THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: The dirt on the state 5A softball tourney in Post Falls

Two days later, still washing particles from the Post Falls High softball infield out of my eyes after a wind-swept time covering the state 5A softball tournament …

HELPED BY wins in the two state play-in games, Boise-area teams produced six of the eight qualifiers for the state 5A softball tournament at Post Falls High, which wrapped up Saturday.

A closer look revealed that, aside from the 20-2 record from defending champion Owyhee of Meridian, none of the other five teams had fewer than nine losses coming in.

Timberline, Borah and Eagle each came in with nine losses. Capital had 10, Rocky Mountain 12.

“There’s a lot of parity in our conference,” Timberline coach Dave Craig said of the 5A Southern Idaho Conference. “Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. Anybody could (win this).”

In fact, it was the tournament’s seventh seed, Borah of Boise, which won its first state title in program history, beating the 2, 3 and 4 seeds to get to the championship round, then defeating top seed and defending champion Owyhee of Meridian in the second title game, after losing to the Storm in the first title tilt.

The fourth seed, Timberline of Boise, finished third. The sixth seed, Capital, finished fourth for its first state trophy in fastpitch. 

The No. 2 seed, Thunder Ridge of Idaho Falls, was bounced from the tournament in two games.

And the Boise-area teams could make the case that, with six of the eight teams from their area, state should be in the Boise area. But Craig, father of North Idaho College softball coach and former Timberline softball star Shay Chapman, understands why, with state basketball entrenched in the Boise area, and state wrestling rotating between Nampa and Pocatello, North Idaho gets to host state softball every 2-3 years, and ditto for state volleyball.

“We get it,” he said. “It needs to be spread around a little bit.”

After years of the tourney rotating between North Idaho and eastern Idaho/Twin Falls area, Boise has worked its way into the state softball rotation in recent years. The Treasure Valley hosted in 2021, and is scheduled to do so in 2025. 

In 2026, the 5A (which will be 6A starting next year) tournament is tentatively scheduled for Coeur d’Alene and Lake City high schools, and the 4A (soon to be 5A) tourney is set for Post Falls. The 2A (soon to be 3A) tourney would be in Orofino.

AS THEY trudged behind some portable bleachers in foul territory down the left-field line Friday afternoon on the JV field at Post Falls High, the players on the Coeur d’Alene High softball team were understandably disappointed.

After eighth-seeded Coeur d’Alene opened the state 5A tournament on Thursday with an upset of top-seeded and defending champion Owyhee of Meridian, the Vikings exited the tourney on Friday, losing 7-5 to eventual third-place finisher Timberline of Boise, and falling 11-0 to eventual fourth-place finisher Capital of Boise.

Bobbi Darretta, Coeur d’Alene’s sixth-year head coach, took the time to remind her players of the big picture.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my girls. We’re soooooooo young,” she said. “Four freshmen, two sophomores and a junior out there (starting), and two seniors in the outfield. I’m really excited for the future. I told them hang your head high … everybody had us the No. 4 team (out of four) in the league and we won league, won districts and beat the No. 1 team in the state. We weren’t even supposed to be here, so for us, that’s a win. Next year, we’re coming back, and we’re going to be stronger.”

It was the third straight trip to state for Coeur d’Alene, which won its third straight Inland Empire League title and third straight 5A Region 1 championship, and finished 20-7.

But this was the most unlikely trip to state for the Vikings, given their youth. And their freshmen weren’t “filler” players — they started at pitcher (Jenna Davenport), catcher (Kyndal Bridge), shortstop (Molly Nelson) and first base (Maddy Pratt).

“It (getting to state) definitely surprised me,” said junior second baseman Chloe Burke, one of the few veterans on the team, making her third appearance at state. “At the beginning of the year, I was probably one of those people that was like, ‘I don’t know if we’ll make it to state; I don’t know how well this will turn out.’ But everyone surprised me, and I’m so proud of everyone. And we had an amazing season to make it here.”

As for the wind, which was gusting on Thursday and “only” blowing steadily on Friday, Darretta said it worked against her team, which relied more on small-ball rather than big flies.

For the tourney, Coeur d’Alene hit two home runs in three games (both by sophomore Abbey Linder), and allowed nine.

4A BASEBALL teams from the north rarely fare well at the state baseball tournament.

But Moscow proved to be the exception this year, winning the state title on Saturday. 

The Bears (20-7) actually finished second in the combined Inland Empire League, ahead of Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston and Post Falls. Moscow took both games from Lewiston and Post Falls in league play.

“Moscow might be the best 4A team I’ve ever seen,” Coeur d’Alene coach Erik Karns said earlier this season. “They’ve got the arms, they play good defense, they put the bat on the ball and make very few mental mistakes.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.