Rocky Mountain played with heavy hearts
Rocky Mountain softball coach Brian White didn’t have time to stew, let alone strategize, following the Grizzlies’ 9-4 loss to Eagle on Friday at Lake City High.
His Meridian-based team had all of a half-hour to scurry onto their charter bus and traverse to Coeur d’Alene High — the longest 2-mile drive in Kootenai County amid rush-hour traffic, mind you — for a 5A state tournament loser-out game against Kuna.
This program had pushed through much tougher scenarios, though. Its tournament motto “State for Kate” written prominently on the side of its bus, conveys its biggest hardship.
Last Friday night, Rocky Mountain freshman infielder Kate Marshall passed away at a Boise hospital after being admitted that afternoon, a tragedy that shocked the young school.
An obituary in the Idaho Statesman attributed her passing to natural causes. According to the Meridian Press, the Ada County Coroner’s Office is waiting on test results before confirming Marshall’s cause of death.
On Wednesday, hundreds gathered at Rocky High’s softball field for a candlelight vigil to remember Marshall, who appeared in 14 varsity games. The team — its players wearing purple bows with the initials PLK (Play Like Kate) — packed up the following day and made the six-hour jaunt north to compete in the season’s most arduous tournament.
“We still have to come out and play softball and play hard every inning,” said White, who described Marshall as a great person loved by her peers. “We still have to compete.”
Rocky Mountain (18-9), which fell to Eagle in last year’s state title game, was eliminated later Friday when it fell to Kuna 16-6 in a loser-out game. The Grizzlies handled Bonneville 11-0 of Idaho Falls in their tournament opener.
White lauded his team for playing through such a tragic circumstance.
“It’s just a sad deal. It’s tough for the coaches. It’s tough for the girls,” White said. “They’ve been on a roller coaster as far as sticking together. “
HIGHLAND HOPES: Highland softball coach Tisha Coverdell has been the Rams’ head coach since Idaho adopted fast-pitch softball in 1995.
Since then, Eastern Idaho has yet to produce 5A state softball champion. The Rams, a tournament regular, have yet to even reach the title game.
Despite going 1-2 on Friday and being eliminated, Coverdell believed that this was team was, player for player, her best squad.
“We’ve never had a team could be in a position to win the tournament, said Coverdell, who has four players signed to play college softball. “This team did.”
The Rams, who outscored teams in their district tournament opponents 31-2, finished the season 24-5.
NIC RECRUITS: Lake City slugger Reilly Williams faced two of her mother’s future players Friday.
NIC head coach Don Don Williams signed Meridian’s Devon Stapleton and Highland’s Ashlyn Winn, whose teams both lost to the Timberwolves. Lake City hurler Ashley Kaufman held the former Cardinals to a combined 0 for 5 at the plate.
MERIDIAN COACH NOT HAPPY: Tom Pinkley, Meridian High’s longtime softball coach, was quick to voice his discontent with Coeur d’Alene High’s softball field following a 9-2 loss to Lake City on Friday.
“Our pitcher struggled because the field is a piece of (expletive). It’s Coeur d’Alene frickin’ High School, and they don’t even know how to take care of their field,” Pinkley said.
“Go out and look at the pitching area. They don’t play it, they don’t work it. It’s pretty frustrating.”
Ryan Collingwood covers sports for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can contacted at rcollingwood@cdapress.com