LITTLE LEAGUE: Coeur d’Alene sweeps North Boise to win state title, earn trip to San Bernardino for Northwest Regional

LITTLE LEAGUE (12U)

Four years later, Coeur d’Alene Little League is heading back to San Bernardino.

Coeur d’Alene rallied for three runs — all with two out — in the top of the sixth and final inning to beat North Boise 5-3 on Saturday at Hillside Park in Boise and sweep their best-of-3 series for the state title two games to none.

Coeur d’Alene advances to the Northwest Regional in San Bernardino, Calif., Aug. 5-10. The winner of that four-team regional moves on to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 16-27.

“We lost to them last year in the 11U state finals, so we knew going in, it was just going to be a battle,” Coeur d’Alene manager Dave Everson said. “And I’ll just hand it to my boys for going up there and battling every single at-bat, and never giving up.”

With two out and two on in the sixth, Cooper Fordham doubled to center field to score Nash Russell and Trent Lilyquist to give Coeur d’Alene the lead for good. Fordham then scored on a double by Clay Larwin.

“That’s just a game-winning at-bat,” Everson said of Fordham’s hit. “That’s a big league at-bat by a 12-year-old boy, in my opinion.”

Russell finished 3 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. He also pitched three shutout innings of relief, allowing two hits and striking out one, to finish the game.

In romping to the District 1 championship, Coeur d’Alene outscored its eight opponents by a combined score of 111-1.

At state, Coeur d’Alene scored twice in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a 6-all tie and beat North Boise 8-6 in the first game on Friday night.

And Coeur d’Alene trailed heading late in the second game before delivering.

“I think it says two things — yeah, we are a good team, but when we hit the state level it’s a different animal, because we’re playing a good team,” Everson said. “And things aren’t always going to roll smoothly for you, and you have to grind it out. You’ve got to have enough confidence in your dugout that the guys coming up are going to put the ball in play, and put the pressure on them. I think it says they’ve been putting the time in this summer, so they’re ready for that at-bat. They’re ready for those tough pitchers.”

One of the rule changes this year by Little League International — all 12 players are in the batting order, rather than the usual nine. Before, the rule was everyone had to either get one at-bat or one inning in the field, which led to some mid-game shuffling to make sure everyone got in.

“We bat 12 kids, and we knew that going in, if we were going to be competitive at the state level, we had to have 12 guys that could hit the ball, and put the ball in play,” Everson said. “And that’s what we’ve got. Look at our stats and averages and performances — our bats don’t stop. We go from our first batter to our 12th batter, and put the ball in play up and down the lineup, and put as much pressure as we can on their pitchers, and their defense, at all times of the game.”

Coeur d’Alene qualified for the Northwest Regional for the sixth time, after also making it to San Bernardino in 2001, 2002, 2013, 2018 and 2019.

It’s the 10th time in the last 14 years that the District 1 champion has advanced to regionals, and the fourth time for Coeur d’Alene. Post Falls made it to San Bernardino in 2009 and 2012, and Lewiston advanced in 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2022.

Coeur d’Alene is scheduled to face Alaska on Aug. 5 at 9 a.m. in the opener of the Northwest Regional at Al Houghton Stadium.

Coeur d’Alene 101 003 — 5 9 0

North Boise 012 000 — 3 8 0

Coeur d’Alene battery — Rixton Bateman, Trent Lilyquist (3), Nash Russell (4) and Cooper Fordham.

Coeur d’Alene hits — Russell 3, Lilyquist, Petrella, Fordham, Larwin, Everson, Dolan. 2B — Larwin, Russell 2, Lilyquist, Petrella, Fordham.

11U

After going unbeaten in district play, Post Falls was swept two games to none by West Valley in a best-of-3 series for the state title, falling 12-2 on Saturday at Hillside Park in Boise.

West Valley, which won Game 1 10-0 on Friday, broke Saturday’s game open with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game on the 10-run rule.

Lawson Roberg had a hit and a run scored for Post Falls.

Post Falls 200 00 — 2 4 1

West Valley 301 17 — 12 15 2

Post Falls battery — Josiah Morast, Jaxon LaFountain (3), Liam Foxx (5) and Owen Dagon.

Post Falls hits — Roberg, Colglaizier, Torfin, Morast.

INTERMEDIATE (13U)

Corbin Tremayne drove in four runs and Post Falls bounced back from a first-round loss to beat South Anchorage 10-9 on Saturday at the West Regional at Fleischer Park in Nogales, Ariz.

Tremayne hit a two-run single in the first for Post Falls, which fell 11-5 to host Nogales on Thursday. Tremayne singled in a run in the third, and Damien LaFountain added an RBI single to make it 5-3.

Post Falls broke an 8-all tie with two in the top of the seventh.

South Anchorage had the tying run at first in the bottom of the seventh with two out, but LaFountain struck out the next batter — his third K of the inning, and fifth in 4.2 innings — to end the game.

Post Falls is scheduled to play Arizona today.

Post Falls 200 321 2 — 10 9 5

S. Anchorage 300 104 1 — 9 7 5

Finley O’Dell, Damien LaFountain (3) and LaFountain, Jaden Gamet (3); I. Langerman, L. Kriner (4), C. Moore (4), D. Berg (6) and K. Lambert, D. Berg (4), Lambert (7)

HITS: PF — Jones 2, Tandy, Tremayne 2, D. LaFountain, Roger, O’Dell, McCullough. SA — Warren, Abad 2, Moore, Langerman, Lambert, Kriner. 2B — Abad. 3B — Jones, Warren, Lambert.