The Utah Box Elder Bees moved into the drivers seat tonight by knocking off the previously undefeated Bear Lake Bears from Idaho.  The Bees are now the only undefeated team in the NWCART and hold a clear advantage to take home the championship.

The Bees jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning. In a game that started with good pitching and excellent defense it looked to be a low scoring affair. After 3 complete innings, the Bees were on top 2-0.

After the Bears were held scoreless in the top of the 4th, the Bees loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning but failed to score a run.  Bear shortstop Tanner Saxton started a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning and kill the Bees rally.

In the top of the 5th inning, Bees pitcher Taylor Larsen continued his dominance of the Bears hitters. Through five innings he didn't give up a run and only allowed one hit.  In the bottom of the inning the Bees picked up another run and after five complete innings the Bees led 3-0.

In the top of the 6th inning the Bears loaded the bases on 3 walks surrendered by Larsen, who suddenly found it hard to find the strike zone. The Bears scored Tanner Saxton on a smartly hit ball by Corby Dixon. Bees first baseman Danny Smith made a diving stop on the ball that would have scored at least 2 runners had it continued down the line.  With two outs and runners at 2nd and 3rd, Bailey Thomas drove a hard grounder past Bees third baseman Justin Crosbie and Nate Crane and Cameron Crane raced across the plate to tie the game at 3-3.  Substitute Morris Bunn drew a walk and Thomas advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch.  The Bees then brought in reliever Brad Munns but Bailey Thomas scored on a double steal and the Idaho team took the lead for the first time in the game, 4-3.

In the bottom of the 6th the Bees responded when Matt McArthur reached 2nd base on a double then scored on a double by Zach Lindley.  McArthur then raced home and scored on a close play at the plate when Derek Leishman roped a line drive into center field.  After a walk to Kyler Webb and Justin Crosbie the bases were loaded and Danny Smith then drew a walk to earn an easy RBI.  Tyson Thompson dropped one into shallow right field and two more runs crossed the plate for the Bees and Bears pitcher Rob Smith was done for the night.  Jordan Crane then took the mound for Idaho and Brandon Whitley grounded out to end the inning.  The Bees put up 5 big runs and after 6 complete innings they led 8-4.

The Bears managed to cut the lead by one run in the top of the 7th when Jordan Crane reached first on a "hit by pitch" and later scored on a throwing error. Going to the bottom of the 7th the Bees lead was cut to 8-5.  In the bottom of the inning the Bees responded once again and added two more runs to expand their lead to 10-5.  It could have been worse for the Bears except for a great play at the plate by catcher Bailey Thomas who took a throw from right fielder Jordan Crane and blocked the plate to prevent Zach Lindley from scoring.

The Bears went 1, 2, 3 in the top of 8th and then the Bees scored 3 more in the bottom of the inning to go up 13-5. Brandon Whitley had a triple, Taylor Larsen and Jason Saunders added doubles to lead the onslaught. After 8 complete innings the Bees had a commanding 13-5 lead and shut out the Bears in the top of the 9th to close out the victory.

Bees starter Taylor Larsen went 5 and 2/3rds innings allowing 2 hits, 7 walks, 4 runs and striking out 7. Derrick Leishman and Danny Smith were 2 for 4 at the plate for the Bees who scored 13 runs on 13 hits and committed just one error.  The Bears scored 5 runs on 4 hits but committed  5 errors.

The Knights from Richland WA scored first in the bottom of the 1st inning when  Houston Castillo reached home on a sacrifice fly by Cody Shepherd. The Knights added to the lead in the 2nd when Quinn Zorich led off with a triple shot into the right field corner and scored on a single by Jamie Morris. Max Gordon of the Ashland Oregon Pilots saved his team from giving up another run when he made a spectacular diving catch on a well hit line drive to center field that ended the inning. Washington up 2-0 after two.

In the top of the third Charlie Sebrell led off for the Pilots with a single then stole second base. After Max Gordon flied out to center field, Sebrell reached third on a passed ball to hitter Ian Kendall. Kendall then struck out but Lewis Sebrell drove in Charlie Sebrell on a well hit ball that was mishandled by Knight third baseman Stinson Ott.  Lewis Sebrell stole 2nd on a late pick-off move by Richland pitcher Kyle Stumetz, but the rally ended when Garrett Tygerson grounded out. Washington was held scoreless in the bottom of the third and the score after three complete innings was the Knights up by 2-1.

Pilots were held scoreless in the top of the 3rd. Knights leave two runners stranded in bottom of 3rd. After four innings, the score remained 2-1 Washington.

The Pilots put up 4 runs in the top of the 5th with solid hitting, excellent base running and a string of errors by the Knights infield. Washington was held scoreless in the bottom of the 5th and after five complete innings the Knights led 5-2.

In the top of the 6th the Pilots tacked on 3 more runs when they get big hits out of Ian Kendall and Garrett Tygerson.  It could have been worse for the Knights as the Pilots left three runners stranded. The Knights were held scoreless in the bottom of the 6th. Pilots centerfielder Max Gordon robbed DH Jamie Morris of an extra base hit when he made an outstanding diving catch of the line drive smash that was headed for the gap in right center field. After six complete innings the Pilots were ahead of the Knights by a score of 8-2. 

The Pilots were held scoreless in the top of the 7th by Knight reliever Mike Dunford. In the bottom of the inning the Knights failed to score also. After 7 complete innings the score remained 8-2.

After the Pilots failed to score in the top of the 8th, the Knights picked up one run in the bottom of the 8th when Josh Rapacz scored on a sacrifice fly by Jamie Morris. The Knights left two runners stranded and after eight complete innings the score was Pilots 8, Knights 3.

The Pilots failed to score again in the top of the 9th. The Knights rallied for a run in the bottom of the inning but left two runners stranded for a total of ten in the game. The Pilots prevailed by a final score of 8-4.

The Pilots were led at the plate by Charlie Sebrell who went 3 for 4 and scored three runs. Garrett Tygerson pitched 7 and 2/3rds innings allowing just 6 hits, 4 walks and recording 3 strikeouts in front of a stingy defense that held the Knights in check all game.  Reliever Sam Gaviglio stopped the potential rally in the 8th and held on in the 9th. The Knights starting pitcher Kyle Stumetz went 5 and 2/3rds innings giving up 8 runs on 7 hits with only 2 runs being earned. He walked 2 and struck out 5 but was hobbled by his defense that committed 5 errors.  Richland was led at the plate by Josh Rapacz who went 2 for 4, drew one walk and scored a run.

In “must win” game 9 of the NWCART, the Mission Valley Mariners of Montana drew first blood in the top of the 3^rd inning when Cubby Pierre reached first on an error, stole second base, reached third on a passed ball then scored on Kyle Brown’s sacrifice fly.  The Wheatland Lobos of Wyoming had an opportunity to score first in the bottom of the 2^nd inning but failed to execute on an attempted “suicide squeeze”.  Batter Craig Larson was called out for interference and Taylor Shepard then grounded out to second baseman Beau Nordberg to end the inning, leaving three Lobo runners stranded. After 3 complete innings, Mariners 1, Lobos 0.

In the bottom of the 4th with the bases loaded and two outs, Lobo batter David Castle battled Mariner pitcher Brandon Roy to a full count.  With the runners moving on the pitch, Castle blooped a hit to shallow right centerfield that scored Eric Heatherly and Taylor Shepard.  Jon Daly then drove a hard shot up the middle to score Kelly Simonton and the Lobos took a 3-1 lead after four. 

The Lobos added one run in the bottom of the 6th to take a 4-1 lead, then tacked on two more runs in the 7th.  The Mariners were plagued with errors.

In the top of the 8th inning, Mariner batter Will Gordon slammed one off the outfield wall to reach second base and then scored on a hard grounder by Tyler Linse. Beau Nordberg then singled up the middle to put runners at 1st and 3rd, but Lobo short stop Eric Heatherly turned a double play to end the inning and kill the Mariner rally.

Brandon Thompson took the mound for the Mariners in the bottom of the 8th and quickly dispatched the Lobo batters on 10 pitches.

In the top of the 9th, with the Mariners in a "do or die" situation, John Rausch led off with a double and the Lobos quickly pulled starter Travis Geile for reliever Jon Daly. Brandon Roy drove in Rausch with a double to left field and then reached third on a throwing error.  The next two batters made outs and then Brandon Thompson drove in Roy for the 2nd run of the inning and Will Gordon singled. With runners at 1st and 2nd, two outs, and the lead run at the plate, Tyler Rinse bounced a grounder to 3rd baseman David Castle who tagged the bag for the game ending 3rd out.

Travis Geile pitched eight innings for the Lobos giving up 10 hits, 3 walks and recording 4 strikeouts. Lobo hitters Castle, Simonton, and Heatherly were each 2 for 4 at the plate. For the Mariners, Roy pitched 7 innings allowing 8 hits, 4 walks and earning 11 strikeouts. Four errors by the Mariner defense allowed the Lobos to score 2 unearned runs, the difference in the ball game.