4A REGION 1 BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: From inches to an upset

RATHDRUM - In a game of inches, it seemed like a foot.

Alec Martin drove in Glen Gosse on a bloop single that rolled past two Lakeland infielders with the go-ahead run in the fifth inning as the third-seeded Moscow Bears upset the top-seeded Lakeland Hawks 2-1 in the opening round of the 4A Region 1 tournament on Saturday at Gorton Field.

Brian Howell struck out five in a complete game for Lakeland (10-11), which hosts Sandpoint at 4 p.m. on Wednesday in a loser-out game.

"It's definitely a game of inches," Lakeland coach Jason Bradbury said. "Brian pitched well enough to get us the win and even got it done at the plate going 2 for 3. We just couldn't string any hits together this afternoon. It was one of those days where all the hits were just right to the defense."

Wednesday's winner will have to win at Moscow twice next Saturday to advance to the state 4A tournament May 14-17 at Bishop Kelly High in Boise.

Moscow 000 020 0 - 2 9 2

Lakeland 000 100 0 - 1 3 1

Jake Randall and Alec Martin; Brian Howell and Tyler Utecht. W - Randall. L - Howell.

HITS: Mos - Richardson, Gosse 2, Martin, Randall, Redinger, Robertson, Shears 2. LL - Howell 2, Strong. 2B - Gosse, Randall.

Moscow 7, Sandpoint 5: Sandpoint was rolling along in the opener of the 4A Region 1 baseball tournament against Moscow, building a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

Then the wheels fell off for the No. 2 seed Bulldogs, as No. 3 seed Moscow plated six runs before holding on for the win.

Nick Holland had two hits and two RBIs, and Jackson Russo had two RBIs, as the Bulldogs (10-12) were cruising behind a strong effort from starter Malaki Smith. Then the pivotal sixth inning came, and the tide turned, with Talon Dewey relieving Smith as the Bears rallied.

"Moscow got a couple of hits, a walk, a couple more hits. They found some holes, strung a few hits together and got six runs," said Bulldogs head coach Scott Fitchett, who felt his team came to play. "We played well, some things just didn't go our way."

With his team trailing by two runs in the seventh, Dewey reached base on his second hit of the day, and Paul Sundquist promptly launched a ball that looked like a home run off the bat.

"Paul hit a ball that if it's not windy is a home run," Fitchett said. "I thought for a second that Pauly hit the game tying home run, but the wind wouldn't let it happen."

Sandpoint 003 002 0 - 5 10 1

Moscow 100 006 0 - 7 10 1

Malaki Smith, Talon Dewey (6) and Nick Holland; Howard and Martin. W - Howard. L - Dewey.

HITS: Spt - Norris, Sundquist, Dewey 2, Pearlstein, N. Holland 2, W. Holland, Russo, Oliver. Mos - Richardson, Gosse, Martin, Randall, Reddinger 2, Robertson 2, Shears 2.