STATE 3A SOFTBALL: Timberlake wins one, loses two
By BRUCE BOURQUIN
COEUR d'ALENE - For six innings Friday, Timberlake played some solid softball, during the losers' bracket portion of the state 3A softball tournament.
But the Tigers' season fell prey to one of the most thrilling moments in sports - the walk-off home run.
Filer senior Haley Ackerman drilled a frozen rope of a three-run homer that glanced off of the top of the fence in left field with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to down Timberlake (16-13) 11-9 and ending its season in an 11-9 slugfest at Ramsey Park. Ackerman saw a high and inside fastball delivered by pitcher Brittany Hibdon.
"That was probably the best moment of my whole softball career," Ackerman said. "I was up there thinking, this could be my last at-bat as a high school player. So I might as well make it count."
Timberlake scored five runs in the top of the fourth to stake itself to a 9-5 lead. Jamilah Lickfold hustled around the bases on a bunt by Lilli Kelley, sliding headfirst into third and scoring easily on an error for a 5-4 Tiger lead. Kelley later scored in the inning on a drag bunt.
"We have nothing to hang our heads about," Timberlake coach Mike Menti said. "We battled from the beginning of this season to the end."
Timberlake's Shelby Starr went 2 for 3 with two runs scored. Katie Malloy went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Lickfold went 3 for 3.
Timberlake 202 500 0 - 9 13 1
Filer 310 103 3 - 11 11 5
Brittany Hibdon and Matraca Rocheleau; Rutz Triplett, Katherine Ferrell (4) and Meghan Hughes.
HITS: TL - Kalar, Starr 2, Rocheleau 2, Malloy 3, McGrath 2, Salois, Lickfold 3. Fil - Ackerman 2, Shotswell, Ferrell 2, Hughes 2, Triplett, Sharp, Mason, Snyder. 2B - Starr, 3B - Hughes.
Earlier in the tournament, Timberlake routed Shelley to start its tournament, 12-3, behind three hits each by freshman third baseman Shelby Starr and Justina Kalar.
"I went to the (batter's) box mentally prepared knowing that I was going to something good," Starr said. "That spread through the team. We were just on fire, I guess."
Timberlake 102 052 2 - 12 14 2
Shelley 001 020 0 - 3 3 2
Brittany Hibdon and Matraca Rocheleau; Heather Christensen, Madi Ball (5), Christensen (6) and Bailey Bean. W-Hibdon (9-5). L - Christensen.
HITS: TL - Kalar 3, Mallett 2, Starr 3, Rocheleau, Malloy, McGrath 2, Salois, Hibdon, Kelley. Shel - M. Ball, Tenerowicz, Christensen.
The Tigers were sent into the losers bracket by Homedale, who bashed four home runs in an 18-0 rout.
Homedale 250 29 - 18 16 0
Timberlake 000 00 - 0 3 0
Game called after 5 innings due to 10-run rule.
Morgan Nash and Tori Nash; Shelby Salois, Brittany Hibdon (3), Salois (5) and Tori Nash. W - M. Nash. L - Salois.
HITS: Home - Shenk 2, Corta 2, T. Nash 2, Machuca 3, Aberastur 2, M. Nash, Kelly, Shanley 2, K. Nash 2. TL- Kalar, Mallett, Starr. 2B - Corta. HR - Shenk 2 (14) Machuca, K. Nash (1).
5A/4A SOFTBALL
from B1
Mountain View 5, Lake City 4: Samm Hamiton hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, giving the Mavericks the lead for good in the opening round game.
"We definitely had some key hits with runners on and some innings where we pushed some runs across," Mountain View coach Tim Souza said. "It's tough against a team like Lake City. They're such a quality team and you've got to be able to match what they do. They got some key hits and play a great style of softball."
Ally Dement had an RBI single in the fourth for Lake City.
Lake City 100 100 2 - 4 8 1
Mountain View 001 220 x - 5 10 4
Michaela Flerchinger and Chloe Falciani-Marshall; Megan Browne and Kylie Orr. W - Browne. L - Flerchinger (18-7).
HITS: LC - Wilson 2, Murphy 2, Loffer 2, Hawkes, Dement. MV - Hawk 2, Browne 2, Kelly-Harvey 2, Hamilton, Scott, Orr 2. 2B - Loffer, Browne, Scott. HR - Hamilton.
Coeur d'Alene 6, Vallivue 2: Analisa Raynor hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, helping the Vikings extend their advantage to eliminate the Falcons.
Rasmussen hit her second home run of the day with two out in the first, a solo home run to left field to give the Vikings an early lead.
Burke struck out seven for Coeur d'Alene in the win.
Kacie Kubosomi had four hits, including a solo home run in the first inning for Vallivue, which finished 18-12.
Coeur d'Alene 100 022 1 - 6 9 2
Vallivue 100 100 0 - 2 6 2
Breana Burke and Abby Howard; Morris and Rodriguez. W - Burke (22-2). L - Morris.
HITS: Cd'A - Montee 2, Rasmussen, Behm 2, Raynor, Donovan, Burke. Vall - Kubosomi 4, Longard, Raney. HR - Rasmussen, Raynor, Kubosomi.
Lake City 5, Idaho Falls 2: Rummor Walker delivered a two-run double in the seventh inning as the Timberwolves eliminated the Tigers (17-11).
Idaho Falls led 2-0 after the second inning, but Lake City took the lead for good with a three-run third inning, capped by an RBI single by JaeCie Wilson.
Lake City 000 300 2 - 5 13 2
Idaho Falls 110 000 0 - 2 7 3
Michaela Flerchinger and Kimmie Cook; Baylee Mills and Madalyn Hilam. W - Flerchinger (19-7). L - Mills.
HITS: LC - Wilson 4, Walker 3, Cavanagh 2, Hawkes, Dement, Murphy, Loffer. IF - Stohl 2, Wilkinson, Moss, Myles, Billings, Storms. 2B - Walker, Cavanagh, Myles.
Coeur d'Alene 10, Mountain View 0: Jadyn Behm had a two-run double in the first inning, then hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the Vikings against the Mavericks.
"Jadyn's been hitting the ball really hard the last two weeks," Bieber said. "We just finally got some of them where they weren't. She hit a couple of shots at people today."
Mountain View finished 20-9.
Coeur d'Alene 310 006 - 10 12 1
Mountain View 000 000 - 0 2 2
Game called after 6 innings due to 10-run rule.
Breana Burke, Jane Wilkey (5) and Abby Howard; Samm Hamilton and Jordyn Franco. W - Burke (24-2). L - Hamilton.
HITS: Cd'A - Behm 3, Amos, Smith, Rasmussen, Raynor 2, Wilkey 2, Burke, Catt. MV - Orr, Hawk. 2B - Behm, Catt. 3B - Raynor. HR - Behm.
Lake City 12, Highland 4: JaeCie Wilson and Bailey Cavanagh had two-run doubles in a five-run third inning as the Timberwolves eliminated the Rams.
"JaeCie led the way for us," Lenz said. "Rummor (Walker) had a great day. It's really a team effort. Kaya (Michaela Flerchinger) threw the ball very well today. She battled on every pitch. She had some adversity and threw the ball extremely well. Everyone played well."
Highland finished 21-9.
Highland 200 200 0 - 4 9 3
Lake City 045 030 x - 12 13 1
Kiara Glover and Mikayla Kanawyer; Michaela Flerchinger, Kayla Patton (7) and Kimmie Cook. W - Flerchinger (20-7). L - Glover.
HITS: High - Huelsman 3, Kortgen, Grover, Benson, Kanawyer. LC - Wilson 3, Loffer 3, Cavanagh 2, Cook 2, Walker 2, Murphy. 2B - Kortgen, Wilson, Loffer, Cavanagh, Walker, Murphy.
OTHER GAMES
Meridian 5, Idaho Falls 2: Lexi Knauss hit a two-run homer in the third inning for the Warriors in an opening round win against the Tigers. Saydee Moss homered in the seventh for Idaho Falls.
Highland 12, Vallivue 7: Jayden Benson hit a three-run home run in the fourth as the Rams topped the Falcons in the opening round.
Eagle 20, Highland 5: Autumn Moffat hit a grand slam in the fourth inning, leading the Mustangs past the Rams in a quarterfinal game.
Meridian 6, Mountain View 1: Sam Whitley and Devon Stapleton had RBI singles in the fourth inning for the Warriors in a second round game against the Mavericks.
LAKELAND
from B1
"We really battled to get here," Lakeland coach Colleen Bevacqua said. "The girls did a fantastic job. We faced two tough teams, we couldn't find the gaps."
In the loss to Twin Falls, Emily Vanderhoof went 2 for 2 with the only run scored. The junior said she will transfer to Timberlake this fall, as her parents are moving to that area for employment reasons.
"We learned you've always got to play your hardest," Vanderhoof said. "That was our problem, we always hit to defenders. But my teammates, they were my family and I won't be here next year."
In the loss to Middleton, Lakeland managed one hit.
Twin Falls 13, Lakeland 1, 5 inn.
Lakeland 001 00 - 1 5 2
Twin Falls 233 23 - 13 12 1
Game called in 5th inning due to 10-run rule.
Bethany Charles and MaRynda Pehrson; Ashlyn Aardema and Kylie Baumert. W - Aardema. L - Charles.
HITS: LL - Vanderhoof 2, Kastning 2, Pruitt. TF- M. Ford 2, Call, Baumert 3, Swafford, Johnson 3, Aardema, Bowman-VerWay. 2B - Johnson. 3B - M. Ford.
Middleton 11, Lakeland 0, 5 inn.
Middleton 500 42 - 11 7 0
Lakeland 000 00 - 0 1 1
Shelby Jarvis and Ellie Conley; Kari Prockish and MaRynda Pehrson. W - Jarvis. L - Prockish.
HITS: Midd - Mendiola, Guerra 2, Creekmore, Reed, Conley, Nieme. 2B - Creekmore. 3B - Mendiola.