STATE AA LEGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: Unlucky opener ... Errors cost Lums in state opener

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d’ALENE — On any other day, it might have been enough.

But the Idaho Falls Bandits — the three-time Northwest Regional champion and runner-up in last year’s American Legion World Series — they’re not your ordinary team.

Coeur d’Alene pitcher Cooper Erickson allowed one earned run over 6.1 innings, but the Bandits took advantage of three Lumbermen errors in a 5-2 win in the opening game of the state AA American Legion baseball tournament at Thorco Field on Monday.

“I’ve been around a long time, and never seen a gem like that,” third-year Coeur d’Alene coach Darren Taylor said. “He threw 105 pitches, completely in control all the time. But he definitely threw well enough to win for sure.”

Idaho Falls pitcher Dax Whitney struck out 9 of 12 hitters he faced and did not allow a hit before being pulled after four innings and 60 pitches.

“He’s the best pitcher in the state by a wide margin,” Taylor said. “It was fun to see what he had and he’s really good, with a really good arm. We’ve seen some good pitching with Vauxhall throwing some guys at 90 (miles an hour), but we haven’t seen that kind of control and velocity. He’s the real deal. He’ll be able to come back and throw Thursday now.”

“He was able to get ahead in counts, and getting strike one is such a big deal,” said Idaho Falls coach Ryan Alexander of Whitney, an Oregon State commit. “It’s such a big advantage to a pitcher. And our kids did a good job of working in the zone. We had one that got hit about 900 feet, but that’s OK. We didn’t give a bunch of free passes and did enough to get the job done today.”

Davin Luce had an RBI double in the fourth inning to give Idaho Falls a 4-0 lead, the lone RBI for the Bandits.

“We just can’t be surprised by any situation in any inning,” Taylor said. “We need something good to happen. I think we fell asleep a couple of times and it ended up costing us.”

Erickson struck out three and did not allow a walk for Coeur d’Alene.

“He had good stuff today,” Alexander said. “He mixed things up and really kept us off balance. We had some good at-bats as the game went on and were able to put some runs up on the board. But that’s a good team over there.”

Joe DuCoeur, who threw out two runners attempting to steal second, hit a solo home run in the sixth for Coeur d’Alene.

“He’s the real deal,” Taylor said. “I’ve seen him do it a hundred times, so it’s no shock at all. He’s a good kid and a good player.”

The matchup was the only game on Monday, with three games today in the five-team tournament beginning with Pocatello vs. Nampa at 1 p.m., followed by Idaho Falls against the Nampa Chiefs at 4 p.m. Coeur d’Alene will play the loser of the Pocatello/Nampa game tonight at 8 in a loser-out game.

“We knew we had our hands full getting out of the car and playing the home team,” Alexander said. “But I thought that our guys did a good job of making the adjustments at the plate."

“We knew coming into it that there’s four good teams here and we’re going to have to play good baseball,” Alexander said. “We knew we had to play good baseball to get it done, and we can consider that step 1 today. I wouldn’t be shocked if we can see Coeur d’Alene again. They’ve got some kids that can play.”

“It’s kind of hard to play under the lights here,” Taylor said. “We’ve done it a few times, so we’re used to it.”

Idaho Falls 100 300 1 — 5 10 0

Coeur d’Alene 000 011 0 — 2 2 3

Dax Whitney, Greyson Martin (5), Boston Ross (7) and RJ Woods; Cooper Erickson, Caden Robinett (7) and Joe DuCoeur.

HITS: IF — Woods 2, Hall, Whitney, Olson, Howell, Luce 2, Horvath, Anderson. Cd’A — DuCoeur, Brown. 2B — Luce, Howell. HR — DuCoeur.

CLASS AA STATE LEGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

At Thorco Field, Coeur d'Alene

Monday's Game

Idaho Falls Bandits 5, Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen 2

Tuesday's Games

Game 2 — Pocatello Runnin' Rebels (32-8) vs. Nampa Chiefs, 1 p.m.

Game 3 — Idaho Falls Bandits (21-13) vs. Lewis-Clark Twins (20-14), 4:30 p.m.

Game 4 — Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen (20-15) vs. Loser Game 2, 8 p.m. (loser out)

Wednesday's Games

Game 5 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 — Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 4:30 p.m. (semifinal)

Game 7 — Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 8 p.m. (loser out)

Thursday's Games

Game 8 — Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, noon (championship game)

Game 9 — Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 8, 3:30 p.m. (if-necessary)