Lums ousted at 'AA' event
MERIDIAN - The goal for the Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen was to make some noise at the class AA state American Legion baseball tournament this weekend at Rocky Mountain High.
They made plenty of it with the bats, but were eliminated with a narrow loss for the second straight day.
Devin Kluss and Gibson Green had three RBIs each, but the Lumbermen lost to the defending state champion Idaho Falls Bandits 13-11 on Thursday to finish 16-30.
"It was an emotional game for all of us," Coeur d'Alene interim coach Zach Clanton said. "After the (Spokane-Coeur d'Alene) Wood Bat tournament, we started cruising along and the kids approached each game with a different attitude. We definitely weren't looking at this as a vacation and they definitely thought they were going to beat the best team in the tournament. Losing got to them pretty bad and a lot of them are like my little brothers, more than a player-coach relationship. To see them go out the way we did today was a sad way to go out."
Coeur d'Alene, in its 10th straight trip to state, loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth and scored two runs, but it wasn't enough. The Lums lost 5-4 to the Boise Seminoles on Wednesday.
"It was just another game where we had no problem hitting with them, but we left the ball up in the zone in the first inning and had a couple of errors that really killed us. The Idaho Falls coach said they'd never seen a team go 0-2 in a tournament like this, but make so much noise on the scoreboard."
Jalen Fuhrman hit a two-run home run in the first inning for Idaho Falls.
Coeur d'Alene 240 020 102 - 11 17 3
Idaho Falls 510 221 02x - 13 17 2
Jake Gonzales, Colby Kennedy (6), Elliott Sparks (8) and Colton Gray; Ian Ence, Jalen Furhman (9) and Jade Reacher. W - Ence. L - Gonzales.
HITS: Cd'A - Roletto 2, Robbins 3, Kluss 5, Green 4, Hicks, Montee, Chaffin, Griffin. IF - Hadley 2, Hostert, Allison 3, Craig 3, Fuhrman 3, L. Martin, J. Martin, Flyland. 2B - Kluss, Green, Griffin, Hadley, Hostert, Allison, Craig, Fuhrman, L. Martin, J. Martin. 3B - Allison 2, Green. HR - Fuhrman.
STATE AA TOURNAMENT
At Rocky Mountain High, Meridian
Times PDT
Thursday
Idaho Falls Bandits 13, Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen 11 (loser out)
Twin Falls Cowboys 7, Lewis-Clark Twins 4 (loser out)
Boise Seminoles 13, Boise Capitals 11
Rocky Mountain Avalanche 7, Nampa Chiefs 2
Friday
Game 9 - Idaho Falls Bandits vs. Nampa Chiefs, noon
Game 10 - Twin Falls Cowboys vs. Boise Capitals, 3 p.m.
Game 11 - Boise Seminoles vs. Rocky Mountain Avalanche, 6
* STATE A
IDAHO FALLS - The St. Maries Savages lost their state A opener to the Nampa Braves 11-1 at Bonneville High.
St. Maries (17-17) will face the Pocatello Razorbacks in a loser-out game today at 9 a.m. at Melaleuca Field.
STATE A TOURNAMENT
Thursday
At Melaleuca Field
Meridian Rangers 8, Pocatello Razorbacks 4
At Bonneville High
Nampa Braves 11, St. Maries 1
Mountain View Toros 6, Idaho Falls Bees 3
Twin Falls Hawks 8, Lewis-Clark Cubs 7
Friday
At Melaleuca Field
Game 7 - Pocatello Razorbacks vs. St. Maries (17-17), 9 a.m.
Game 8 - Idaho Falls Bees vs. Lewis-Clark Cubs (28-19), noon
Game 5 - Meridian Rangers vs. Nampa Braves, 3 p.m.
Game 6 - Mountain View Toros vs. Twin Falls Hawks, 6