State softball roundup: Three 5A SIC teams win, but not Idaho’s defending state champ

The winner’s bracket in the 5A state softball tournament in North Idaho will feature three Treasure Valley teams a long way from home.

The shocker is that No. 1 seed Owyhee, the defending state champion, isn’t among them.

Timberline, Borah and Eagle all posted victories at Post Falls High School on the first day of the double-elimination tournament, stretched to three days this year in each classification. That meant only first-round games were played Thursday in every class except 1A, which began Wednesday.

Those three 5A teams were joined by No. 8 seed Coeur d’Alene, which stunned the top-seeded Storm 10-7 to send them into the losers’ bracket.

Southwest Idaho teams had mixed results in the other classifications, with Bishop Kelly winning in 4A, Homedale in 3A and Cole Valley Christian in 2A. Several teams dropped to the losers’ brackets and will have to try to fight their way through multiple games Friday to have a chance at getting to the finals.

5A STATE TOURNAMENT

Coeur d’Alene 10, Owyhee 7: Owyhee entered as the top seed, sporting a shiny 20-2 record, and the Storm rolled to a state title last year.

None of that mattered Thursday. Playing close to home, Coeur d’Alene took a 10-2 lead after scoring five runs in the sixth inning and held on to score a big upset.

Owyhee scored five runs in the final two innings, but it wasn’t enough. The Storm (20-3) now will face No. 5 seed and 5A SIC rival Rocky Mountain in the losers’ bracket on Friday. Coeur d’Alene (20-5) will play Timberline in the winner’s bracket.

Abbey Linder went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer for the Vikings.

Samantha Hatzenbeller went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and Hailey Brennan was 2-for-2 with a two-run homer for Owyhee. Leadoff batter Rylie Haith finished with two RBIs.

Timberline 11, Rocky Mountain 2: No. 4 seed Timberline broke a 2-2 tie with eight runs in the third inning and held Rocky Mountain scoreless the rest of the way in a battle of 5A SIC teams.

Delaney Wright threw a complete game for the Wolves, allowing six hits and striking out six batters.

Mallorie Casch sparked Timberline’s big third inning with a two-run home run and finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Bre Degen finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Wright went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs knocked in.

Cleanup hitter Savannah Henzler went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Rocky Mountain.

Borah 5, Thunder Ridge 1: Borah pitcher Megan Meracle allowed just two hits and struck out 10 in seven innings to help the Lions upset No. 2 Thunder Ridge.

Borah took a 4-1 lead thanks to a two-run double by leadoff batter Olyvia Chalifoux in the fourth inning, and that was plenty of cushion for Meracle.

Thunder Ridge pitcher Kali Scoresby was the hard-luck loser. She allowed just four hits and struck out 17. Sadie Fullmer plated the Titans’ only run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning.

Eagle 23, Capital 13: No. 3 seed Eagle scored 11 runs in the sixth inning to erase Capital’s one-run lead in a slugfest.

Trailing 13-12 and running out of time, Eagle (16-9) took the lead on a two-run single from Sydney Manzer. The Mustangs then stretched their lead with three home runs. Hayleigh Oliver’s grand slam made it 18-13, and Sloane Sprague followed with a solo homer.

A couple of batters later, Ellie McManigal gave Eagle a 21-13 lead with a two-run shot.

The Mustangs will face Borah on Friday. Capital (14-11) will take on No. 2 seed Thunder Ridge in the losers’ bracket, which now features the top two seeds.

Oliver, batting in the leadoff spot, finished the game 4-for-6 with seven RBIs. She gave Eagle a 10-6 lead with a two-run home run in the third inning. Sprague went 4-for-4, while Manzer and Emry Woods both finished with three RBIs. Eagle also got a solo homer from Alyson Vieria and a two-run blast from Addyson Giles.

Tyra Price went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and five RBIs to lead Capital. Olivia Stone had a two-run homer, and McKenna Chavez finished 3-for-3 with an RBI.

4A STATE TOURNAMENT

Bishop Kelly 5, Moscow 4: No. 1 seed Bishop Kelly needed a three-run sixth inning to end Moscow’s upset bid at Coeur d’Alene High School.

The Knights (21-3), who mustered just five hits in the game, trailed 4-2 heading to the bottom of the sixth. They scored a run on an error to make it 4-3, and Lauren Fettic provided the winning heroics by slugging a two-run homer.

Fettic also had a solo homer in the fourth inning.

Bishop Kelly will face No. 4 seed Twin Falls, a 12-11 winner over Blackfoot, on Friday.

Hillcrest 7, Skyview 6: No. 3 Hillcrest scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase the Hawks’ one-run lead and push them to the losers’ bracket, where they will face No. 7 seed Wood River on Friday morning.

Skyview led 6-4 after Grace Chambers knocked in two runs with a single in the top of the sixth. Hillcrest pulled within one thanks to a fielding error, and Grace Schultz brought the winning runs across with a two-run single. She finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Chambers went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Skyview.

3A STATE TOURNAMENT

Homedale 15, Teton 4: No. 2 Homedale needed just five innings to punch its ticket to the winner’s bracket after jumping out to a 9-0 lead by the end of the second inning.

The Trojans scored seven runs in the second, including a two-run double by Olivia Asumendi and a two-run single by Zayne Hall. Homedale also scored two runs on an error and one on a walk with the bases loaded.

Asumendi went 2-for-2 with four RBIs to lead Homedale. Hall, Isana Larzelier, Lilly Trescot and Arlett Quezada knocked in two runs apiece.

Homedale pitcher Dani Sitts gave up just five hits and struck out 11.

Marsh Valley 10, Parma 8: No. 5 Parma scored five runs in the sixth inning, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a nine-run lead the Eagles built in the first three innings, courtesy of a seven-run third when five runs scored on errors.

Wesli Crockett went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs to lead Parma’s offense. She also started in the circle and gave up five hits in three innings.

2A STATE TOURNAMENT

Cole Valley Christian 9, Grangeville 1: Pitcher Karlie Barnum was perfect through five innings, and the second-seeded Chargers limited Grangeville to one base hit Thursday.

They will face No. 6 Orofino in a winner’s bracket semifinal on Friday.

Barnum struck out 11 without allowing a runner. She was replaced in the sixth by Lauren Colson, who gave up one hit and one run while striking out two.

Colson and Abbie English both went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Cole Valley.

Declo 14, New Plymouth 3: Declo jumped out to an 11-1 lead thanks to an eight-run third inning and cruised past the No. 5 seed Pilgrims, who fell to the losers’ bracket and will face No. 8 seed Salmon on Friday morning.

Abi Robinson was 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs for New Plymouth.

This story was originally published May 16, 2024 at 10:41 PM.