get the save, striking out one and giving up just one hit.

"I thought the boys played one of their better games today," said Coach DeVore after the game. "Even on or outs, we were absolutely crushing the ball -- what'd we have, three double plays off line drives? We were absolutely hitting the heck out of the ball, even when we ended up getting out, so the game looked closer a little bit than it actually was, in terms of us hitting and them hitting.

"David (Zito) had a three hitter into the fourth and they scored a couple. He had a little trouble getting his curve ball over, but he certainly was making the pitches when he needed them, and then, of course, (Michael) DesPres came in and absolutely does what he does best, and that's getting outs right away, so it was a good game. Daniel Rau hit the ball extremely well today, and Tim Whitmarsh had a great day at the plate."

Tim Whitmarsh had a two-run triple and two singles for three hits on the day. Daniel Rau had two hits, one a triple, and Joe Poseley had an RBI double. Michael DesPres had an RBI single, and Brian Fields and Chris Rau had doubles, and Dillon Barresi and Bret Young also had hits.

The Royals finished the regular season 28-12 and ended up 19-11 in conference games. The Area B Class A District Tourney opens today (Wednesday) at Mountain View High School and Storey Park in Meridian, and runs through Monday, August 1. Coach DeVore is optimistic going into the District Tourney.

"Defensively I feel we've improved tremendously over the beginning of the season, and I still think we have one of the best pitching staffs in the conference, and I'd put our sticks up against anyone as well, so we definitely have our chance to go to State, but we have our work cut out for us as well."