Koenig leads Knights to doubleheader split

The Lewiston Redbirds jumped all over the Medicine Hat K of C Knights to kick off Friday’s American Legion Baseball A doubleheader at Athletic Park, opening the set with an 11-2 drubbing — but Dylan Koenig stepped in to silence the bats in game two and earn a split with a 9-4 win.

Lewiston took an early lead in the second half of the doubleheader, tagging Koenig for two runs in the first inning on a single and a double, but the Knights starting arm quickly settled in — allowing just one more run and four hits on the night to earn the victory.

After Koenig posted a zero in the top of the second, the Knights responded with six runs of support and never looked back.

Knights catcher Theryn Berndt led the offensive push with 3 RBI in a 2-for-2 outing while Justin Bourassa added another 2 RBI in a 2-for-4 effort. Cavan Kolody and Wyatt Bergen both went 2-for-4 with 1 RBI each.

Travis Small took the mound for Medicine Hat in relief of Koenig to start the fifth and held Lewiston to two runs on three hits over the next 2 and 1/3 before Kolody stepped in to record the final two outs in the seventh. Ashtyn Street was charged with the opening loss after being roughed up for 10 runs — six earned — on 14 hits with two walks and a strikeout. Knights relievers Ethan Bartram and Zach Stark stepped in to close out the game, with Bartram allowing one run on no hits through 1/3 before Stark closed out the game with two strikeouts. Both of Medicine Hat’s runs in the opener came on back-to-back wild pitches.

The split puts Medicine Hat at 9-7 in American Legion A conference action. The Knights return to the field Saturday to host the Tri County Cardinals in a doubleheader at Athletic Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.