Hawks headed back to state
LISA JAMES/Press Max Baker of Lakeland looks back after sliding safely into second base as Caleb Edlund of Sandpoint catches the throw during their 4A Region 1 baseball championship game at Lakeland High School on Wednesday.
Lakeland players celebrate after qualifying for the state 4A baseball tournament following the Hawks’ 7-4 victory over Sandpoint at Lakeland High School on Wednesday. LISA JAMES/Press
LISA JAMES/Press Lakeland players hold up their 4A Region 1 baseball championship trophy after their win over Sandpoint at Lakeland High School on Wednesday. Lakeland now moves on to the state championships.
LISA JAMES/PressLakeland players hold up their 4A Region 1 baseball championship trophy after their win over Sandpoint at Lakeland High School on Wednesday. Lakeland now moves on to the state championships.
LISA JAMES/PressLakeland players pileup to celebrate their advance to the state championship following their 4A Region 1 baseball championship win over Sandpoint at Lakeland High School on Wednesday.
RATHDRUM — Lakeland High senior Jared McDaniel bucked a nagging slump in a precarious scenario Wednesday: go to state or go home.
The Hawks’ trusty catcher went 4 for 4 with a pair of RBIs against Sandpoint at Terry Gorton Field, boosting his club to a 7-4 victory in the 4A Region 1 tournament championship.
Lakeland (11-8) advances to next week’s state tournament at Bishop Kelly in Boise, where it will face the runner-up from District 5-6 on Thursday.
Sandpoint (9-9), which split with Lakeland at two games apiece during the regular season, saw its season come to a close.
A four-run, five-hit fourth inning lifted Lakeland, which won its sixth Region I title in eight years.
The Hawks trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the frame, but were able to manufacture their hitting deluge with two outs.
“This is a team that really feeds off everyone else,” McDaniel said. “We’ve played together since sixth grade. That’s what it’s always been like.”
Lakeland coach Jason Bradbury echoed McDaniel.
“That’s our team. Our guys can score at any given time, it seems like it takes just one to get going,” Bradbury said.
This time, it was senior Ryan Pote who generated the spark.
Pote’s two-RBI triple off the right-center field fence preceded an RBI double by McDaniel, giving the Hawks a 4-2 advantage.
They weren’t done, either.
When the Bulldogs opted to relieve starter Thomas Riley with Wes Holland to try to close Sandpoint’s disastrous inning, JJ Mackesy poked an RBI single.
Lakeland added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning, an RBI single by McDaniel and an RBI double by Mackesy.
“What a day for McDaniel. He needed that,” Bradbury said. “He’s been putting it together a little bit, so it was a good breakout day for him.”
McDaniel was happy to find the gaps.
“I hadn’t been hitting great, just right at people,” he said. “But it was a good day today.”
First-year Sandpoint coach Chase Tigert liked his upstart team’s effort, but felt his team was ultimately doomed by the fourth and sixth innings.
“Anytime you give up a crooked number, that’s going to be hard to come back from,” Tigert said. “We needed to minimize the damage in those two innings.”
Sandpoint outhit the Hawks 13-11 and had two less errors.
The Bulldogs, trailing 7-3 heading into the top of the seventh, plated a run thanks to an RBI single by Alex Stockton.
Pote closed the game in the seventh, though, getting a groundout with the tying run at the plate.
Nick Holland had two hits and RBIs for Sandpoint, and Caleb Edlund chipped in three hits.
“That’s the best Sandpoint team I’ve seen in a long time,” Bradbury said.” They’ve really been building. We feared them up and down the lineup.”
Sandpoint 011 010 1 — 4 13 2
Lakeland 010 402 x — 7 11 4
Thomas Riley and Nick Holland. Dylan Bradbury, Joe Strietzel (5), Ryan Pote (7) and Jared McDaniel.
HITS: Spt — Schaeffer, Bracket, Edlund 3, N. Holland 2, Flint 2, Stockton 2, Lehman 2. LL — Neilson, Pote, McDaniel 4, Mackesy 2, Bradbury, Zaken, Baker. 2B — Stockton, McDaniel, Mackesy, Zaken. 3B — Pote.