STATE HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Lake City falls in state title game

5A

CALDWELL — The Lake City Timberwolves struck first by scoring a run in the top of the first inning of Saturday’s state 5A championship game vs. Owyhee of Meridian — an obvious good sign,

But the Timberwolves left the bases loaded in the inning, which turned out to be a bigger sign of things to come.

Lake City left 10 on base for the game, and fell 5-2 to the Storm at the College of Idaho’s Wolfe Field.

“To be a champion you have to play like a champion,” first-year Lake City head coach Mike Criswell said. “AJ (Currie) pitched like a champion, but we didn’t hit like a champion. We let them off the hook.”

Top-seeded Owyhee (23-4), a second-year school, repeated as state champs.

Sixth-seeded Lake City (21-7) was at state for the first time since 2016, when the Timberwolves won their second title in program history.

Owyhee’s pitcher walked Cooper Smith and Eric Bumbaugh to start the game. One out later, Jake Dannenberg singled to center to score Smith. Cole Stoddard was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but the Storm made a pitching change and got out of the inning.

Owyhee tied it in the third when Jack Ryan reached on a bunt single, and eventually scored on Ryder Cutlip’s single.

Currie struck out two, walked one and allowed one run on three hits before leaving after four innings.

In the fifth, a hit batsman, a walk and another hit batsman loaded the bases for Owyhee. After a strikeout, Nick McDaniel hit a two-run single, Keagan Kelly added an RBI single, and Cade Walker delivered a sacrifice fly and the Storm led 5-1.

Lake City got one back in the top of the sixth when Cooper Reese reached on an error, Stoddard doubled, and Smith’s groundout scored Reese.

Lake City left two on in the third and fourth innings. In the fourth, with the score tied at one and runners at second and third, Owyhee’s center fielder raced in for a diving catch to take away a potential two-run single by Bumbaugh.

“We had opportunities where we had to get a single,” Criswell said. “There’s a reason they are No. 1 in the state. But we had them.”

Lake City won its first state title in 2007. The T-Wolves also played in the title game in 2004 and ’08. This year’s team had five seniors to help get Lake City back state, and nine juniors and three sophomores itching to get back to this stage next year.

“It doesn't feel good (right now), but we have to reflect on whole season, and keep improving,” Criswell said. “Really proud of how boys handled themselves, even in defeat.”

Lake City 100 001 0 — 2 5 1

Owyhee 001 040 x — 5 5 2

AJ Currie, Cooper Reese (5) and Cooper Smith; Ryder Cutlip, Kaleb Doty (1), Hunter Mahaffey (4), Jack Ryan (6) and Gage Haws.

HITS: LC — Bumbaugh, Dannenberg, Stoddard 2, Shepard. Owy — Cutlip, McDaniel, Kelly, Walker, Ryan. 2B — Shepard.

3A

Fruitland 10

Timberlake 4

NAMPA — The seventh-seeded Tigers’ bid for their first trophy in 10 seasons — and second in program history — fell short in a loss to the fourth-seeded Grizzlies in the consolation championship game of the state 3A tournament at Northwest Nazarene University’s Elmore Vail Field.

Timberlake (13-14) tied the game at 2 with two runs in the top of the fifth, and trailed 3-2 before Fruitland (17-8-1) tallied seven runs in the bottom of the sixth.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of them, they played really hard,” said second-year Timberlake coach Bryce Johnson, who along with assistant coach Mason Cramer were juniors on that 2013 Timberlake squad which won the consolation title. “I’m proud we put ourselves in a positon to play for a trophy.”

In the fifth, Caden Robinett of Timberlake was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Parker Holly singled in Kenny Wells to tie the game at 2.

In the sixth, Fruitland used four hits, four walks and a hit batsman to score seven times.

Holly, a senior, finished 3 for 3 with two RBIs, including a run-scoring single in the seventh.

Holly pitched 5.1 innings before departing after 106 pitches. Johnson had hoped to bring in Cooper Lenz in relief, but the shortstop suffered a shoulder injury diving into second base during Friday’s win over Payette, and was unable to pitch.

“Parker Holly pitched his butt off; just some unfortunate stuff added up.”

It was Timberlake’s ninth trip to state since 2010, and 10th in school history, and first since 2019.

“The biggest thing is, they got us back to state; it had been four years,” Johnson said. “This group left their legacy; they changed the trajectory.”

Timberlake 000 020 2 — 4 6 5

Fruitland 010 117 x — 10 7 1

Parker Holly, Carson Huston (6), Jesse O’Connor (6) and Caden Robinett; Landon Bushong, Coye Coffman (5) and Zane Bidwell.

HITS: TL — Wells, Allaway, Holly 3, Huston. Fruit — Coffman 2, Bidwell 2, Black 2, Wise. 2B — Allaway, Bidwell 2.