Local baseball is back: Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen finally open season — with help from Northwest Premier, Spokane Crew

The results almost didn’t matter on Sunday.

Baseball was back — for now.

“It feels good, after two months of hardly touching a baseball, just getting back on the field. It feels really great,” said Alex Karns of the Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen after the Lums class AA American Legion baseball team finally opened its season on Sunday afternoon, losing 8-1 to the Spokane Crew 18U in the first of two games it was scheduled to play at Thorco Field. “It was just fun to be out here. We all enjoy the game, and were really missing it. It’s great to be back.”

After the Lums’ first game, the Crew 19U beat Northwest Premier, a travel-ball team stocked with several North Idaho players, 8-2.

In the final game Sunday night at Thorco, Northwest Premier held Coeur d’Alene to three hits in a 5-0 victory.

“I’m happy, especially for the seniors on this team, to finally get the chance to come out and play today,” Lums head coach Erik Karns said after the first game. “I was telling (assistant) coach (Paul) Manzardo, ‘they were like spring chickens at the start. I haven’t seen these kids move as fast as they did today.’”

At first glance, it didn’t look too much different from youth baseball games played in past years.

Some fans sat scattered in the bleachers behind the plate, others in bleachers set up down the left- and right-field lines.

Others brought chairs, and sat where they could. Still others stood behind the backstop.

Other than signs at the field suggesting 6 feet of social distancing, the only real noticeable difference involved the umpires, where a two-man crew worked Sunday’s games.

One umpire stood behind the pitcher — at a social distance — and called balls and strikes from there, much like they would if only one umpire was working the game.

The home plate umpire was positioned off to the third-base side of the plate, back by the backstop, near the on-deck circle, standing behind an “L” screen used by pitchers throwing batting practice. Once the ball was in play, he hustled out from behind the screen and performed his normal umping duties.

The umps said they were doing this for social distancing reasons, at least for the next couple of weeks.

The only time that setup may have affected the Lums-Crew game was in the bottom of the fifth, with the Lums down 3-1 and a runner on third with one out. The Lums batter was called out on a checked swing, as the ball got away from the catcher and rolled toward the backstop. But, with no umpire nearby, he apparently didn’t hear it was strike three, so he remained at the plate and was out.

The next batter flied out to end the inning. Had there been just one out, it would have been a sacrifice fly that pulled Coeur d’Alene within a run.

The Crew broke the game open with five runs in the top of the seventh, started by Kyle Parkman’s two-run homer. Parkman finished 3 for 3, and drove in the game’s first run with a third-inning triple.

Jackson Scherr doubled twice for the Lums. His second one, in the sixth inning, scored Alex Karns, who had tripled.

In the night game, Jake Rutherford, a Post Falls High grad who pitched 2 2/3 innings in three appearances as a freshman with the Gonzaga University baseball team this season before their season ended, struck out eight and allowed one hit in three shutout innings for Northwest Premier. Tyler Hilsendeger hit a two-run homer for Premier.

None of the players had gotten together to practice as a team since mid-March, when their high school seasons were suspended, then canceled a month later due to the coronavirus pandemic. They had no guarantees they were even going to get to play a Legion season until recently.

“There was a lot of questions, so a lot of us were out here hitting by ourselves, doing stuff to keep us prepared,” said Alex Karns, who struck out four in three innings against the Crew, allowing one run. “Still, now, we’re still getting ready to play.”

Erik Karns, Alex’s father, was named Coeur d’Alene High baseball coach just prior to the late-February start of preseason practices. The Vikings played two games before their high school season was halted.

His advice to the Lums — take nothing for granted.

“It was just so great to get those guys some games in, because we don’t know what’s going to happen the rest of the summer; we could be shut down again,” Erik Karns said. “So for these guys to get out on the field again ... fantastic.

“It’s great to be able to come out here and give these kids another season,” Karns added. “There’s no guarantees, and we tried to emphasize that with the kids — this could be the last game you ever play. So go out there and have fun, play as hard as you can, and leave it all on the baseball field.”

The Lums are scheduled to return to action Wednesday vs. Northwest Premier at Thorco Field.

SPOKANE CREW 18U 8, LUMS 1

Crew 001 110 5 — 8 9 0

Lums 000 001 x — 1 4 1

Game called in top of 7th inning due to 2-hour time limit.

Smith, Kuske (2), Schwarz (3), Douglas (4), Richards (5), Popoff (6) and Redmond, Schneider (2), Vandine (5); Alex Karns, Troy Shepard (4), Landen Thompson (6), Riley Smith (7), Dylan Brum (7) and Jackson Scherr.

HITS: Crew — Fox, Parkman 3, Schwarz, Vandine, Redmond, M. Schwarz, Popoff. Lums — Marzardo, Karns, Scherr 2. 2B — Fox, Scherr 2. 3B — Parkman, Popoff, Karns. HR — Parkman.

NORTHWEST PREMIER 5, LUMS 0

NW Premier 001 022 0 — 5 5 0

Lums 000 000 0 — 0 3 2

Jake Rutherford, John Gwaltney (4), A. Feek (6), Ty Rutherford (7) and Finn Ridgeway; Payton Childers, Landon Vergeer (4), Liam Paddack (6), Quinn Conces (7) and Landen Thompson.

HITS: NW — Stockton 2, K. Cripps, Hilsendeger. Lums — Karns, Childers, Smith. 2B — Stockton, Hilsendeger, Karns. HR — Hilsendeger.