6A DISTRICT 1 SOFTBALL: Going viral? We'll find out ... Coeur d'Alene wins fourth straight district title

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

COEUR d’ALENE — The pop fly to second baseman Chloe Burke was caught for the final out. 

The district softball championship for the Coeur d’Alene Vikings was secured, thanks to a 15-5 victory at Lake City on Thursday, the celebration was on ... 

And then ... 

It was time to film a video for TikTok. 

"Every year I’ve been here we’ve won districts,” said Burke, who has played on district title teams all four of her seasons at Coeur d’Alene. “So it was like the Kanye West song, ‘Everybody wants to know what I would do if I didn’t win; I guess we’ll never know.’” 

“They have fun,” said Coeur d’Alene coach Bobbi Darretta, who filmed the video of the team, gathered near the pitcher’s circle. “That’s all we care about. That’s the No. 1 focus, having fun. When that starts to go, that’s when we stop doing well.” 

Coeur d’Alene (18-2), which won the best-of-3 series 2-0, advances to state May 15-17 at Eagle and Owyhee high schools in the Boise area. 

Coeur d’Alene will learn its first-round opponent on Sunday, once the final MaxPreps rankings are tabulated. As of Thursday, the Vikings were ranked sixth in 6A.

With only one berth to state from District 1, and no play-in game, Lake City’s season ended at 16-9-1. 

“It’s disappointing, obviously; the loss is hard,” third-year Lake City coach Jordyn Hensley said. “The girls wanted it, especially my seniors — they’ve been dreaming of this for four years. But I’m really proud of the resolve my team showed this season. I’m a firm believer that softball teaches you life lessons, and win or lose, you learn those lessons, and you become better people for it.” 

Junior center fielder Ellie Henderson went 3 for 4, drove in five runs and scored twice for Coeur d’Alene. She hit a two-run single in the first inning, an RBI single in the fourth and a two-run triple in the fifth. 

Abbey Linder and Jenna Davenport each went 3 for 4 for the Vikings, and Maddy Pratt hit a two-run double to highlight a five-run second inning that boosted the Vikings’ lead to 7-0. 

Lake City finished with just two hits, but one was a grand slam by senior Layla Gugino in the third inning that pulled the Timberwolves within 7-5.  

But Coeur d’Alene answered with eight runs in its next two at-bats to win via the 10-run rule. 

“I tell them if the other team scores some runs on us, and we lose the lead, we’re only going to worry if we can’t get those (runs back),” said Darretta, in her seventh season as Vikings coach. “But right now, we can get those.” 

The Vikings beat Lake City 17-7 in six innings in Game 1 on Tuesday at Coeur d’Alene High. 

Coeur d’Alene went 1-2 at state last year, tying for fifth, one win from a trophy. 

“I think we had seven of our nine starters back, so it was easy for us to pick up where we left off last year,” Burke said. “I think this might have been one of the best seasons we’ve had.” 

Coeur d’Alene     250    35    —    15    15    2 

Lake City    005    00    —    5    2    2 

Leah Nordman, Jenna Davenport (3) and Ollie Dudley; Maddy Blood, Madeline Peterson (2) and Alexandria Routon. 

HITS: Cd’A — Nelson, Linder 3, Davenport 3, Henderson 3, Pratt, Nordman 2, Dudley 2. LC — Gugino, Blood. 2B — Pratt, Linder, Davenport, Blood. 3B — Henderson. HR — Gugino. 

    MARK NELKE/Press Layla Gugino, right, of Lake City is welcomed home after hitting a grand slam in the third inning against Coeur d'Alene in Game 2 of the best-of-3 6A District 1 softball championship series Thursday at Lake City.