STATE AA LEGION: Schneider pitches Lums to win in opener

TWIN FALLS — Ryan Schneider got the Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen off to an efficient start at the state AA American Legion baseball tournament Thursday.

Schneider, one of three left-handers in the Lums’ starting rotation, pitched 4.2 innings of one-hit ball and Coeur d’Alene beat the Twin Falls Blackhawks 10-0 in five innings in a first-round game at the College of Idaho’s Skip Walker Field.

“He looked really good,” Coeur d’Alene coach Darren Taylor said of Schneider. “The first guy got a hit, but nobody sniffed a hit after that. He rose to the occasion.”

Coeur d’Alene (27-8) will play the Idaho Falls Bandits (32-9-1) today at 3 p.m. PDT in a second-round game. Idaho Falls beat the Blackfoot Broncos 11-1 on Thursday. In 2019, the Bandits became the first Idaho team to win the American Legion World Series.

Schneider struck out seven and walked one for the Lums. He was removed after 60 pitches, meaning he could come back as early as Sunday, following the mandatory two days’ rest. The championship game is Monday.

“I thought his changeup was spot on,” Taylor said. “There were about seven or eight swings and misses. If he controls that (pitch), he’s almost unhittable.”

Liam Paddack hit an RBI double in the fifth for the Lums, and Austin Taylor, who had two hits, hit a run-scoring double two batters later to end the game on the 10-run rule.

“You could see the jitters; we had some tentative at-bats early,” Darren Taylor said. “This was a good game to get that out of the way. We played small ball to get some runs early; we started hitting better toward the end of the game.”

Austin Taylor and Spencer Zeller each finished with two RBIs for the Lums. Schneider singled and scored the game's first run in the second, and Darren Taylor said Marcus Manzardo, who delivered a sacrifice fly in the fourth, also hit the ball hard.

Blackhawks pitchers walked six and hit one.

Twin Falls Blackhawks 000 00 — 0 1 2

Cd’A Lumbermen 040 33 — 10 6 0

Game called after 5 innings due to 10-run rule.

S. Garrett-LaGrone, C. Romero (2) and K. Skaggs; Ryan Schneider, Owen Benson (5) and Joe DuCoeur.

HITS: TF — Alcala. Cd’A — A.Taylor 2, Scherr, Schneider, Paddack, Bridge. 2B — Taylor, Paddack.

STATE AA AMERICAN LEGION

BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

At Skip Walker Field, Twin Falls

Thursday’s Games

Idaho Falls Bandits 11, Blackfoot Broncos 1

Pocatello Runnin’ Rebels 17, Nampa Chiefs 0

Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen 10, Twin Falls Blackhawks 0

Twin Falls Cowboys 12, Upper Valley Bulldogs 5

Friday’s Games

Game 5 — Blackfoot Broncos (7-19) vs. Twin Falls Blackhawks, 9 a.m.

Game 6 — Nampa Chiefs (7-22-1) vs. Upper Valley Bulldogs 23-14), noon

Game 7 — Idaho Falls Bandits (32-9-1) vs. Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen (27-8), 3 p.m.

Game 8 — Pocatello Runnin’ Rebels (24-13) vs. Twin Falls Cowboys (24-11), 6 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

Game 9 — Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, noon

Game 10 — Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 3 p.m.

Game 11 — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 6 p.m.

Sunday’s Games

Game 12 — Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11, 3 p.m.

Game 13 — Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11, 6 p.m.

Monday’s Games

Game 14 — Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13, 3 p.m. (championship)

Game 15 — Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 15, 6 p.m. (if necessary)