Sammamish slips past Coeur d'Alene

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The Coeur d'Alene Majors (age 11-12) All-Stars were right in the middle of the most exciting games played the first three days of the Northwest Regional tournament.

That was the case again Thursday night.

Unfortunately, Coeur d'Alene couldn't hold another last-inning lead and lost, 5-4, against Eastlake Little League of Sammamish, Wash., ending their successful postseason run.

"It kind of bites a little bit because we lost three games down here like that," Coeur d'Alene manager Paul Manzardo said.

Coeur d'Alene dropped their tournament opener Saturday night against Lake Oswego, Ore, scoring two runs in the first inning before losing, 3-2, on a walk-off run in the sixth.

They returned the following night against Billings, Mont., built a 5-0 lead and then let a three-run advantage slip away in the sixth inning before losing, 9-5, on a walk-off grand slam in the seventh.

Coeur d'Alene still managed to reach the semifinals as the fourth-seeded team after defeating teams from Anchorage, Alaska and Cody, Wyoming. They found themselves matched against top-seeded Eastlake, a team that went 4-0 during pool play.

Coeur d'Alene fell behind, 1-0, in the first inning, but took advantage of two errors and two wild pitches to score four runs in the second and move ahead, 4-1.

Eastlake chipped away against Coeur d'Alene right-hander Anton Watson, scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pull within a run. Meanwhile, Coeur d'Alene did not collect their first hit until one out remained in the sixth, when Brandon Gay lined a ground-rule double that hopped over the fence in right field.

Watson was two pitches shy of his 85-pitch limit when he came out in the sixth. He faced pinch-hitter Jack Rud, nearly struck him out looking on a 2-2 pitch just off the outside corner, but ended up walking him, finishing his day.

"Anton Watson pitched great," Manzardo said. "He kept them off balance."

Watson gave way to Kobe Sims, who got No. 6 hitter Cameron Bowers to fly out to center field, but Jack Titus hit a hard grounder off the glove of Coeur d'Alene third baseman Zach Sensel, putting runners on first and second. Austin Oh then lined an 0-2 pitch up the middle to score the tying run and put runners on second and third after the throw home got away from catcher Bridger Rinaldi.

Sims then bounced a 1-0 pitch passed Rinaldi, allowing Titus to scamper home with the winning run.

"We had our chances," Manzardo said.

Little League rules prohibit the media from speaking with players from the losing team, but Manzardo said he hopes his team will learn from the experience.

"I hope they take what they feel right now and turn it into something positive," he said. "That's the beauty of competition."

Manzardo said the trip to Southern California also allowed the boys to grow off the field.

"Just the little things," he said. "No hats on in the mess hall, making sure you have your badges, making sure you're picking up things. ... A lot of that stuff, those kids take for granted, because when they go home, mom and dad do that a lot of times."

Eastlake chipped away against Coeur d'Alene right-hander Anton Watson, scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pull within a run. Meanwhile, Coeur d'Alene did not collect their first hit until one out remained in the sixth, when Brandon Gay lined a ground-rule double that hopped over the fence in right field.

Watson was two pitches shy of his 85-pitch limit when he came out in the sixth. He faced pinch-hitter Jack Rud, nearly struck him out looking on a 2-2 pitch just off the outside corner, but ended up walking him, finishing his day.

"Anton Watson pitched great," Manzardo said. "He kept them off balance."

Watson gave way to Kobe Sims, who got No. 6 hitter Cameron Bowers to fly out to center field, but Jack Titus hit a hard grounder off the glove of Coeur d'Alene third baseman Zach Sensel, putting runners on first and second. Austin Oh then lined an 0-2 pitch up the middle to score the tying run and put runners on second and third after the throw home got away from catcher Bridger Rinaldi.

Sims then bounced a 1-0 pitch passed Rinaldi, allowing Titus to scamper home with the winning run.

"We had our chances," Manzardo said.

Little League rules prohibit the media from speaking with players from the losing team, but Manzardo said he hopes his team will learn from the experience.

"I hope they take what they feel right now and turn it into something positive," he said. "That's the beauty of competition."

Manzardo said the trip to Southern California also allowed the boys to grow off the field.

"Just the little things," he said. "No hats on in the mess hall, making sure you have your badges, making sure you're picking up things. ... A lot of that stuff, those kids take for granted, because when they go home, mom and dad do that a lot of times."