Fitting to finish with a little chaos

Chances are, if it didn’t rain a little bit over the weekend as the area hosting the state softball tournaments in the 5A and 4A classifications, it might not have been a true finish to the spring sports season.

The 4As in Post Falls got through it.

Those in the 5A did as well, just a little later than anticipated.

IN CASE you might have missed it ­— and judging by Sunday’s turnout at Coeur d’Alene High you didn’t — the tournament concluded on a Sunday for the second straight year.

Unlike 2016, with teams scrambling from Idaho Falls to Boise to find a dry field, the tournament was played at its intended locations of Lake City and Coeur d’Alene High.

After Friday’s play, only Kuna, Boise, Eagle and Lake City remained, with Lake City and Eagle advancing to the semifinal game.

With an extra day in North Idaho, some of the teams took advantage.

“We had a couple of kids that went and jumped into the lake,” Eagle coach Nicole Rollins said. “We had a few kids that went shopping, and a couple that just lounged around and watched a player that was with us last year (Bradie Fillmore) playing for California in the NCAA tournament. So we just laid there and had a nice team dinner and enjoyed the sunshine when it came out.”

Boise lost its opener to Eagle, then beat Bonneville and Highland on Friday to remain in the trophy hunt. Boise beat Kuna 5-1 on Sunday morning before losing to Lake City 9-6 to finish third.

“We went back to the hotel and got our rooms back,” Boise coach Brian Barber said. “Then we went to lunch as a team and then just pretty much went back to their rooms to hang out and lounge around with their parents. We just kind of bunkered down and waited it out.”

Barber added that after a long day on Friday, it kind of helped his squad to have the rainout on Saturday.

“If anything, it gave us a little time to relax,” Barber said. “We played three games on Friday, and it’s tough coming back through the losers bracket. We just kept our focus and it definitely helped to have some rest.”

For Lake City, which held about as close of a home-field advantage as it could have, the Timberwolves treated Saturday like any other day.

“Early in the morning, they all went to breakfast together,” Lake City coach Jesse Lenz said. “These 14 girls, they’ve truly came together throughout the season and bonded, no matter where they come from. Summer ball wise, middle school wise, they’ve came together as a team.”

Staying an extra day didn’t make a difference for Eagle, which beat Lake City 4-3 in the title game at Coeur d’Alene High.

“We’ve got great administrative support,” Rollins said. “They’re all about the safety of our athletes. We could have pushed through and played through it (Saturday), but it’s not fair for the athletes or safe to play in the mud like that. I don’t want to have an injury that’s going to prevent a college experience for somebody.”

MEANWHILE JUST a few miles west, the 4A tournament in Post Falls went on as scheduled, with Middleton bouncing back from an early loss to beat Ridgevue of Nampa twice in the championship round.

It rained in Post Falls, just not enough to push things another day according to tournament manager and Post Falls athletic director Craig Christensen.

“We were either going to try and play the games if the field was playable, or we were going to push back the start time,” Christensen said. “We knew there was going to be about a three-hour window with no rain, and our fields were handling the water well.”

And with rain delaying the 2015 championship game at Post Falls High between Eagle and Coeur d’Alene, it marked the third straight year that weather was a factor during the tournament.

“One of the coaches brought it up in the coaches meeting that maybe we should bring up having a three-day tournament,” Rollins said. “Maybe the Idaho High School Activities Association would consider moving the start to Thursday to have that extra time, because it’s three years in a row for rain delays and rainouts.”

Christensen doesn’t see a scenario where a tournament going Friday to Sunday will happen.

“Some schools will have students that will not be able to play Sundays due to religious reasons,” Christensen said. “So I do not see the state ever adopting that for a schedule.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.