Post Falls softball on the right track

One win does not a program make, but at least it’s a start.

When Brian Stranger took over as head coach of the Post Falls High softball team in 2015, wins had been hard to come by of late for the Trojans.

Since 2010, when Post Falls won its first state 5A softball title, the Trojans hadn’t won a game in 5A Inland Empire League play.

Now granted, the 5A IEL is one of the toughest little four-team leagues you’re going to find.

Coeur d’Alene has won five state titles in the two decades of fastpitch in Idaho, and has been a contender for a state title in most of its other trips to state. And Lake City has been a frequent guest at state, especially lately, with two of its three state titles coming this decade.

STILL, A loss is a loss.

From 2011 through 2014, Post Falls went 0-12 in league each year, then lost its first six league games in 2015, Stranger’s first season, before beating Lewiston to snap a 54-game losing streak in league play.

The Trojans finished 1-11 in league that year, and improved to 3-9 in league last year.

Last Friday, Post Falls beat visiting Coeur d’Alene 3-2 in the first game of a league doubleheader for its first victory over the Vikings since the 2010 season.

“Everything just seems to be clicking,” said Stranger, whose team is off to a 4-4 start (1-1 in league). “We have great chemistry. It’s a team effort, and these guys all buy into what we’re doing.”

Before Friday, Post Falls’ last win over Coeur d’Alene came in the semifinals of the 5A Region 1 tournament. The Trojans beat Lake City in the title game, then went on to win the state title the following weekend.

Since then, Coeur d’Alene won 28 straight games over Post Falls before the Trojans broke through last week.

Stranger was just as impressed with the second game of Friday’s doubleheader, where Post Falls trailed 8-2, battled back to tie it at 8 before falling 10-8.

“That’s something that wasn’t in them to do that,” Stranger said of the comeback. “Last year it wasn’t in us to win 3-2 ... we can play a lot better than that.”

WHEN STRANGER took over, the anchors to his team were Casey Goleeke, now a senior third baseman and a three-year starter, and Brooke Bowers, now a senior center fielder and a four-year starter.

Stranger calls Goleeke, a three-year starter, “our glue — she kinda holds everything together. And she’s dynamite.”

Junior pitcher Amanda Rouse and junior catcher Alli Morris have also played key roles in the revival.

Until her balky knee forced her out of the circle during the second game against Coeur d’Alene, Rouse had pitched every inning for the Trojans this season. Stranger may need sophomore Dinah Seymour to take some of the strain off Rouse in the circle.

“Amanda, she’s a big part of our team. When she’s on, man, she is on,” Stranger said. “She’s a big part of what we’ve got going on.”

Morris had never caught before her freshman year. Stranger said she threw at least four Vikings out on the bases last Friday.

“She’s unbelievable,” he said.

“It’s been Casey and Brooke Bowers since I’ve been here, and now I’ve added a bunch more pieces,” Stranger said. “Those guys have helped build a program.”

OTHER LEAGUE coaches, prior to the season, praised the improvement of Post Falls the past few years. And if it wasn’t true heading into the season, it’s definitely not true now — the Trojans won’t be able to sneak up on other teams anymore.

“That’s OK, too,” said Stranger, who along with his wife Kathy started the wildly successful Coeur d’Alene Crush ASA softball program more than two decades ago. “Some of the things teams have been doing to us the last three years, we’re doing to other people. Our base running is getting a lot better. We’re not letting the other teams just have second base — now we’re throwing them out. And now we’re taking the extra base.”

There’s still much more to accomplish for Post Falls. There’s another doubleheader Friday at Coeur d’Alene, and all four league games with Lake City and Lewiston.

Post Falls hasn’t beaten Lake City since that 2010 regional title game. The Trojans haven’t sniffed state since, and just last year won a game at regionals for the first time since then.

“My goal when I started there was to build a program, and play with pride and play with a winning attitude, and that’s what we’re doing,” Stranger said. “The attitude’s there that we can win. For seven years, they haven’t believed they can do it. The pieces are starting to come together.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.