Bishop Kelly baseball rallies to punch first ticket to state semis since 2015

There was a point where it seemed like the 4A SIC tournament champions may be in trouble.

But that feeling was short-lived as Bishop Kelly (24-4) rallied to score a combined 11 runs in the fourth and fifth innings to beat Burley (12-18) 15-6 in the 4A state quarterfinals at Bishop Kelly High after finding itself in a 6-2 hole in the second inning.

The game was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. and was to be played at Vallivue High, but was moved earlier Thursday due to weather.

Nick Anewalt gave the Knights their first lead when he tripled with nobody out, scoring two and giving Bishop Kelly a 7-6 lead in the fourth inning. A pair of walks later in the inning scored two more runs, followed by an Ike George two-out single that drove in the seventh Knight run of the fourth inning.

[Related: Coverage of the 5A baseball tournament; brackets, scores]

The offensive onslaught continued in the fifth after two Bishop Kelly singles and a Burley error pushed across four more Knights runs.

Anewalt finished the day 2-for-3 from the plate with a walk while driving in three runs and scoring three times. George and Tyler Garrehy each drove in two.

Rhett Poole came on in relief of Ethan Buttars, who lasted one inning. Buttars gave up six runs, four of which were earned, three hits and three walks.

But Poole shut down the Burley lineup the rest of the way, throwing six shutout innings while giving up seven hits and striking out four.

The win puts Bishop Kelly in the state semifinals for the first time since 2015.

Bishop Kelly will play Idaho Falls (20-5) Friday night at 7 p.m. at Vallivue after the Tigers beat Twin Falls (21-6) 2-1 in 10 innings.

SIDE-ARM PITCHER SHUTS DOWN KUNA

The Kuna High baseball team hadn’t seen a pitcher like Bruer Webster all year.

The Bonneville right-handed side-armer worked quickly, keeping the Kavemen off balance all morning Thursday at Vallivue High in the opening round of the 4A state tournament, leading the Bees to an 8-0 win and sending Bonneville to the semifinals.

Webster threw just eight pitches in his first inning of work. It lasted 3 minutes and was the first of what would be an efficient seven innings of shutout baseball. Everything he threw moved.

“I don’t think it was the fact that he was a side-arm,” Kuna coach Jesse Dodd told the Idaho Statesman. “I think it was the fact that he created so much movement. A lot of side-arm guys don’t create that kind of movement, and he did. He was very good.”

Webster gave up three hits, struck out five and walked one. Only two Kavemen baserunners reached scoring position on the day, and Webster sat down the first eight batters of the game.

“As a pitcher, he was firm enough to where you couldn’t just sit back, and everything moved a lot. If you can do anything as a pitcher, location is probably one, movement is probably No. 2 and velocity is No. 3,” Dodd said. “He was really, really good at the first one and solid at the last one.”

Kuna (16-9) matched Webster with its ace, Diego Hernandez. Early on, it looked like Hernandez and Webster would be locked in a pitcher’s duel. Hernandez threw three scoreless innings after a heavy workload in last week’s district tournament, which Kuna lost to Bishop Kelly after winning the 4A SIC regular-season title.

Then the fourth inning came and the Bonneville bats came alive.

“That guy hit the home run off me and they just took off from there,” Hernandez said.

With one out and a runner on second, Bonneville’s Willie Nelson blasted a two-run home run to right field, putting the Bees up 2-0. Later in the inning, this time with two outs, Alex Cortez doubled to left-center, scoring two and barely clearing the out-reached glove of Ty Cobb. Bonneville added four more runs in the sixth.

Hernandez finished the day with eight earned runs over 6 1/3 innings.

“If we can make a diving catch, so a couple inches away there, (and) the home run didn’t go out by much,” Dodd said.

Bonneville (22-6) will play Lakeland (12-11-2) — a 12-2, five-inning winner over Minico — in the state semifinals at 4 p.m. Friday at Vallivue High, while Kuna faces Minico (24-4) in a loser-out game at 10 a.m. Bonneville fell to Timberline in last year’s 5A state title game.

“They are better than us,” Dodd said. “They are just flat better than us right now. It’s fun to be in those games. It’s fun to see those teams and see them do a really good job.”

3A: HOMEDALE FALLS IN PITCHERS DUEL

Homedale and South Fremont entered the fifth inning in a scoreless game at Melaleuca Field in Idaho Falls before the ice finally broke thanks to a passed ball.

With a runner on third, a Homedale pitch escaped to the backstop, allowing South Fremont to score the first run of the game. The Cougars added two more runs before the Trojans found the scoreboard late in the game, giving South Fremont a 3-1 win in the opening round.

South Fremont’s Sawyer Klinger pitched all seven innings in the win.

Despite allowing eight runs in the fifth inning, Marsh Valley still managed to mercy-rule Timberlake 19-8. The Eagles (16-5) scored the first 19 runs of the game and will play South Fremont (22-5) in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Friday at Melaleuca Field in Idaho Falls.

Homedale (16-10) plays Timberlake (16-9-1) at 10 a.m. in the consolation semifinals.

Kimberly scored 12 runs in the fourth inning to earn a 17-5 win over Weiser. The Weiser and Homedale losses mark the first time since 2007 that an SRV team won’t play for a state championship.

Sugar-Salem’s Tanner Harris picked up the win, tossing four scoreless innings, as the Diggers blanked Priest River, 10-0 in six innings.

Sugar-Salem (18-11) plays Kimberly (19-4) in the second 3A semifinal.

2A: TWO TROJANS COMBINE FOR ONE-HITTER

Only Idaho’s pitch count could stop Joe Ihli. The Nampa Christian pitcher was pulled after throwing 6 2/3 innings of no-hit ball when he met the pitch count limit at 110, forcing him to leave the game.

The performance helped lead Nampa Christian to a 6-1 win over Cole Valley Christian in the opening round of the 2A state tournament at Orofino High. Ihli struck out 10 batters and gave up one unearned run while walking six. Landon Cheney came on in relief and conceded the lone Cole Valley hit.

Nampa Christian held a 1-0 lead heading into the fourth before rallying for five runs to take a 5-1 lead. Josh Tiersma drove in two runs and was 1-for-3 at the plate.

The Trojans are back in the state semifinals for the eighth year in a row and have won the classification’s past four state championships.

Declo pitcher Mckay Breshears tossed 11 strikeouts and gave up five hits in his team’s 5-2 win over Malad.

The win put Declo (8-14) in the state semifinals for the second time in three years, where it will play Nampa Christian (21-5).

A Tim Reinertson triple broke a nine-inning scoreless stalemate between Melba and Challis-Mackay in their 2A quarterfinals matchup. The triple plated two runs in the top of the 10th, giving the Mustangs a 2-0 lead. Josh Reiber followed with an RBI single, giving Melba the 3-0 win.

Mark Stradley closed things down in the 10th, sending Melba to the state semifinals for the second time in three years.

Melba (20-5) will play Grangeville (14-8), which beat Firth 5-3.

Meanwhile, the 1A tournament begins Friday morning at 9 a.m. in Glenns Ferry.

This story was originally published May 16, 2019 at 2:46 PM.