STATE HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL TOURNAMENTS: Vikings blow past defending champs in opener

5A

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

POST FALLS — On a day so windy that even kites would refuse to participate, the Coeur d’Alene Vikings played small-ball on offense, caught nearly everything in the blustery air, and pulled off the upset.

The eighth-seeded Vikings, led by sophomore Abbey Linder’s bat and senior Abby Moehring’s glove, downed the top-seeded and defending champion Owyhee Storm of Meridian 10-7 in the first round of the state 5A softball tournament at Post Falls High.

“I think not one of us came in here knowing we couldn’t beat them, that they were unbeatable. I think coming in with that mindset was so helpful,” said Moehring, who hit a two-run triple in a three-run top of the first inning, then jacked a three-run homer in a five-run sixth that boosted Coeur d’Alene’s lead to 10-2. “I think that was huge, scoring in the first inning, especially when they didn’t score.”

Coeur d’Alene (20-5) will play No. 4 seed Timberline (18-9) of Boise in the second round today at 11:15 a.m., while Owyhee will face fifth seed Rocky Mountain (15-13) of Meridian in a loser-out game at 9 a.m.

On an evening with the wind whipping from right field to left, and players, coaches and fans alike turning away to keep the blowing infield dirt out of their eyes, Moehing made several important catches, none better than the one in the third inning. With Owyhee trailing 3-2 and runners at first and second, Moehring raced into right-center field for a running catch that saved two runs.

“Oh, man, it was crazy,” Moehring said. “The wind was causing every single ball to drop in front of us, but I’m proud of how our outfield handled it; we really stepped up today. We had to be mindful of the wind, but we handled it really well.”

Anything hit to right field really got held up by the wind. Of the three homers between the two teams, two were to left, one to center.

Linder finished 3 for 4 with five RBIs and two runs scored.

What also helped Coeur d’Alene was playing small-ball. The Vikings kept bunting or slapping, and the Storm kept committing miscues.

In the fourth, Coeur d’Alene loaded the bases on 12 straight balls, and Owyhee changed pitchers. The first pitch from the new pitcher got away from the catcher, and Albany McLaughlin scored. Chloe Burke bunted, and Owyhee was late getting the ball to the catcher, and Preslie McLaughlin scored. 

In the sixth, Moehring bunted and reached on an error, then Sophia Vignale reached on a bunt single.

“I knew that their pitchers were very good, and had a lot of strikeouts, and they hadn’t made as many plays as other teams because of all those strikeouts,” Coeur d’Alene coach Bobbi Darretta said. “So I’m thinking, let’s just put the ball in play, even if it’s small-ball, because we’re so quick, we’re going to take advantage of our speed.”

It worked. Owyhee finished with three errors, and a few more mental errors not listed in the box score.

“It came down to us making a couple more mistakes than we could afford to make,” Owyhee coach Tess Martin said. “Defensively we booted the ball a little bit. That (playing small-ball) was smart on their part, because we showed we were struggling on bunt defense today, and that’s not like us. They did a good job putting the ball into play, putting pressure on the defense, and kinda let us make the mistakes.”

Senior Mantha Hatzenbeller hit a two-run homer in the sixth for Owyhee. Hailey Brennan added a two-run shot with one out in the seventh, but Viking freshman Jenna Davenport retired the final two batters — the last one on a deep fly to Moehring in center.

Coeur d’Alene    300    205    0    —    10    7    4

Owyhee    110    003    2    —    7    8    3

Jenna Davenport and Kyndal Bridge; Kina Watts, Kendall Townsend (4), Hailey Brennan (6) and McKenna Schab.

HITS: Cd’A — Bridge 2, Linder 3, Knutson, Vignale. Owy — Haith, Buckingham, Hatzenbeller, Schab, Brennan 2. 2B — Buckingham, Brennan, Hatzenbeller. 3B — Linder, Haith. HR — Linder, Brennan, Hatzenbeller.

3A

Kimberly 16

Timberlake 0

MOSCOW — The eighth-seeded Tigers (14-9) fell to the top-seeded and defending state champion Bulldogs (21-5) in the first round of the state 3A tournament at the Moscow School District Community Playfields.

"Kimberly is a well-coached team that took advantage of our mistakes today," Timberlake coach Casi Lupinacci said. "We need to come out tomorrow with some intensity to continue our season."

No other information was available.

Timberlake plays fifth seed Parma (18-7) in a loser-out game today at 9 a.m.

    MARK NELKE/Press Coeur d'Alene freshman catcher Kyndal Bridge catches a popup against Owyhee on Thursday in the first round of the state 5A softball tournament at Post Falls High.
  

    Courtesy photo Coeur d'Alene sophomore Abbey Linder (24) trots home to a crowd of Vikings after belting a home run in the sixth inning vs. Owyhee in the first round of the state 5A softball tournament Thursday at Post Falls High.