PREP ROUNDUP: Vikings win play-in, on to state in baseball

• BASEBALL

LEWISTON — At this point, Coeur d’Alene coach Erik Karns knows what he’s got in Whitworth-bound senior pitcher Aidan Blanco.

On Saturday, it was a six-strikeout, one-hit effort by Blanco that put the Vikings back in the state 5A tournament.

Blanco allowed just a one-out single in the bottom of the sixth inning by Cooper Myers, and walked two in 5.2 innings for the Vikings in a 9-1 win over the Capital Eagles of Boise in state play-in game at Church Field.

“It was just another dominant performance by Aidan,” said Karns, whose team is ranked sixth in the latest MaxPreps rankings (last updated on Thursday), which is used to seed the state tournament. “We know we’re going to get a good outing from him every time he takes the mound.”

Coeur d’Alene (17-10) is projected to face third-seed Lake City (19-5) in the opening round at state on Thursday at Wolfe Field on the campus of the College of Idaho in Caldwell starting at 5:30 p.m. PDT. But the official pairings won't be announced until today at the earliest.

“It is what it is, and our boys will be ready to play, whoever it might be,” Karns said. “Playing under the lights, it’s going to be a ton of fun for our kids. They’ve worked hard since September and have grown up in the game. They’re starting to understand how they’re going to get pitched and I’m excited to see what we can do next week.”

Senior Chase Saunders had a two-run single to score Tyler Voorhees and Owen Field in the top of the third inning for Coeur d’Alene. Field scored three runs for the Vikings.

“We did a great job of adjusting how they were pitching us,” Karns said. “I knew if we got a lead early, we’d be able to put some pressure on them. We just played good Viking baseball.”

Capital finished 8-19.

Coeur d’Alene    120    402    0    —    9    11    1

Capital        000    001    0    —    1    1    3

Aidan Blanco, Will Beckenhauer (6), Zeb Blattstein (7) and Chase Saunders; Caden Werner, Cooper Myers (4) and Brady Ruzicka.

HITS: Cd’A — Field 3, Saunders 3, Fenter, Coey, Helms, Christ, Voorhees. Cap — Myers. 2B — none. 3B — none.

• SOFTBALL

Capital 12

Lewiston 1

COTTONWOOD — The Bengals, the third-seed from Region 1, fell to the Eagles of Boise in a state 5A play-in game at Prairie High.

Lewiston finishes 15-11.

Capital (14-10) is ranked seventh in the latest MaxPreps rankings (posted Monday), advances to state starting Thursday at Post Falls High.