STATE AA LEGION: Gamble pays off for Lums: Coeur d'Alene bounces back from loss, advances to semis
TWIN FALLS — With only a 3-0 lead after three innings, Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen coach Darren Taylor called upon his veteran group of players.
After three innings, Lums pitcher Troy Shepard had allowed one hit and struck out five. Maybe more importantly, he’d done it with only 40 pitches thrown. Pitch count rules in Legion baseball require at least one day of rest for someone who throws between 31-45 pitches in a day. Shepard is eligible to pitch Monday, the last scheduled day of the tournament.
“It was a tough decision to make,” Taylor said. “I gathered the senior players and told them that we were taking him out, and it was a bit of a gamble. But if we want to have a shot at the tournament, we have to do it, and the kids wanted to go for the tournament and it worked out. It kind of spurred them to get going offensively.”
Jackson Scherr hit a two-run double to give the Lums a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Scherr finished with two hits and two runs scored. Ryan Schneider also had two hits and two RBIs for Coeur d’Alene.
“Jackson’s hit kind of woke us up a little bit,” Taylor said. “I thought he (Scherr) had a great day at the plate, and Ryan was right on the ball too.”
Lucas Erickson, a right-hander who missed most of the season with a broken left wrist suffered in the Missoula Mavericks Memorial Day Tournament, pitched the final four innings for Coeur d’Alene.
“It was an unbelievable performance by him,” said Taylor of Erickson. “He was a big question mark coming back from injury. He looked OK in an inning in Whitefish, but yesterday, we knew he was back to form. Today, it was just awesome. Not having to throw another starter could be the difference in the tournament for us.”
Marcus Manzardo had a two-run double in the sixth inning to give the Lums a 7-1 lead.
Coeur d’Alene (28-9) will face the Twin Falls Cowboys tonight at 6. Idaho Falls will face the Twin Falls Blackhawks in the other semifinal at 3 p.m.
Nampa, which was the lone team from the Boise area to compete at state, finishes 8-23-1.
Coeur d’Alene 012 015 0 — 9 12 0
Nampa Chiefs 000 010 1 — 2 6 4
Troy Shepard, Lucas Erickson (4) and Joe DuCoeur; Stimpson, Fuller (6) and Pennington. W — Shepard. L — Stimpson.
HITS: Cd’A — Zeller 2, Manzardo, Scherr 2, Schneider 2, Larson, DuCoeur, Paddack, Garza, Bridge. Nam — Pennington, Bernal 3, Jorgenson, Wirtz. 2B — Manzardo, Zeller, Schneider 2, Garza, Scherr 2, Paddack, Wirtz.
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
Twin Falls Blackhawks 2, Blackfoot Broncos 1 (loser out)
Nampa Chiefs 8, Upper Valley Bulldogs 1 (loser out)
Idaho Falls Bandits 9, Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen 1
Twin Falls Cowboys 9, Pocatello Runnin’ Rebels 4
Saturday’s Games
Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen 9, Nampa Chiefs 2 (loser out)
Twin Falls Blackhawks 6, Pocatello Runnin’ Rebels 3 (loser out)
Idaho Falls Bandits 7, Twin Falls Cowboys 3
Game 11 — Idaho Falls Bandits (33-9-1) vs. Twin Falls Cowboys (25-11), 6 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Game 13 — Idaho Falls Bandits vs. Twin Falls Blackhawks, 3 p.m.
Game 12 — Coeur d’Alene (28-9) vs. Twin Falls Cowboys (25-12), 6 p.m.
Monday’s Games
Game 14 — Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13, 3 p.m.
Game 15 — Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 15, 6 p.m. (if necessary)