LEGION BASEBALL: Just what they needed
<p>LOREN BENOIT/Press Prairie center fielder Chris Kirkeby catches a flyball during a game against Northern Lakes Tuesday evening at Post Falls High School.</p>
<p>LOREN BENOIT/Press Prairie second baseman Matt Lebsock, left, runs Northern Lakes baserunner Ryan Pote back to first base during a pickle Tuesday evening at Post Falls High School.</p>
POST FALLS — Whether it was the offense or defense, when the Northern Lakes Mountaineers needed it, they got it on Tuesday afternoon.
Clutch single in the opener.
Run-saving catch to double off a runner to stop a rally.
They made it happen.
Jared McDaniel hit a two-run single and later scored a run in the first game, helping Northern Lakes to a 6-3 and 9-5 sweep of the host Prairie Cardinals in Class AA American Legion baseball at Post Falls High. Andrew Neilson took away extra bases with a catch in the right-center field gap in the fourth inning.
“We’ve really been focusing on defense,” Northern Lakes coach Al Bevacqua said. “They’re really buying into what we’re trying to accomplish out there. If they continue to buy into what we’re trying to preach, and with the pitching we’ve got, things will go in a better direction than they’ve been going in.”
Northern Lakes (10-15, 4-4 NIL) continues league play with a doubleheader at Lewis-Clark today at 3 at Harris Field.
“I think it’s really big for us to bounce back after having such a bad tournament over the weekend,” McDaniel said. “I think it’s going to move us forward, because we’re rolling right now.”
Prairie (6-24, 2-4) plays a doubleheader at Cheney on Thursday.
“Honestly, we just didn’t show up to play today,” Prairie coach Brian Fowler said. “We just weren’t mentally here. That was the story of the day for us. It carried over to every aspect of the game for us. We walked too many guys and had too many errors. We just didn’t show up to play baseball today. We didn’t have good approaches at the plate, and didn’t get key hits when we needed them.”
Dylan Bradbury pitched a complete game in the first game, and Max Baker went six innings in the second game, allowing three earned runs for Northern Lakes, which finished 1-4 at the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Wood Bat Classic over the weekend.
“They really stepped it up,” Bevacqua said. “Dylan’s always a grinder and a competitor. Max didn’t really have his best stuff today, but he went out and competed and it was good to see. It was a huge step forward for him.”
In the second game, Northern Lakes’ Tucker Price gave his team the lead for good with a two-run single in the third inning to give the Mountaineers a 5-4 lead, en route to a 9-5 win.
Joseph Strietzel had three hits in the second game for Northern Lakes.
“The coaching staff has always believed,” Bevacqua said. “And the players are starting to believe and turn the page a little bit and move forward from the negativity and rise above. It’s a fun game, and we’ll have a good time doing it. We’re going to give it all we’ve got and see where we end up in the long scheme of things. It’s a tough league and we’ve got to come to play every day. Prairie’s a scrappy team, and they’re fundamental. They’re a fun team to play against.”
“I think we need to keep building on the success from today,” McDaniel said. “We’ve just got to keep coming out and playing hard in each game and not really look too far into the future. We’ve got to have a ‘today’ attitude. Not yesterday, or tomorrow, but just focus on the next play as it comes.”
Jacob Elliott had three hits in the second game and Jared Porter struck out seven in the second game for Prairie. Brock Zeller allowed four earned runs in the opener for Prairie.
“Porter and Brock have been pitching really well for us,” Fowler said. “Brock has been all year and Jared in his last five outings, he’s been doing great. That’s what we were telling the team, we need to make plays behind them, and we didn’t do that tonight. You can only do so much, and you can’t strike everyone out.”
Prairie still has two league games remaining with Coeur d’Alene (July 18 at Post Falls), and has yet to play its four vs. Lewis-Clark.
“I keep telling them all that matters is districts,” Fowler said. “Once we get there, we’ve got to start winning some games.”
FIRST GAME
Northern Lakes 002 031 0 — 6 8 3
Prairie 001 020 0 — 3 8 4
Dylan Bradbury and Jared McDaniel; Brock Zeller, Brandon Busch (6), Jacob Elliott (6) and Dusty Weeks. W — Bradbury. L — Zeller.
HITS: NL — Neilson, McDaniel, Bradbury, Pote, Strong,