PREP ROUNDUP: Lake City to play for regional baseball title

• BASEBALL

COEUR d’ALENE — Nate Weatherhead and AJ Currie combined for 11 strikeouts and allowed just four hits, and the top-seeded Lake City Timberwolves made a four-run second inning stand up for a 4-1 victory over the fourth-seeded Post Falls Trojans in the first round of the 5A Region 1 baseball tournament Monday at Lake City High.

Lake City (18-6) will play host to third-seeded Lewiston (14-11) today at 4 in the regional championship game for a berth to state. Lewiston won at No. 2 seed Coeur d’Alene 13-3 in five innings.

Coeur d’Alene (14-11) will play host to Post Falls (10-14) today at 4 in a loser-out game.

Ty Shepard singled in the first run for Lake City, then Cooper Smith followed with a three-run double to score Eric Bumbaugh, Braeden Newby and Shepard.

Weatherhead struck out seven and walked four in 5.1 innings, and Currie fanned four in 1.2 innings.

“I thought we played a little flat, but took advantage of a few errors in that second inning,” Lake City coach Mike Criswell said. “Our pitching coach, Justin Garza, called a great game for Nate and AJ. We had some defensive stops as they were trying to gain traction, and seemed to hold the momentum. We will have to tighten it up tomorrow against Lewiston.”

Post Falls took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, scoring on a wild pitch. The Trojans had runners at second and third with nobody out in the fourth and sixth innings, and runners at second and third with one out in the seventh, and couldn’t score. Currie came on in relief and got two strikeouts to end the sixth.

“The boys played great and Lake City played great,” Post Falls coach Kurt Reese said. “We were right there with them and on the doorstep. We just need to find a way to get some runs in with runners on and less than two outs.”

Post Falls 010 000 0 — 1 4 2

Lake City 040 000 x — 4 6 2

Isaac Ziegler, Danny Davoren (6) and Gabe Cooley; Nate Weatherhead, AJ Currie (6) and Cooper Smith.

HITS: PF — Naylor, Bustamante, DeBoer, Diamond. LC — Smith 2, Mangini, Bumbaugh, Newby, Shepard. 2B — Diamond, DeBoer, Smith 2.

Lewiston 13,

Coeur d’Alene 3

COEUR d’ALENE — Those key hits that the Vikings had in four regular-season wins against the Bengals, they were a little tougher to get to start the postseason at Ted Page Field.

Coeur d’Alene loaded the bases in each of the first four innings, but were only able to put runs on the board in the bottom of the third inning in an opening-round loss.

“Lewiston was able to get those key hits in similar situations,” Coeur d’Alene coach Erik Karns said. “They just beat us in all facets of the game. Tomorrow is a new day and we’ll have to forget this one and try to keep going.”

Coeur d’Alene (14-11) will host Post Falls (10-14) in a loser-out game today at 4 p.m. Post Falls lost 4-1 at Lake City in the other opening round game.

Jared Jelinek hit a three-run double to give Lewiston a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Carson Kolb hit a two-run home run to extend the advantage to 5-0 in third inning for Lewiston (14-11), which advanced to face Lake City in the regional championship game today at 4 p.m. at Lake City High.

Kaden Daniel struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth for the Bengals.

Coeur d’Alene had swept all four games against Lewiston this season.

“To beat any team five times, it’s tough,” Karns said. “Each one of these teams is very capable of making a run. At this point, we’ve got to take it one game at a time. I think we’ll be ready to play tomorrow in a way that we didn’t play today.”

Lewiston 032 62 — 13 10 3

Coeur d’Alene 003 00 — 3 7 2

Game called after 5 innings due to 10-run rule.

Carson Kolb, Kaden Daniel (5) and Tyler Granlund; Cooper Erickson, Aaron Gwaltney (3), Aiden Blanco (4), Zeb Blatttein (5) and Chase Saunders.

HITS: Lew — Jelinek 3, Bensching, Ricard, Daniel 2, Elliott, Taylor. Cd’A — Hall, Brown, Erickson 2, Smart 2, Saunders. 2B — Jelinek. HR — Kolb.

Moscow 6

Lakeland 1

SANDPOINT — The third-seeded Hawks were blanked until the top of the seventh in falling to the second-seeded Bears in the loser-out first round of the 4A Region 1 baseball tournament at War Memorial Field.

Lakeland finished 4-19.

“It’s always tough losing the last game of the year, but I’m really proud of my team,” Lakeland coach Jason Bradbury. “I thought they competed well tonight, and we definitely had our chances. In each of the first four innings, we had guys in scoring position, including the bases loaded with no out in the first, but we couldn’t get the key hit/s we needed.”

Moscow (8-17) went on to upend top-seeded Sandpoint 3-0 in Game 1 of the best-of-3 championship series, and will host the Bulldogs (10-12) in Game 2 on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Raiston Ellwood had two hits for Lakeland against Moscow.

“I’m really proud of how far we’ve come in the mental side of the game this year, and we executed some things tonight that we’ve been focusing on,” Bradbury. “It’s always rewarding to see that happen no matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the game. I told my team that we are really close to being back on top of this league again. It’s just going to take a few more kids playing summer ball, everyone working hard to get bigger and stronger, and everyone focusing on being the best teammate possible. If we can do those things, then we will be a force to be reckoned with. I’d love to see it.”

Lakeland 000 000 1 — 1 6 1

Moscow 100 023 x — 6 9 0

Tadgh Ellwood and Jace Cooksey; Levi Anderson, Mike Kiblen (7) and Tyson Izzo.

HITS: LL — Mason, R. Ellwood 2, Cooksey, T. Ellwood, Pluid. Mos — Driskill 2, Isakson 2, Anderson 2, M. Kiblen, Breese, B. Kiblen. 2B — M. Kiblen.

Timberlake 8

Bonners Ferry 6 (8 inn.)

BONNERS FERRY — Seeds mean nothing between these two teams as the No. 2 seed Tigers, who had dropped four of five to the Badgers during Intermountain League play, upended the top seed in Game 1 of a best-of-3 series for the 3A District 1 championship and the district’s lone berth to state.

“It’s always going to be like that with us two teams,” Timberlake coach Bryce Johnson said after the Tigers scored three times in the top of the eighth.

Game 2 is Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Bonners Ferry (16-7).

In the eighth, Raj Olivieri’s single loaded the bases, and Wyatt Phillips scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball for Timberlake (11-11). Ty Gallimore scored on a wild pitch, and a hit batsman with the bases loaded forced in the third run.

“We knew we were going to see Trey (Bateman, who started on the mound for Bonners),” Johnson said. “Our goal was to get him off the mound. “We knew if we could get into their bullpen we could have success. Our kids worked on hitting pitches earlier in the count, instead of getting behind in the count.”

Caden Robinett struck out eight in 5.1 innings for Timberlake. Kenny Wells struck out three in 2.2 innings of relief, and drove in two runs for the Tigers.

Thomas Bateman went 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored for Bonners.

"We let one slip away,” Badgers coach Tom Turpin said. “We came, fought hard and let it slip away. We were four runs down and came back. Three walks in the eighth and one hit batter was a recipe for disaster. We'll get back at it Wednesday."

Timberlake 040 100 03 — 8 11 3

Bonners Ferry 002 012 01 — 6 6 2

Caden Robinett, Kenny Wells (6) and JT Armes, Robinett (6); Trey Bateman, Roger Naylor (5), Teigan Banning (8), Bl. Rice (8) and Banning, Bateman (8), Banning (8).

HITS: TL — Wells, O’Connor, Lenz 2, Robinett, Allaway, Holly, Armes 3, Olivieri. BF — Bl. Rice 2, Th. Bateman 3, Br. Rice.

• SOFTBALL

Timberlake 10

Bonners Ferry 0

SPIRIT LAKE — Casey Whaley pitched a one-hitter with five strikeouts and two walks as the top-seeded Tigers beat the second-seeded Badgers in Game 1 of a best-of-3 series for the 3A District 1 title and the district’s lone berth to state.

Game 2 is Wednesday at 5 p.m.

“Casey pitched well,” Timberlake coach Casi Lupinacci said. “We had a hard time hitting in the first couple innings, but we finally got it together. Once we settled down, we did OK.”

Ashley Grantham singled in the game-ending run with one out in the sixth for Timberlake (14-7), which led just 2-0 after four innings. Jesi Kitchin and Topanga Rojas had two hits each for the Tigers.

Jaydin Falck had the lone hit for Bonners Ferry (3-15), a one-out single in the fourth.

Bonners Ferry 000 000 — 0 1 2

Timberlake 001 144 — 10 7 2

Game called in 6th inning due to 10-run rule.

Taylor Sumpter and Ava Frederickson; Casey Whaley and Logan Walsh.

HITS: BF — Falck. TL — Dykes, Kitchin 2, Walsh, Grantham, Rojas 2.