Lums left seeing double
<p>Coeur d'Alene shortstop Austin Keifer beats Lewis-Clark's Tanner Hollingsworth to second base Wednesday for the final out of the first inning in Game 1 of a doubleheader at McEuen Field.</p>
Top-seeded Twins break out bats in sweep of Cd'A
COEUR d’ALENE — Much like they have done all season long, the Lewis-Clark Twins ran away from the competition Wednesday, this time with a 12-4, 19-8 sweep of the Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen at McEuen Field to capture the top seed to next week’s Legion “AA” District tournament at Post Falls High.
“I don’t know if we’ve really been thinking about that,” Lewis-Clark coach Tom Grunenfelder said. “What we’ve wanted to do is continue to improve as a team each game.”
In the first game, Lewis-Clark (25-6, 10-0 NIL) opened a 5-0 lead after the first inning after Kyle Knigge hit a two-run home run and Nick Rimmelspacher had a two-run single to right field off Coeur d’Alene starter Jordan Anderson.
“That’s really par for the course with Kyle (Knigge),” Grunenfelder said. “He’s hitting over .560 on the season. That kid can flat out hit.”
The Cubs added four more runs in the second, keyed by an RBI triple by Kasey Knigge to take a 9-0 lead.
“Our pitching broke down early in the first game,” Coeur d’Alene coach Lloyd Duman said. “You can’t spot a team like that seven runs and expect to come back.”
Coeur d’Alene (15-23, 5-5) fought back with three runs in the fourth. Derek Priano had an RBI single, followed by a run on an error and run scored on a fielder’s choice.
Austin Kiefer drove in the Lumbermen’s fourth run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Beau Kerns went the distance for the win in the first game for Lewis-Clark.
In the nightcap, Coeur d’Alene right fielder Chad Nyquist hit a grand slam in the fourth, but a late rally by the Twins gave them a win to sweep the doubleheader.
“I was glad I came up to drive in some big runs for us,” Nyquist said.
“Grant (Curtis) pitched well for us in the second game,” Duman said. “Chad has jumped into the four-spot and has been hitting well. We can hit with anyone — but you’ve got to give credit to Lewis-Clark, because they hit well tonight.”
Taylor Marshall had three hits, including a home run for Lewis-Clark, which travels to Prairie today at 3 p.m. at Post Falls High.
Coeur d’Alene plays at Trail, British Columbia, starting at 5 p.m.
FIRST GAME
Lewis-Clark 542 000 1 — 12 11 2
Coeur d’Alene 000 301 0 — 4 9 2
Beau Kerns and Kyle Mai; Jordan Anderson, Taylor Combo (2), Alex Gunnerson (3) and Kaleb DeHaas. W — Kerns. L — Anderson (2-4).
HITS: LC — Ky. Knigge 3, Rimmelspacher 3, Rake 2, Ka. Knigge, Holley, Park. Cd’A — Priano 2, Roletto 2, Pattis, Bevacqua, Cade, Nyquist. 2B — Ky. Knigge 2, Holley, Roletto, Pattis, Bevacqua, Cade. 3B — Ka. Knigge. HR — Ky. Knigge.
SECOND GAME
Lewis-Clark 032 037 4 — 19 12 3
Coeur d’Alene 120 500 0 — 8 11 3
David Sigler, Johnny Rake (6) and Kyle Mai; Grant Curtis, Jason Pattis (6) and Alex Gunnerson. W — Rake. L — Pattis (0-2).
HITS: LC — Grunenfelder 2, Ky. Knigge 2, Rake, Mai, Ka. Knigge, Marshall 3, Hall 2. Cd’A — Kiefer, Bevacqua 2, Nyquist 2, Priano, Krapas, Cade 2, Gunnerson, Roletto. 2B — Ka. Knigge, Marshall, Bevacqua. 3B — Rake. HR — Grunenfelder, Nyquist.