State baseball roundup: Pitchers shine as Bishop Kelly, Homedale reach title games

Bishop Kelly needed late-inning heroics to win its opening game in the 4A state baseball tournament. The Knights decided to make things easier on themselves Friday in the semifinals.

A day after rallying for a 5-4 win over Twin Falls, No. 4 seed Bishop Kelly ended Bonneville’s chances of a Cinderella run with a 9-0 victory in the semis, setting up a showdown with No. 2 seed Moscow in Saturday’s championship game at 5 p.m. at Vallivue High School.

A Treasure Valley team also will play for a state title in 3A, and it got there with dominant pitching as well — and some help. Top-seeded Homedale didn’t manage a hit Friday night against Kimberly pitcher Jakob Cummins, but eked out a 3-1 win. The Trojans will face No. 2 seed Sugar-Salem at 3 p.m. Saturday at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa.

4A

Bishop Kelly 9, Bonneville 0: The Knights (18-9) advanced to their third state title game in four seasons behind the arm of junior pitcher Zach Wright and the bats of — everyone.

The left-hander surrendered just two hits, both singles, in a complete-game effort, ensuring that No. 8 seed Bonneville would not continue a Cinderella run after stunning No. 1 Skyview on Thursday night.

“It’s a great feeling,” Bishop Kelly coach Jeff Cammann said. “The guys have worked their tails off all year. Zach’s been working on his pitching, and he goes out and dominates. He got ahead on strike one and kept (Bonneville) guessing. He really commanded today and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Wright struck out four and walked just two, and didn’t allow a runner to reach third base.

“I’ve always been a guy who works fast, and getting into my tempo and zone just helps,” Wright said. “I pitched against Bonneville over spring break and it was the same thing in getting on them early.”

While Wright suffocated the Bees, the Knights’ offense countered with three runs in the opening inning and a balanced attack — all nine starters got a hit, and six of them scored runs. Back-to-back singles from Wright and Nathan Rapp in the fifth inning knocked in runs to make it 5-0, and a four-run sixth turned it into a rout.

Rapp led the Knights with a 2-for-4 outing and drove in three runs. Dean Herkenrath had a hit, an RBI and three runs scored.

“We had a lot more energy coming out,” Wright said. “We were all excited and we went out and got it.

“I think we have a lot of great chemistry. The whole team really likes each other and we have each other’s backs. It’s been a great time.”

After finishing third last season, the Knights are looking to bring home yet another championship, to go along with the back-to-back titles of 2021-22.

“The state title game is where everyone wants to be,” Cammann said. “We put ourselves in a position to play in this game, and I told our guys to keep playing our game, stay within ourselves and leave it all out on the field. We’re looking for a good game tomorrow.”

Skyview 10, Twin Falls 0: A shocking loss to Bonneville on Thursday sent the top-seeded Hawks to the consolation bracket, and they rebounded by hammering No. 5 seed Twin Falls to make the consolation final, where they will play Pocatello at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Grayden Lucas allowed just two hits in the five-inning shutout for Skyview (23-3), which used a 12-hit attack to score five in the first, three in the second and two in the third.

Tyler Russell was 2-for-2 with four RBIs to lead an offense that had six different players drive in runs.

3A

Homedale 3, Kimberly 1: When Homedale (23-4) sends Dillon Fine to the mound, the Trojans generally count on winning, even if it’s a pitchers’ duel.

That happened in the semifinals at NNU — sort of.

Fine was his usual outstanding self, staying undefeated on the season by striking out 15 and allowing just two hits and one run in seven innings.

But he was matched on the other side by Cummins, who no-hit Homedale, striking out four. But he also walked four and uncorked four wild pitches, and hit a batter. That gave the Trojans all the offense they needed.

In the first inning, Fine walked, went to second on a passed ball, took third on a sacrifice and scored on an error. In the third, Andrew Marston was hit by a pitch and Carson Fine walked, and two wild pitches and a passed ball brought both players all the way home, turning a 1-1 game into the final score.

Dillon Fine allowed just three runners the rest of the way, on a single and two walks, to keep the Bulldogs at bay.

Sugar-Salem 4, Fruitland 3: The Grizzlies (18-7) will face Kimberly in the third-place game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at NNU after a tough loss that saw them outhit Sugar-Salem 10-8, but commit five errors and strand baserunners in every inning except one.

Titus Vidlak and Nate Grosvenor drove in runs for Fruitland, and Coye Coffman had two hits and a run scored.

2A

Nampa Christian 11, Firth 1

Cole Valley Christian 13, Malad 2

Western Idaho Conference rivals Nampa Christian and Cole Valley Christian will meet Saturday morning at 9 in Pocatello with a state trophy on the line after posting wins Friday in the consolation bracket.

The Trojans (23-2) used a balanced 12-hit attack to beat Firth, with catcher Pete Dice going 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Pitcher Kaden Mullins limited the Cougars to four hits in five innings, and also was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored.

The Chargers (22-7) pounded out 14 hits and used a seven-run second inning to roll by Malad. Chris Bobrowski went 3-for-3 with four RBIs to lead the attack.

This story was originally published May 17, 2024 at 11:09 PM.