Dennison pitches Lakeland back to state

RATHDRUM — On Monday, Lakeland High junior Justin Dennison threw the first pitch of the Hawks’ best-of-3 4A Region 1 baseball championship series against the Sandpoint Bulldogs.

Four days later, Dennison threw the last pitch, capping the series with a flourish.

Dennison struck out three batters in the top of the seventh — the last with the tying run at third base — as Lakeland edged Sandpoint 5-4 on Friday afternoon in the deciding at sun-splashed Gorton Field to give the Hawks the regional title and a berth at state next week at Vallivue High in Caldwell.

“I was looking to rebound from Monday, and take it to ’em today,” Dennison said. “It meant everything; it felt great; I was glad I could finish out this district championship. I felt a lot of pressure (in the seventh), but I knew I could finish it off if I stayed focused.”

Shortstop Jaret Taylor had two hits, drove in a run and scored twice for Lakeland (11-11-2), which opens state Thursday at noon PDT vs. Minico, the District 4-5 runner-up.

Sandpoint finished 9-16.

“I just can’t say enough about them,” Lakeland coach Jason Bradbury said of his team. “They dug deep; we challenged them in practice the next day (after Game 1). My message to them all year was, if we don’t beat ourselves, we’re tough to beat. Because a lot of times, we don’t show up. But I tell you what, the last two games, they showed up.”

Sandpoint beat Dennison and Lakeland 12-4 in the first game on Monday, as the Hawks committed five errors and mustered just three hits.

That earned Sandpoint the right to win the title at home on Wednesday, but Lakeland rebounded with 9-3 win to bring the deciding game back to Rathdrum.

Dennison had just two strikeouts entering the final inning, but seemingly got stronger at the end. He pitched around an error and a base hit, fanning the final two batters to give Lakeland its eighth regional title in the last 12 seasons.

“It’s good to get it back,” said Bradbury, whose Hawks are headed back to state for the first time since 2017. “(Dennison was) absolutely fabulous. He’s been my No. 1 all year long. Right there at the end, he was actually throwing harder in the seventh that he was in 4, 5 and 6.”

Sandpoint scored twice in the top of the first, and Lakeland got one back on Isaac Silva’s sacrifice fly.

In the third, Sean Tierney and Taylor opened with singles, and an error moved them up to second and third. With one out, Colton Aragon bounced to the third baseman, who threw home. Tierney, who had taken off, retreated to third, and on the throw back to third, the Bulldog third baseman was called for interference as Tierney slid back into the bag. Tierney was awarded home, then Taylor scored on Dennison’s single to left field for a 3-2 Hawks lead.

Sandpoint tied it in the top of the fourth, but Ezra Grigg singled to lead off for Lakeland, and scored on Taylor’s single.

Sandpoint pulled even in the fifth when Anthony Arroyo walked with two out, and scored on Alex Stockton’s triple into the breeze in right center.

But Lakeland took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth when Silva singled with one out and scored on Dennison’s double over the left fielder’s head.

Sandpoint lost most of the core of last year’s team that beat Lakeland to qualify for state. Billy Brackett, Stockton and McDonald each had two hits, but the Bulldogs left eight on base. In the fourth, Sandpoint loaded the bases with one out, but scored just once — and that came on a throwing error on a Lakeland pickoff attempt.

“In this situation, you have to tip your cap to Lakeland,” third-year Sandpoint coach Chase Tigert said. “They played stellar all year, and they came out and played really well this game. Dennison threw another really good game. We were close — we were a couple little tiny pieces away from making a difference there.

“I’m surprised the way it (the series) turned out; I was feeling really confident all the way up until that last out was made; I thought we were going to do. I think what happened was, Wednesday, when we went back home, our guys put too much pressure on themselves; 75 percent of our team has never played in that situation.”

Sandpoint 200 110 0 — 4 8 4

Lakeland 102 110 x — 5 8 3

Ethan Butler, Tyler Lehman (7) and Connor Dodd; Justin Dennison and Colton Aragon. W — Dennison (3-2). L — Butler (3-1).

HITS: Spt — Thielbahr, Lehman, Garcia, B. Brackett 2, Stockton 2, McDonald 2. LL — Taylor 2, Aragon, Silva, Dennison 2, Clift, Grigg, Tierney. 2B — Dennison. 3B — Stockton.