LEGION BASEBALL: Lums knock out regional rival, then takes out the champs

CLASS AA

COEUR d’ALENE — In its biggest game of the season thus far, Coeur d’Alene turned to its newest face to get through.

And for starters, it worked out well.

Caden Robinett, a Timberlake High product, struck out five in 6 ⅔ innings for the Lumbermen, who fought off elimination with a 4-3 win over the Lewis-Clark Twins in a state AA tournament loser-out game at Thorco Field on Wednesday.

Later, Owen Benson, who closed out the opener, struck out five over 6 2/3 innings as the Lumbermen knocked off three-time state and Northwest Regional champion Idaho Falls 5-1 to advance to today's championship game at Thorco Field starting at noon.

Pocatello beat Idaho Falls 12-2 in the semifinals earlier on Wednesday.

Idaho Falls, winners of the American Legion World Series in 2019 and 2021, as well as runner-up in 2022, finished

Cooper Erickson and Travis Usdrowski had RBIs in the win for the Lumbermen against Idaho Falls.

Further details from the Lums-Idaho Falls game were not available as it ended as The Press went to press on Wednesday.

Robinett previously played at Northern Lakes before transferring into the program this year.

“This is why he came down here to throw big games against good teams and college-type players,” Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen coach Darren Taylor said. “And he’s getting better and better and throwing the ball really well. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work for him and it’s a lot of fun to watch.”

In the second inning, Coeur d’Alene took a 4-0 lead on a two-run single by Kyle Bridge,, who finished with two hits in the game. Bryce Hall also had two hits and two runs scored for the Lums.

“Bryce has been awesome this year,” Taylor said. “He’s been our most consistent hitter from start to finish. We’ve had some streaky hitters, but he’s been good from start to finish.”

Lewis-Clark cut into the deficit in the fifth inning as Elliot Taylor and Race Currin hit solo home runs. The Twins made it 4-3 with two out in the seventh, but Owen Benson was able to get a ground ball to third base for the final out.

Lewis-Clark finishes 20-16.

COEUR d’ALENE LUMBERMEN 4, LEWIS-CLARK TWINS 3

Lewis-Clark 000 020 1 — 3 9 0

Coeur d’Alene 130 000 x — 4 5 0

Sam Lindsley, Trace Green (4) and Race Currin; Caden Robinett, AJ Currie (6), Owen Benson (7) and Joe DuCoeur.

HITS: LC — Taylor 2, Ricard 2, Barden, Daniel 2, Ray, Currin. Cd’A — Hall 2, Bridge 2, Bumbaugh. 2B — Daniel. HR — Currin, Taylor.

COEUR d’ALENE LUMBERMEN 5, IDAHO FALLS BANDITS 1

Coeur d’Alene 001 001 3 — 5 4 1

Idaho Falls 000 010 0 — 1 6 5

Owen Benson, CJ Elliott (7) and Joe DuCoeur; Boston Ross, Kolby Landon (6), Garrett Blanchard (7) and Craeton Cheney.

HITS: Cd’A — Hall 2, Erickson, Udrowski. IF — Woods 2, Hall, Whitney, Horvath, Cheney. 2B — Woods.

CLASS A

Northern Lakes 3

Twin Falls Bruins 1

NAMPA — Tadhg Ellwood and Parker Holly combined to limit the Twin Falls Bruins to three hits for Northern Lakes in its state ‘A’ opening round game at Rodeo Park.

“It was one of those games where we scored three in the second and they scored, and then it was a bunch of zeros after that,” Northern Lakes coach Bryce Johnson said. “Caleb (Mason) had a big two-run double and we really got things going with two outs. We were a little rusty, but able to cash in with some runs. Tadhg wasn’t as clean as he normally is, but was able to battle through it.”

Caleb Mason had a two-run double in the second inning for Northern Lakes (27-11), which faces JNS Baseball tonight at 6.

Raiston Ellwood also had two hits for the Mountaineers.

Twin Falls faces the host Nampa Braves in a loser-out game.

Northern Lakes 030 000 0 — 3 8 2

Twin Falls 010 000 0 — 1 3 0

Tadhg Ellwood, Parker Holly (6) and Jace Cooksey; Robinson, Crosby (7) and Hurtado.

HITS: NL — R. Ellwood 2, Mason 2, Horn, Allaway, Cooksey, Lenz. TF — Byington, Crosby 2. 2B — Mason, Horn, Byington.

Cd’A Lumbermen 6

Minico Storm 5

NAMPA — Will Robson cleared the bases with a one-out double in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally the Lumbermen from an early deficit to beat the Minico Storm in their state opener at Rodeo Park.

Robson later scored on an RBI single by Will Beckenhauer for Coeur d’Alene (27-8), which faces the Owyhee Rivercats today in the second round.

Minico Storm 301 100 0 — 5 7 0

Coeur d’Alene 000 114 x — 6 8 3

Mabey, Chandler (5) and Pease; Will Beckhauer, Mark Holecek (5) and Tanner Franklin.

HITS: MS — Salazar, Pease, Mabey, Chandler 2, Fletcher 2. Cd’A — Coey, Holecek 2, Hunter 2, Franklin, Robson, Jimenez. 2B — Salazar, Fletcher, Pease, Coey, Robson.

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

Pocatello Runnin' Rebels 10, Nampa Chiefs 5

Idaho Falls Bandits 11, Lewis-Clark Twins 1

Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen 12, Nampa Chiefs 0, 4 innings, Nampa eliminated

Wednesday's Games

Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen 4, Lewis-Clark Twins 3, Lewis-Clark eliminated

Pocatello Runnin' Rebels 12, Idaho Falls Bandits 2, semifinals

Coeur d'Alene 5, Idaho Falls 1, Idaho Falls eliminated

Thursday's Games

Game 8 — Pocatello Runnin' Rebels (34-8) vs. Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen (23-15), noon (championship game)

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

STATE A LEGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

At Rodeo Park, Nampa

Wednesday’s Games

Owyhee Rivercats 3, Blackfoot 2

Northern Lakes 3, Idaho Falls Bruins 1

Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen 6, Minico Storm 5

Idaho Falls JNS Baseball 6, Nampa Braves 5

Thursday’s Games

Game 5 — Blackfoot (14-18) vs. Minico Storm (27-7), 9 a.m.

Game 6 — Idaho Falls Bruins (25-14) vs. Nampa Braves (16-24-1), noon

Game 7 — Owyhee Rivercats (26-3) vs. Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen (27-8), 3 p.m.

Game 8 — Northern Lakes (27-11) vs. Idaho Falls JNS Baseball (22-14), 6 p.m.

Friday’s Games

Game 9 — Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 9 a.m.

Game 10 — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, noon

Game 11 — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

Game 12 — Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11, 9 a.m.

Game 13 — Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11, noon.

Sunday’s Games

Game 14 — Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13, 9 a.m.

Game 15 — Loser Game 14 vs. Winner Game 14, noon (if necessary)