PREP SOFTBALL: St. Maries' Watkins perfect in first game, then near-perfect in sweep

ST. MARIES — Senior Taci Watkins was perfect in the first game on senior day — and nearly perfect for the whole day.

Watkins pitched a perfect game in the first game and a one-hitter in the nightcap as the St. Maries Lumberjacks swept the Liberty Lancers of Spangle, Wash., 4-0 and 10-0 on Saturday.

Watkins struck out 18 of the 21 batters she faced in the first game for St. Maries (13-3). Of the other three outs, two came on bunts, the third a bouncer to the mound.

It was Watkins' third no-hitter of the season, and first perfecto.

Jordyn Jeske struck out 13 and walked two in the first game for Liberty (10-8), and allowed four hits. Anna Sande went 2 for 2 and scored twice for the Lumberjacks.

In the second game, Watkins allowed a single to Jeske to lead off the game, then finished with 15 strikeouts and one walk. She also hit a three-run double to highlight a nine-run fourth inning. Lexie Brebner went 2 for 3 and scored once for St. Maries.

St. Maries, which has already wrapped up the Central Idaho League title, plays host to Grangeville on Monday to conclude league play.

FIRST GAME

Liberty 000 000 0 — 0 0 1

St. Maries 201 010 x — 4 4 0

Jordyn Jeske and Sadie Stout; Taci Watkins and Brenna Elliott.

HITS: Lib — none. SM — Sande 2, McGreal, Watkins. 3B — Watkins.

SECOND GAME

Liberty 000 00 — 0 1 4

St. Maries 009 1x — 10 7 0

Game called in 5th inning due to 10-run rule.

J. Brumley and Sadie Stout; Taci Watkins and Brenna Elliott.

HITS: Lib — Jeske. SM — McGreal, Watkins, Mitchell, Brebner 2, Spray, Elliott. 2B — Watkins.

Lake City 17-14

Lakeland 4-5

RATHDRUM — Kaydence Constable homered twice in the first game and Layla Gugino went yard twice in the nightcap, and the visiting Timberwolves maintained their one-game lead in the Inland Empire League with the sweep of the Hawks.

Constable hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning and a two-run homer in the sixth and finished with five RBIs in the first game for Lake City (15-3, 12-2 IEL). Her fourth-inning shot broke a 4-all tie, and capped a five-run inning which started with the T-Wolves trailing 4-2. Hope Bodak hit a three-run homer in the fifth, and finished 2 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

Gugino finished 8 of 9 on the day, with 10 RBIs and six runs scored. In the second game she went 5 for 5, with a solo homer in the first inning, a two-run shot in the second, a two-run double in the third and a two-run single in the sixth.

Payton Sterling went 4 of 6 on the day for Lakeland (4-14, 2-10), with a two-run triple in the first inning of the second game.

Lake City travels to second-place Coeur d’Alene (14-4, 11-3) for an IEL doubleheader on Tuesday.

Lakeland returns to action Thursday at home against Moscow in an IEL twinbill.

FIRST GAME

Lake City 110 537 — 17 11 3

Lakeland 013 000 — 4 6 10

Game called after 6 innings due to 10-run rule.

Kylee Palmer, Layla Gugino (3) and Hope Bodak; Aubrie Goncalves, Mia Kesner (2) and Payton Sterling.

HITS: LC — Kolden, Gugino 3, Bodak 2, Hill 2, Constable 2, Glenn. LL — Hanna, Avalos, Sterling 2, Drake, Dewey. 2B— Hill, Gugino, Drake. 3B — Sterling. HR — Bodak, Constable 2.

SECOND GAME

Lake City 423 005 0 — 14 12 3

Lakeland 300 011 0 — 5 5 2

Kylee Palmer, Layla Gugino (4)and Hope Bodak; Aubrie Goncalves, Emma Avalos (3) and Payton Sterling.

HITS: LC — Kolden, Gugino 5, Hill, Constable, DeMent 2, Palmer 2. LL — Hanna, Avalos, Sterling 2, Dewey. 2B — Palmer, Gugino, DeMent, Constable, Hill, Hanna. 3B — Sterling. HR — Gugino 2.

Coeur d’Alene 5-5

Lewiston 0-0

COEUR d’ALENE — Senior Kristine Schmidt pitched a pair of shutouts as the second-place Vikings remained one game behind Lake City by sweeping the visiting Bengals in Inland Empire League play at Larry Schwenke Field.

Schmidt struck out seven, walked one and scattered six hits in the opener for Coeur d’Alene (14-4, 11-3 IEL). With the Vikings leading 1-0 entering the bottom of the sixth, Schmidt followed Abbie Linder’s leadoff single with a two-run home run to spark a four-run frame.

In the second game, Schmidt pitched a two-hitter with seven strikeouts and no walks for Coeur d’Alene. Delaney Gosch went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored for the Vikings.

Coeur d’Alene plays host to Lake City on Tuesday in a key IEL doubleheader.

Third-place Lewiston (10-10, 5-5), which swept Coeur d’Alene at home on April 11, travels to Post Falls on Tuesday for a league twinbill.

FIRST GAME

Lewiston 000 000 0 — 0 6 1

Coeur d’Alene 100 004 x — 5 7 0

Jenna Barney and Loryn Barney; Kristine Schmidt and Delaney Gosch.

HITS: Lew — Douglass, L. Barney 3, Schnell, Sh. Arellano. HR — Schmidt.

SECOND GAME

Lewiston 000 000 0 — 0 2 0

Coeur d’Alene 002 300 x — 5 6 2

Jenna Barney, Ashland Schnell (5) and Loryn Barney; Kristine Schmidt and Delaney Gosch.

HITS: Lew — Sy. Arellano, J. Barney. Cd’A — Burke, Gosch 2, Linder, McPhedran-Torres, P. McLaughlin. 2B — Gosch, P. McLaughlin.