LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL: Coeur d'Alene bows out in Northwest semis

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — As Coeur d’Alene manager Dave Everson gathered his team together, he reminded them that every team but one loses their final game of the season.

Wednesday was that day for Coeur d’Alene.

Anchorage, Alaska scored two unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning to down the Coeur d’Alene 12U team 2-0 in a semifinal game in the Northwest Regional tournament at Al Houghton Stadium.

“This was bigger than baseball,” Everson said. “It’s a journey, and when you think back on it, the kids will never forget that. We practiced six days a week and as many travel games as we could to prepare for this. We gave them every chance to get better, succeed and meld as a team.”

Coeur d’Alene, at regionals for the first time since 2019, was bidding for its first trip to the Little League World Series since 2018.

Blake Anderson singled with one out in the first inning for Coeur d’Alene, the team’s first hit off Anchorage starter Cleto Brito, who allowed 1-hit in Saturday’s matchup between the teams.

“He’s a darn good pitcher,” Everson said. “That Alaska team is a good team. Their boys made every play. Every time they had a chance to make a play, they did. They’re well coached.”

Bryce Petrella, who started Saturday’s game for Coeur d’Alene, struck out eight and walked none in a complete game.

“What a performance by that kid,” Everson said. “We could not be prouder of him. He threw every pitch for us and located the ball well today and threw a ton of offspeed pitches. We knew they had some power and we really talked to Bryce and (catcher) Cooper (Fordham) to keep everything offspeed to their 3-4-5 hitters. We didn’t hand them anything and Bryce did everything you could have asked of him. He pitched six solid innings and our defense made some plays that weren’t easy plays. We’ve got so much to be proud of with this group. We told them after the game that all but one team loses their final game. It was just our turn today.”

Anchorage 000 002 — 2 2 0

Coeur d’Alene 000 000 — 0 2 4

Cleto Brito and Kyler M., James D (6); Bryce Petrella and Cooper Fordham.

HITS: Anc — Cole S., Kyler M. Cd’A — Anderson, Larson. 2B — none.