Power hour: Owyhee, Rocky advance to district title game after semifinal slugfests
It was a hitter’s feast in the semifinals of the 5A District Three softball tournament Tuesday at Mountain Cove Field.
Owyhee, Borah, Eagle and Rocky Mountain combined for 43 hits, including 13 home runs, with two state tournament berths on the line.
The top-seeded and defending state champion Storm topped the Lions 8-2 in the first semifinal, while the Grizzlies outlasted the Mustangs 16-14 in nine innings in the nightcap.
Owyhee and Rocky Mountain will meet for the district title at 5 p.m. Thursday at Mountain Cove.
Storm power past Lions
Mantha Hatzenbeller was pretty disappointed with herself when she flew out to right field on her first at-bat against Borah pitcher Megan Meracle.
The Owyhee senior left fielder made up for it with a vengeance.
Hatzenbeller finished 2-for-3 at the plate, hitting a solo home run in the third inning and a two-run bomb in the fifth to propel the Storm (19-2) to their second district championship appearance in the past three seasons.
Owyhee combined for four home runs in all, as senior first baseman Molly Buckingham went yard on her first at-bat, and junior pitcher Grace Brooks, who bats eighth in the lineup, connected on a three-run homer in the fourth.
“We have depth throughout the lineup, and it’s a really good problem to have,” Owyhee coach Tess Martin said. “It makes it hard to make a lineup because even the girls on the bench can come in and execute, but the support that they have for each other and the teamwork that they always play with, it’s a joy to watch.”
The Storm have a team batting average of .466 this season and have racked up 297 total hits. An eye-popping 62 of those hits have been home runs, with 11 different players having hit a dinger.
“It’s so fun. It’s just never-ending excitement,” said Hatzenbeller, who has signed with UNLV. “Especially when our dugout screams and we’re all hitting good. Everyone’s more energized, which just makes for a more fun game overall.”
Owyhee has lost just two games this season — both by a single run — and the team has gotten used to having a target on its back after winning the program’s first state championship in only its second year of existence last spring.
“We can’t underestimate anyone because, honestly, everyone is out to get us and beat us,” Hatzenbeller said. “But the thing is, we don’t get cocky. But we’re not scared either. We’re not nervous. We know our talent and we’re confident, so that’s just what we aim for.”
Borah (13-8) can still punch its ticket to state when it faces Timberline (16-9) — a 3-1 winner over Middleton in a loser-out contest — at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Timberline High.
Grizzlies continue hot streak
Senior catcher Airah Whipkey hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Rocky Mountain past Nampa in a district play-in game Saturday.
Then the Grizzlies withstood a seventh-inning rally from Middleton for a 9-8 win Monday in their district tournament opener.
So it only made sense that seventh-seeded Rocky Mountain’s semifinal victory over Eagle would come down to the wire once again.
Eagle scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 11-all, but Rocky Mountain (15-11) survived the slugfest with the help of 16 hits, including five home runs.
“We don’t have the best pitching depth, but our lineup one through nine can hit the ball,” Rocky Mountain coach Casey Higginbotham said. “That’s kind of what we’ve been preaching to them.”
In its past three games, Rocky Mountain has combined for 38 hits, highlighted by 10 home runs. Senior first baseman Savannah Henzler was one of four Grizzlies to collect three hits against the Mustangs, including a pair of home runs. Her three-run shot to center field in the top of the ninth put Rocky ahead for good.
Sophomore right fielder Aubrey Sorenson, sophomore center fielder Tayler Klozcko and Whipkey also hit home runs in Tuesday’s win.
“Coming into this tournament we were like, not discouraged, but no one thought much of us,” said Henzler, who finished 3-for-4 at the plate with seven RBIs. “There was a lot of disrespect towards our team, and that was just our drive and our motivation to get to where we are today. And we’re just so grateful and so happy to be here.”
Sophomore Peyton Bargen led Eagle (14-9) with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate, including two home runs and four RBIs. She also pitched a complete game, throwing 155 pitches.
The Mustangs can qualify for state with a win over Capital on Wednesday. First pitch is 5 p.m. at Mountain Cove.
This story was originally published May 7, 2024 at 11:47 PM.
