‘This team’s got a lot of fight.’ Bishop Kelly wins district title on walk-off double
As the two-time defending 4A state champion, the Bishop Kelly High baseball team has high standards.
But the Knights weren’t living up to expectations to start the 2023 season.
“We started off the year a little slow, but they never gave up,” Bishop Kelly coach Jeff Cammann said.
The 4A District Three championship game began in similar fashion for the Knights, who overcame a three-run deficit for a 5-4 victory over Ridgevue on Thursday at Ridgevue High.
Bishop Kelly broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk-off double from junior second baseman Jacob Ricks.
Ricks laced a line drive to left field on the first pitch he faced, scoring pinch runner Logan Fettic for the game-winning run with one out.
“Right guy, right time,” Cammann said. “He’s been swinging a hot bat all year for us. I knew he could get it done. As soon as he hit it, I just wanted to make sure we touched third base and touched home, and then we could celebrate.”
Added Ricks: “I just went up there at a good time, saw a pitch I liked and went after it. And here we are.”
With Thursday’s victory, Bishop Kelly advances to the 4A state tournament, which runs May 18-20 at Skip Walker Field in Twin Falls. Ridgevue will take on Skyview in the 4A District Three runner-up game at 1 p.m. Saturday. The winner advances to state.
“Our conference is a dogfight,” Cammann said. “Any day, anybody can beat you, so sealing the deal on this one feels pretty dang good. Hopefully we can keep this rolling right into state and keep swinging it and playing defense.”
The Knights and Warhawks were tied 1-1 after the first inning, but Ridgevue plated two runs in the third courtesy of RBI singles from third baseman Izaiah Stewart and catcher Jaxon Johnson. The Warhawks made it a 4-1 lead on a sacrifice fly by Mitchell Basterrechea in the top of the fourth inning.
But a pitching change in the bottom of the fifth couldn’t slow the Knights’ bats, as BK came alive for three runs to tie the game at 4-all with the help of a leadoff double from shortstop Jamison Ray, followed by a triple from catcher Hadley Smith and singles from right fielder Ian George, third baseman Dean Herkenrath and designated hitter Gianni Caltagirone.
“It sounds cliche, but we just didn’t give up,” said Bishop Kelly pitcher Cooper Cammann, the head coach’s nephew. “We knew that we were in the game the whole time. We’ve done it before, so we knew we could do it.”
Cooper Cammann, a junior righty, earned the complete-game win, throwing 98 pitches while giving up four runs on 11 hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
“This team’s got a lot of fight in it,” Jeff Cammann said. “We kind of hit our stride towards the last quarter of the season, and they believe in one another. Whoever’s up to bat or on the mound, they know they can get it done.”
This story was originally published May 11, 2023 at 9:53 PM.
