Lums open league play with sweep

CRANBROOK, British Columbia — Derek Priano went 5 for 5 with a double and two-run home run to lead the Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen past the Cranbrook Bandits 14-1 and 12-0 in their North Idaho League “AA” American Legion baseball opener on Saturday.

“We came out swinging the bats really well,” Coeur d’Alene coach Lloyd Duman said. “Pete (Hoffman) was very efficient on the mound today. He had a low pitch count and our defense made all the routine plays.”

Ransom Storm hit a grand slam in the second inning and Mitch Bevacqua also added a two-run home run in the seventh in the first game for the Lumbermen (4-2, 2-0 NIL), who travel to Trail, B.C. today, for two more league games.

In the second game, Austin Kiefer went 3 for 3 with two RBIs for the Lumbermen, who stole a combined 13 bases on Saturday.

“This was good for us,” Duman said. “We’re a young team and need to work on playing together. We’re still getting used to each other and feeling each other out. It’s a good step forward that way.”

FIRST GAME

Coeur d’Alene 052 110 5 — 14 15 0

Cranbrook 000 100 0 — 1 3 2

Pete Hoffman and Alex Gunnerson; Sheldon Juricic, Ryley Johnson (4), T.J. Bone (7) and Lealand McCallum. W — Hoffman (2-0). L — Juricic.

HITS: Cd’A — Cade, Bevacqua 3, Nyquist, Priano 5, Combo, DeHaas, Storm, Gunnerson 2. Cran — Vandracek, Johnson, Bone. 2B — Priano. HR — Priano (1), Bevacqua (1), Storm. (1).

SECOND GAME

Coeur d’Alene 550 02 — 12 10 1

Cranbrook 000 00 — 0 1 6

Game called after 5 innings due to 10-run rule.

Jordan Anderson and Matt Klepfer; R. Johnson and Lealand McCallum. W — Anderson (1-1). L — R. Johnson.

HITS: Cd’A — Burgess 2, Bevacqua, Nyquist, Hoffman, Kiefer 3, Krapas, Klepfer, Roletto. Cran — B. Johnson. 2B — Nyquist.