PREP BASEBALL: Timberlake outlasts Bonners Ferry, earns first state berth since 2019

• 3A DISTRICT 1

BONNERS FERRY — After losing four of five games to Bonners Ferry during the regular season, the Timberlake Tigers knew the only three games that mattered would take place this week.

And on Thursday, in a winner-take-all game for the district’s lone berth to state, junior Grant Allaway came up big as Timberlake beat the Badgers 6-3 in Game 3 of a best-of-3 series for the 3A District 1 title.

“Both teams battled, and our bats helped us out a little bit more today, and Grant Allaway was lights-out on the mound,” second-year coach Bryce Johnson said.

Timberlake (12-12) won its first district title since 2019, and advances to state for the first time since that season.

State is next Thursday through Saturday at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa.

Allaway struck out seven, walked five and scattered five hits for Timberlake. He also went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Caden Robinett went 2 for 3 and drove in a run for the Tigers, who scored three times in the top of the seventh inning to take a seemingly safe 6-1 lead.

But not with these two teams.

Bonners Ferry (17-8), champions of the two-team Intermountain League, scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, and had runners at first and second with one out.

Allaway struck out the next batter, taking his pitch count to 109 — one short of the limit. Facing his last batter of the day, he fanned the next hitter to send the Tigers to state.

“I’m glad we didn’t have to (decide who would come in for Allaway),” Johnson said. “He came out today and was just awesome.”

Trey Bateman struck out seven and walked none in six innings for Bonners Ferry, and also doubled in a pair of runs in the seventh to pull the Badgers within three.

Timberlake 002 001 3 — 6 9 2

Bonners Ferry 100 000 2 — 3 5 6

Grant Allaway and Caden Robinett; Trey Bateman, Blake Rice (7) and Teigan Banning.

HITS: TL — Wells, Armes, Lenz, Robinett 2, Allaway 2, Holly, Huston. BF — Bl. Rice 2, Tr. Bateman, Hammons, Naylor. 2B — Robinett, Allaway, Tr. Bateman.

• 5A REGION 1

Lewiston 9

Coeur d’Alene 7

COEUR d’ALENE — It wasn’t really what the Vikings did that sent them home for the season.

It was what they didn’t do that cost them at Ted Page Field.

Coeur d’Alene, allowed seven unearned runs on four errors, falling to the Bengals in the 5A Region 1 second-place game, finishing the season 15-12.

“At the end of the day, we weren’t good enough,” Coeur d’Alene coach Erik Karns said. “Lewiston put the ball in play, but we weren’t good enough defensively. I’m proud of the boys for fighting back and competing, but we just gave up too many unearned runs.”

Harrison Trunkey-Evans had three hits for Coeur d’Alene, which trailed 9-4 before clawing back to make it a two-run game in the seventh inning.

“Lewiston came out ready to play and fired up,” said Karns of the Bengals, who traveled to Coeur d’Alene for the fourth time in four days. “They took advantage of our errors and played good defense. And that’s just how the game rolled.”

Lewiston (15-12) will face Rocky Mountain of Meridian in a state play-in game at Church Field in Lewiston on Saturday.

Lewiston 033 030 0 — 9 10 1

Coeur d’Alene 030 101 2 — 7 8 4

Toby Elliott, Kaden Daniel (5) and Toby Granlund; Logan Markowski, Harrison Trunkey-Evans (5), Andrew Karns (6) and Chase Saunders.

HITS: Lew — Jelinek, Bensching, Kolb, Daniel 2, Weeks, Ray 2, Granlund 2. Cd’A — Hall, Karns, Stockton, Saunders, Trunkey-Evans 3, Christ. 2B — Daniel 2, Christ, Trunkey-Evans. HR — Weeks.