SIC sweep: Treasure Valley dominates opening round of 5A state baseball

The 5A Southern Idaho Conference erased any doubt about which league is Idaho’s toughest Thursday.

Four Treasure Valley teams opened the 5A baseball state tournament with victories, setting up all-Treasure Valley semifinals Friday for the first time in five years. It also ensures the league that has won 10 of the last 11 5A state titles will make it 11 of 12 on Saturday.

Mountain View (25-2) and Eagle (17-11) open the state semifinal doubleheader at 5 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium, followed by Rocky Mountain (20-6) vs. Capital (14-16) at 7:15 p.m.

[Related: Idaho baseball state tournament brackets]

ROCKY MOUNTAIN 10, BOISE 0

Gonzaga coach Mark Machtolf called Gabe Hughes “the premier pitcher in the Northwest” when he signed with the Bulldogs in November. The Rocky Mountain senior showed why Thursday.

Idaho’s reigning all-class baseball player of the year fired a one-hit shutout in the opening round of the 5A state tournament, leading Rocky Mountain to a five-inning win over Boise at Capital High. He struck out five and needed just 50 pitches to finish five innings.

“He just deals. It’s crazy,” Rocky Mountain freshman second baseman Conor Christiansen said. “There’s so much confidence that he brings to the team.”

The right-hander has overpowered Idaho hitters since joining the Grizzlies’ varsity team as a sophomore. But Hughes has grown as a pitcher as he has aged, showcasing his command and maturity Thursday.

Rocky Mountain asked its ace to pitch to contact and keep his pitch count low. By throwing 60 or fewer pitches, Idaho rules allow him to return to pitch a possible state championship game Saturday.

He executed the plan to perfection, breezing through the Boise (6-21) lineup. Only Oliver Massie’s second-inning single broke up the bid for a perfect game, one of four batted balls to reach the outfield.

Hughes improved to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 0.96 with the win.

“He’s not the underclassman anymore,” Rocky Mountain coach Joe Santa Maria said. “He’s the senior leader and what makes our team go.

“... The last two years, he’s maybe tried to put too much on his shoulder and tried to strike everybody out. This game and this season, his strikeouts are still up, but he’s letting his defense work for him and getting ahead in counts.”

Rocky Mountain broke out offensively in the third inning when it plated five runs, thanks in part to Christiansen’s two-run single with the bases loaded. The freshman followed with another bases-loaded, two-run single in the fourth inning, jump-starting the blowout and proving his worth as the protection in the order behind Hughes.

“He’s really stepped up,” Hughes said of the 15-year-old. “He’s played three or four different positions this year, hit in a couple different spots in the lineup. He’s a real team guy. Whatever is needed, he steps up.”

MOUNTAIN VIEW 5, MADISON 0

Eight days ago, senior Riley Harrison suffered a fractured skull while pitching for the Mountain View baseball team in the district championship series.

Thursday marked the Mavericks’ first game since the freak accident, and coach Matt Rasmussen wasn’t sure how his team would respond.

“It’s tough. Any time you lose somebody from your lineup that you love and care about, it’s hard on a team,” Rasmussen said. “We’re a family. We have a great culture. He’s one of the guys, and of course our thoughts and prayers are with him. Our hearts are weighing heavy for Riley.”

While Harrison was at home resting and couldn’t physically be there for the Mavericks’ 5A state tournament opener at Memorial Stadium, he remained top of mind for his teammates, who are determined to bring home the program’s first state championship in his honor.

Mountain View took the first step toward that goal behind senior righty Nick Bateman’s one-hit shutout of Madison (9-17). It will be the fifth state semifinal appearance for the Mavericks but their first since 2014. They’re 0-4 in state semifinals.

“It’s like a new season when the postseason comes around,” said Bateman, whose shutout was Mountain View’s first at state. “We’re just trying to finish, basically. We don’t want to come up short like we have in the past few years.”

Bateman faced the minimum in five of his six innings, striking out six Bobcats and giving up his only hit on a single to center field in the third inning.

Senior first baseman Matthew Reynolds and sophomore right fielder Brooks Rasmussen tallied two hits apiece to lead the Mavericks at the plate. Senior shortstop Jon Milner accounted for two of Mountain View’s RBIs with his two-out single in the sixth inning.

“We all had a little fire under our butt today playing for Riley,” Bateman said. “Knowing he’s OK now, it’s helped us a lot.”

CAPITAL 8, HIGHLAND 7

Nursing a one-run lead on its home field, Capital escaped bases-loaded jams in the sixth and seventh innings to keep its late-season run alive.

Senior shortstop Jordan Nielsen provided the first set of heroics after Highland’s Easton Durham sent a hard-hit ground ball to third base. The ball took a bad hop and caromed off the heel of Josh Berg’s glove. Nielsen sprinted to back up Berg — putting him in position to corral the ricochet off his chest — and then fired a one-hop throw to second base, where Luke Westrick scooped it out of the dirt for the force out to end the threat.

“I threw it to second and just closed my eyes and hoped that it made it there,” Nielsen said. “I got him somehow. It’s crazy.”

Capital coach Jake Chandler said Nielsen has made countless plays as the Eagles won four straight elimination games to make it to the state tournament. But Thursday’s stood above the rest.

“That play right there saved our season,” Chandler said. “... The fact no one gave up on it and he put the effort in, it changed the game. It changed the outcome.”

Capital played with fire again in the seventh inning after a walk, an error and an infield single — all with two outs — loaded the bases again. But reliever Matt Ruhl rebounded to strike out Highland’s Kobe Holt looking to clinch Capital’s spot in the semifinals against conference rival Rocky Mountain.

Capital fell 14-6 and 16-4 to its conference rival earlier this season. But the Eagles will have ace Ethan Horner ready to pitch in the semifinals.

“We’ve got to play perfect baseball,” Chandler said. “When you play teams of Rocky’s caliber with the athletes they have, we can’t make mistakes. We can’t leave runners on. We’ve got to take advantage of every situation.”

EAGLE 12, LEWISTON 3

Eagle advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 2014 with an offensive showcase at Memorial Stadium.

The Mustangs plated seven runs on nine hits in the first inning alone and totaled 17 hits to topple District One-Two champion Lewiston (13-8).

Junior center fielder Dalton Mashore led the onslaught, going 3-for-4 with a pair of triples and two RBIs, and six other Mustangs had two hits each. Junior right-handed pitcher Sam Deckers earned the win, allowing four hits and one earned run over five innings with four strikeouts.

The Mustangs chased Lewiston starter Dalton Hart after just one inning. Mashore connected on a triple to right field in the leadoff spot and then scored on a single to center from Ben Ford as the Mustangs batted through the order in the inning and amassed an insurmountable lead.

Eagle’s last state semifinal victory came in 2014 and its most recent state title was in 2011.

This story was originally published May 16, 2019 at 11:33 AM.