LEGION BASEBALL: Lums fall to Northwest Premier

COEUR d’ALENE — The work is continuing for the Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen American Legion baseball program after a nearly three-month layoff for the players due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Landen Thompson had two doubles and two runs batted in for the Lumbermen in just their third game of the season, a 12-6 loss to Northwest Premier on Wednesday night at Thorco Field.

“Half of our lineup is hitting and the others are struggling a little,” Coeur d’Alene coach Erik Karns said. “We had too many strikeouts and were missing in fastball counts. Our offense will start chugging along eventually, but it’s a work in progress.”

Northwest Premier led 5-0 in the fourth inning before Thompson’s two-run double put Coeur d’Alene on the scoreboard with two outs in the bottom of the fourth.

“Landen struck the ball really well,” Karns said. “He caught three innings for us, and it’s his last summer of playing baseball. He’s playing really hard for us right now.”

Jake Rutherford, a freshman at Gonzaga who played high school ball at Post Falls, had three hits, including a solo home run in the seventh inning for Northwest Premier. Tyson Hilsendeger hit a grand slam in the second inning, and Alex Stockton hit a two-run shot in the fifth for Premier.

Alex Karns and Riley Smith scored two runs each for Coeur d’Alene (0-3), which hosts Northwest Premier again on Monday at 5 p.m.

Northwest Premier 040 140 3 — 12 12 2

Coeur d’Alene 000 210 3 — 6 9 1

Austin Higgins, A. Feek (3), John Gwaltney 5, Alex Stockton (6), Jake Rutherford (7) and Tyson Hilsendeger; Troy Shepherd, Jackson Scherr (2), Landon Vergeer (4), Liam Paddack (5), Quinn Conces (6) and Landen Thompson, Jackson Scherr (3).

HITS: NP — K. Cripps 2, J. Rutherford 3, Stockton 3, Thielbahr, Hilsendeger 2, Higgins. Cd’A — Brum, Manzardo 2, Karns, Scherr, Smith, Thompson 3. 2B — Stockton, Cripps 2, Rutherford, Hilsendeger, Higgins, Thompson 2. HR — Stockton, Rutherford, Hilsendeger.