5A REGION 1 SOFTBALL: Vikings dance on to state
MARK NELKE/Press Coeur d'Alene celebrates after beating Lewiston to win the 5A Region 1 softball title Tuesday at Larry Schwenke Field. Near the circle is pitcher Kristine Schmidt, right, and first baseman Matea Dorame; and out by second base is shortstop Skylar Burke, left, and second baseman Alexis Blankenship.
MARK NELKE/Press Matea Dorame of Coeur d'Alene slides home safely in the second inning as Lewiston catcher Taryn Barney awaits the throw Tuesday in the 5A Region 1 softball championship game at Coeur d'Alene High's Larry Schwenke Field.
By MARK NELKE
Sports editor
COEUR d’ALENE — They broke out the white cowgirl hats for good luck for the postseason.
The hats may have helped, but it was their bats, as well as a rising standout in the circle, that propelled the Coeur d’Alene Vikings to their first 5A Region 1 softball title since 2015.
Top-seeded Coeur d’Alene used an 11-run fourth inning to put away No. 4 Lake City 16-4 in the first game on Tuesday.
Then, junior Kristine Schmidt scattered four hits and allowed just an unearned run as the Vikings beat 2-seed Lewiston 5-1 in the championship game at Larry Schwenke Field to advance to state for the first time since 2019.
“Kristine killed it,” Coeur d’Alene senior second baseman Alexis Blankenship said. “I’ve played with Kristine since I was 8 years old, and it’s just crazy to see her transition as a pitcher, it’s just amazing. She absolutely killed it; she was striking people out, she was fielding her position very well.”
Coeur d’Alene (18-2) advances to state next Friday and Saturday at Coeur d’Alene and Lake City high schools. Lewiston (18-7) will play host to No. 3 Post Falls (16-7) on Thursday at 4 p.m. in a loser-out game.
Lewiston beat Post Falls 8-3 in Tuesday’s other first-round game at Finucane Park. Post Falls then eliminated Lake City with a 23-4 victory. Lake City finished 5-21.
Coeur d’Alene 5, Lewiston 1: The Bengals scored first in the top of the second when Phoenix Pea’s two-out single to left scored Taryn Barney, who led off with a single.
The Vikings tied it in the bottom half when Matea Dorame reached on an error, and scored on a fielder’s choice.
In the third, Blankenship singled with two out and scored on a double by Delaney Gosch to give the Vikings the lead.
In the fourth, Chloe Burke’s infield single to shortstop with the bases loaded scored Catherine Bakken. Blankenship then doubled down the left field line to drive in two runs and hike Coeur d’Alene’s lead to 5-1.
Blankenship and Abby Moehring each finished with two hits.
“All my girls can hit, and I have got the best pitcher in the state on the mound. That’s what I believe,” Coeur d’Alene coach Bobbi Darretta said.
Schmidt, who threw 82 pitches in the first game, came back with 65 in the title game. She struck out three and walked one against Lewiston.
“Before the first game I was actually really nervous, because last year we were the underdogs, and there was no real pressure on us,” Schmidt said. “I was a little tired between games, but when the second game started I got right back into the groove, and completely forgot that I was tired at all.”
Kaitlin Banks struck out six, walked one and allowed seven hits for Lewiston.
Lewiston 010 000 0 — 1 4 1
Coeur d’Alene 011 300 x — 5 7 1
Kaitlin Banks and Taryn Barney; Kristine Schmidt and Delaney Gosch.
HITS: Lew — T. Barney 2, Pea, Douglass. Cd’A — Blankenship 2, Gosch, McPhedran-Torres, Moehring 2, C. Burke. 2B — Gosch, Blankenship.
Coeur d’Alene 16, Lake City 4: The Timberwolves crept to within 5-4 in the top of the fourth inning, before Coeur d’Alene unloaded for 11 runs in the bottom half.
Dorame had a pair of RBI doubles in the inning, finishing with four RBIs, and Blankenship hit a two-run homer. Makiya McPhedran-Torres had a run-scoring double in the inning, and Skylar Burke, Moehring and Bakken each had RBI singles.
Blankenship finished 5 for 7 on the day with five RBIs and four runs scored.
Hope Bodak went 2 for 3 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored for Lake City.
Lake City 102 10 — 4 5 2
Coeur d’Alene 230 (11)x — 16 18 2
Kylee Palmer, Layla Gugino (4) and Hope Bodak; Kristine Schmidt and Delaney Gosch.
HITS: LC — Bodak 2, Hill, Gugino, Clevenger. Cd’A — S. Burke, Blankenship 3, Gosch 3, Dorame 2, Bakken 2, McPhedran-Torres 2, Schmidt 2, Moehring, C. Burke 2. 2B — Gugino, McPhedran-Torres, Dorame 2. 3B — Bodak, Gosch. HR — Blankenship.
Lewiston 8, Post Falls 3: An RBI double by Kailey Cramer, who finished 3 for 4, and a run-scoring single by Sophia Solberg in the fifth inning put Post Falls ahead 2-1.
In the bottom of the sixth, Banks broke a 2-all tie with a grand slam for Lewiston.
Banks finished with 11 strikeouts.
Post Falls 000 020 1 — 3 6 2
Lewiston 010 007 x — 8 7 1
Sophie Nungesser and Alyssa Krause; Kaitlin Banks and Taryn Barney.
HITS: PF — Cramer 3, Solberg, Krause, Richart. Lew — Taylor, L. Barney, Banks, Douglass, Ortiz 2, Pea. 2B — Cramer, Ortiz. HR — Krause, Banks.
Post Falls 23, Lake City 4: McKenna Moak drove in four runs, Cramer and Alyssa Krause three each, and Eden Nye homered and drove in three runs for the Trojans.
Lake City 003 10 — 4 7 6
Post Falls 4(12)6 1x — 23 19 1
Layla Gugino, Kylee Palmer (2) and Hope Bodak; Sophie Nungesser and Alyssa Krause.
HITS: LC — Bodak 2, Hill, Gugino 2, Clevenger, Glenn. PF — Cramer 3, Solberg 3, Krause 2, Moak 2, Nye 3, Nungesser 2, Richart, Davis, Lozier, Berg. 2B — Gugino 2, Hill, Krause, Cramer, Davis. 3B — Moak. HR — Glenn, Nye, Lozier.
