Lums split, finish fourth at state

BOISE - The Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen avoided elimination in their first game on Friday, rallying with an 11-run seventh inning to defeat the Pocatello Runnin' Rebels 14-9 before falling out of the "AA" state American Legion tournament against Twin Falls 5-3 in 10 innings at Timberline Park.

Coeur d'Alene (23-29) finished fourth at state.

Coeur d'Alene trailed the Runnin' Rebels 7-1 going into the seventh before they were able to chase Pocatello pitcher Jared Erickson.

"(Jared) Erickson had us off-balance on the mound," Coeur d'Alene coach Lloyd Duman said. "Alex (Gunnerson) got a two-run double and we kept getting people on base and bringing them in. We were moving runners around and kept getting runs."

Coeur d'Alene took the lead for good at 8-7 on a Mitch Bevacqua RBI single.

"We sent Joe (Roletto) on Mitch's hit and didn't look back," Duman said. "It was an exciting comeback. To be down 7-1 and come back was great. I was just hoping we'd come close, but to get the lead and stretch it was exciting. It was a great comeback win."

Alex Krapas went 3 for 5 with three RBIs, and also earned the win on the mound for Coeur d'Alene.

"Alex threw phenomenally well," Duman said. "They were a good hitting team and hit the fastball well. We went to (Kaleb) DeHaas to keep them off-balance, but once we opened the door, a floodgate opened with it."

Twin Falls ended Coeur d'Alene's season in its second loser-out game of the day, scoring twice in the top of the 10th inning to earn a 5-3 win.

Grant Curtis went the distance, striking out seven for Coeur d'Alene.

"I've never seen him pitch so well," Duman said. "Grant was hitting all of his spots and kept them off-balance all game. It was fantastic to watch."

Austin Kiefer had an RBI single in the fourth and Bevacqua hit a two-run home run in the fifth for Coeur d'Alene.

"It was an exciting game," Duman said. "We knew someone had to blink at some point - and it happened to be us."

"It's a good accomplishment," Duman said of finishing fourth. "We played two very good games today. To watch us play with intensity and rise to the challenge, it was a real pleasure to watch. I'm really excited for the kids."

Earlier Friday, Area A champion Lewis-Clark (35-10) lost 12-1 to Twin Falls and finished in a tie for fifth.

COEUR d'ALENE 14, POCATELLO 9

Pocatello 131 002 011 - 9 11 1

Coeur d'Alene 100 000 (11)2x - 14 14 3

Jared Erickson, Braxton Buffat (7), Brian Stevenson (7) and Greg Cleary; Jason Pattis, Kaleb DeHaas (3), Alex Krapas (6) and Alex Gunnerson. W - Krapas. L - Buffat.

HITS: Poc - Lewis, Gummersal, G. Cleary, Casper 2, Nielsen, Hieb, Hanson 2, W. Cleary, Ferro. Cd'A - Kiefer, Krapas 3, Bevacqua 2, Pattis, Nyquist, Curtis 2, DeHaas, Combo, Gunnerson 2. 2B - Lewis, Nielsen, Hanson, Krapas, Bevacqua, Gunnerson.

TWIN FALLS 5, COEUR d'ALENE 3, 10 inn.

Twin Falls 000 000 120 2 - 5 5 0

Coeur d'Alene 000 120 000 0 - 3 9 4

Eric Harr, Cy Sneed (8) and Zayne Slotten; Grant Curtis and Matt Klepfer. W - Sneed. L - Curtis.

HITS: TF - Peterson, Z. Sneed, Williams 2, C. Sneed. Cd'A - Kiefer, Krapas 2, Bevacqua 2, Pattis, Cade 2, Roletto. 2B - Williams. HR - C. Sneed, Bevacqua.

STATE AA TOURNAMENT

At Timberline High

Times PDT

Friday, July 30

Coeur d'Alene 14, Pocatello 9, loser out

Twin Falls 12, Lewiston 1, 8 innings, loser out

Twin Falls 5, Coeur d'Alene 3, 10 innings, loser fourth

Game 11 - Boise Capitals vs. Boise Gems, 6:30 p.m., semifinal

Saturday, July 31

Game 13 - Loser Game 11 vs. Twin Falls (41-13), 3 p.m., loser third

Game 14 - Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13, 6 p.m., championship

Sunday, Aug. 1

Game 15 - Loser Game 14 vs. Winner Game 14, noon, if necessary