Extra-inning loss ends Lums' season

LEWISTON — The Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen saw their season end on a two-out, walk-off double on Sunday as the Lums lost 4-3 to Rocky Mountain on the final day of the class A American Legion state championship tournament.

Coeur d’Alene (39-17) and Rocky Mountain were tied at 3 through seven innings, prompting extra frames. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Rocky Mountain’s Colin Mathews hit a one-out single, and was still at first base one out later when Jayden Robertson doubled to the right-field fence, scoring the winning run.

“It was a fantastic hit for them, and that’s just how the game went — they would score, we would answer. It was tight all the way through,” Cd’A coach Erik Karns said. “It was a great battle between two really good teams.”

Landen Thompson went 4-for-4 for the Lumberman, knocking in all three runs. His two-run single in the sixth inning scored Jackson Scherr and Trent Elstad, putting Coeur d’Alene ahead 3-2. But the inning also saw two Lumberman thrown out on the bases, one attempting to steal home and another picked off at second base.

Rocky Mountain loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but Lums starter Jake Brown limited the damage to Robertson’s sacrifice fly, which tied the score at 3. Brown went seven innings for Coeur d’Alene, allowing only four hits while striking out six.

The Lumbs outhit Rocky Mountain 10 to 6, with Scherr and Elstad each recording two hits and scoring all three runs between them.

Karns was proud of how his team — comprised of high school freshmen and sophomores — competed against smaller-town Legion clubs consisting of older players.

“It’s not just how they competed on the field and improved as baseball players; I could not be more proud of the character of the boys,” Karns said. “Everywhere we went people complemented the kids on how they conducted themselves. It was a pleasure to coach them.”

Rocky Mountain advanced to face Burley in the state title game, with Burley winning 9-8.