Idaho teen throws 93 mph. He sent Homedale baseball to state with another dominant outing
Homedale senior Dillon Fine toed the rubber Monday and did what he’s done all season — dominate.
The 6-foot-3, right-handed pitcher showed off the arm that earned him a Division I scholarship and has posted absurd stats all season long, throwing four no-hit innings and striking out eight in a 9-0 win over Weiser in the 3A District Three Tournament semifinals that punched the Trojans (20-4) a state tournament berth.
Fine hit 92 mph on the radar gun Monday, left batters spinning on their heels chasing breaking balls and allowed just one ball to reach the outfield as he cruised through the Wolverine lineup.
The outing improved his record to 10-0 this spring, lowered his ERA to 0.32 and pushed his strikeout total to 97 — a total good for 15.5 Ks per seven innings.
Idaho’s pitch count rule was the only obstacle to slow Fine, who moved to shortstop after 54 pitches, leaving the Utah signee eligible to start the district championship Wednesday against Fruitland.
“He’s a really great athlete,” Homedale coach Burke Deal said of Fine, who was a first-team all-state quarterback in the fall. “... He’s worked on his mechanics. I think a lot of it is God-given. But he’s a great, great worker. He’s worked about as hard as he could to be who he is.”
Fine’s fastball velocity grabs the headlines. He hit 94 mph off the mound in the offseason, and he fired a 93 mph fastball on the final pitch of his one-hit, 16-strikeout shutout of Fruitland three weeks ago.
He could blow fastballs by the majority of hitters in Idaho, but Fine isn’t just a flamethrower. He flashed a sharp curveball and a sweeping slider Monday. And his greatest asset may lie between his ears.
Fine spied the bottom of Weiser’s lineup starting its swings way too early in hopes of catching up to his fastball. So he changed tactics the second time through the Wolverines’ lineup, feeding them a steady dose of breaking balls.
“I could tell because they were really reaching for (the fastball),” Fine said. “So, I was like, ‘All right, let’s throw them the slider and catch them off-guard a bit.’ Then I’ll come back to the fastball, and now he’s guessing.”
Deal said Utah coach Gary Henderson quickly picked up on Fine’s mature mental approach when watching him last summer. Combine that with Fine’s command — 13 walks in 43 ⅔ innings this spring — and the Utes opened their roster to make sure Fine signed with them.
“I would have told you a year ago that people don’t get full-ride scholarships in baseball,” Deal said. “But he’s got pretty darn close to a full-ride scholarship.”
NCAA rules limit Division I baseball teams to 11.7 scholarships on a 39-player roster.
Fine will pitch in college. But he also went 3-for-3 with a triple that one-hopped the left-field wall, stole two bases and made a leaping, backhanded grab at shortstop to preserve a combined no-hitter with his fraternal twin, Payton Fine.
Deal didn’t hesitate when asked who will start the district championship Wednesday. Both Homedale and Fruitland have already clinched their state tournament berths. But bragging rights against a rival always get the juices flowing.
“It matters,” Deal said. “And he wants it.”
2A DISTRICT GOLF TOURNAMENT
Cole Valley Christian’s Chloe Singpraseuth shot a 73 to run away with a six-stroke victory for the 2A District Three girls individual title Monday at Desert Canyon Golf Course in Mountain Home. And Compass Charter’s Hunter Sutton captured the boys crown with a round of 74, finishing three strokes ahead of teammate Cole Fay.
Sutton and Fay led Compass Charter to the boys team title. The Aviators shot a combined score of 333, finishing 21 shots ahead of Cole Valley Christian in second place.
Nampa Christian (359) and Ambrose (368) also qualified for the 2A state tournament next week in Worley.
Ambrose brought home first place in the girls team race as Ashley and Katrina Von Behren finished tied for second at 79. The Archers shot 346, edging Cole Valley Christian by four shots as the district’s only state qualifiers.
2A DISTRICT THREE GOLF TOURNAMENT
Monday
At Desert Canyon, Mountain Home
BOYS TEAM SCORES
Top 4 to state
1, Compass Charter 333. 2, Cole Valley Christian 354. 3, Nampa Christian 359. 4, Ambrose 368. 5, Council 411. 6, Meadows Valley 447. 7, North Star Charter 458. 8, Marsing 494. 9, Rimrock 580.
BOYS INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Top 10 to state
1, Hunter Sutton, Compass Charter, 74
2, Cole Fay, Compass Charter, 77
3, Dylan McNeley, Rimrock, 79
4, Cole Olson, Cascade, 81
5, Ben Beglinger, Cole Valley Christian, 83
6, Ryan Gonzales, Nampa Christian, 86
6, Wyatt Gordon, Nampa Christian, 86
8, Jake Sudder, Nampa Christian, 87
9, Adam Ashmead, Cole Valley Christian, 88
9, Mark Yenor, Ambrose, 88
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
Top 2 to state
1, Ambrose 346. 2, Cole Valley Christian 350. 3, Marsing 567. 4, Cascade 571. 5, Compass Charter 629.
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Top 5 to state
1, Chloe Singpraseuth, Cole Valley Christian, 73
2, Ashley Von Behren, Ambrose, 79
2, Katrina Von Behren, Ambrose, 79
4, Caroline Caven, Cole Valley Christian, 83
5, Avery Cultanich, Ambrose 94
5, Ella McNicholas, Ambrose, 94
5, Mercedes Folk, Nampa Christian, 94
This story was originally published May 6, 2024 at 9:58 PM.
