Idaho state softball: Eagle, Nampa Christian among Treasure Valley teams in control
Four Treasure Valley teams are in driver’s-seat positions to win state softball titles Saturday, with Eagle (6A), Middleton (5A), Cole Valley Christian (4A) and Nampa Christian (3A) all undefeated through two days of the double-elimination tournaments.
Eagle booked a ticket to the 6A championship game with a dominant 11-1 victory over Highland. The Rams will face off Saturday morning in a rematch against defending champion and top-seeded Owyhee, which fought its way through the losers’ bracket with two wins after falling 2-0 to Highland. The winner of that game will go on to meet Eagle, needing back-to-back victories for a title.
The other Treasure Valley team still alive is Parma in 3A. The Panthers lost to dominant No. 1 seed Nampa Christian in a winner’s bracket game and will meet North Fremont on Saturday morning, with the survivor advancing to meet the Trojans. No. 2 seed Parma defeated North Fremont 8-2 in an opening-round game Thursday.
Here’s a recap of Friday’s developments:
IDAHO 6A STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
EAGLE ROLLS: The No. 2 seed beat Thunder Ridge 9-3 and hammered Highland 11-1 to set itself up for a state championship with just one more win.
The Mustangs blew the game against Thunder Ridge open with a four-run fourth inning, and their offensive success came more through efficiency than brute force, as they scored nine runs on seven hits. Among those seven hits was a pair of doubles from shortstop Ellie McManigal, both of which drove in runs.
In the mercy-rule win over Highland, the offense was again all about finding hits — nine of the 10 that Eagle got were singles. The Mustangs did all of their damage in the third inning, scoring 11 runs. Eight Eagle players had at least one run batted in, and pitcher Sophia Giles — who held the Rams to six hits and a run — had a double to account for the only hit that wasn’t a single.
Eagle will play the Owyhee-Highland winner at 12:15 p.m. Mountain time at Coeur d’Alene High School, with an if-necessary game set for 2:30.
OWYHEE FALTERS, THEN REBOUNDS: The top seed and defending champ was shocked by Highland 2-0, with shortstop Dawson Sommers smacking a two-run homer in the first inning and the Rams’ pitchers making that hold up by limiting the Storm to six hits.
Relegated to the elimination side of the bracket, Owyhee came back with a 9-0 win over Lake City and then edged 6A SIC rival Mountain View 7-6 after jumping out to a five-run lead, thereby advancing to play Highland.
Pitcher Hailey Brennan threw a three-hit shutout while also recording three hits and three RBIs, including a solo homer, against Lake City. The Storm had a five-run first inning in that game, helped by a two-run single from first baseman Madalynn Mahaffey.
Against Mountain View, Owyhee darted to a 7-2 lead and then relied on pitcher Hailey Bock to slam the door after the Mavericks rallied to within one. Mountain View had the potential tying run on first base after catcher Nia Hall’s ground ball to second baseman Bristol Reeves resulted in an error, allowing two Mavericks to score. Reeves then caught Pyper Manire’s blooper for the final out.
MOUNTAIN VIEW TAKES FOURTH PLACE: Mountain View advanced in the losers’ bracket by eliminating rival Rocky Mountain with a 7-5 win. Emerson Lukoic homered for the Mavericks, and left fielder Nia Hall went 3-for-4 with an RBI single.
The Grizzlies got five of their 10 hits in the sixth inning against, all of which were singles, to close the gap but couldn’t rally further.
The Mavericks then defeated Thunder Ridge 6-4 before falling to Owyhee in the fourth-place game. Hall’s two-run double in the sixth inning providing a 4-3 lead. Manire had an RBI triple after that, and Jovie Wilkins followed with a sacrifice fly to give Mountain View its cushion.
LAKE CITY 5, CAPITAL 3: Capital’s season came to an end early on Friday, having already fallen into the losers’ side of the bracket. The Eagles got onto the board first thanks to an RBI single from first baseman Darlene Espinoza, her first of two hits. Lake City quickly responded and was leading 4-1 by the end of the fourth inning.
IDAHO 5A STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
MIDDLETON IN CONTROL: The top-seeded Vikings scored six runs on 10 hits to handle Bonneville 6-1, then walloped Treasure Valley rival Vallivue 13-2 to reach the championship stage. Center fielder Sydney Qualls led the way for Middleton with three hits against Bonneville, while pitcher Averi Gustafson batted Qualls in with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. Gustafson struck out six.
The Vikings then scored in all but one inning to put away Vallivue in a six-frame game. Adelyn McPherson, Kenadi Whitlow and Samantha Miller all homered for Middleton, and Abbie Eggleston hit a solo homer for the Falcons. McPherson went 2-for-3 with a walk and had a game-high three RBIs.
The Vikings will face the Vallivue-Blackfoot winner at 12:15 p.m. Mountain time at Post Falls High school, with an if-necessary game at 2:30.
VALLIVUE 13, BLACKFOOT 12: Vallivue and Blackfoot combined for 22 hits in a 25-run thriller.
Vallivue appeared to have a comfortable 9-3 lead after two innings, highlighted by a three-run homer from left fielder Addyson Aguila. But Blackfoot continued to chip away at the lead before eventually taking a 10-9 advantage in the fifth inning; Vallivue then jumped back ahead 13-10.
A two-run homer from Idaho State commit Emma McGuire brought Blackfoot within a single run, but Falcons pitcher Ella Hill came on in relief and forced the game-winning ground out.
IDAHO 4A STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
COLE VALLEY CHRISTIAN IN COMMAND: Playing at Filer High School in the only tourney not in North Idaho, the No. 2 seed Chargers knocked off top-seeded Kimberly 8-4 after crushing Gooding 13-2 to start the day. Cole Valley will face the Kimberly-Preston winner at 11:15 a.m. Saturday needing just one win to claim a state title.
The Chargers had 13 hits to match their run total against Gooding, with 3-for-3 showings from shortstop Lauren Colson and second baseman Abbie English. Cole Valley had a 10-run third inning that featured four doubles, and pitcher Addy Herrera enjoyed a stress-free outing, allowing just two hits and three walks while striking out four.
English was the offensive star again vs. Kimberly, getting three more hits and driving in four runs as the Chargers overcame a 4-1 deficit. Herrera pitched again and struck out seven. Three of English’s RBIs came in the final two innings.
WEISER GOES 1-1: A frantic final two innings saw Weiser go from holding a 4-2 lead to hanging on by a thread to score a 9-8 win over Marsh Valley in the losers’ bracket, but the Wolverines then fell 6-5 to Gooding to end their season.
A three-run sixth inning gave Marsh Valley a 5-4 lead in the first game, but Weiser responded with five runs, including a single from first baseman Ellie Shirts to knock in two. Shirts was a game-best 4-for-5 at the plate, including a pair of doubles. Weiser pitcher Madi Janicek forced a flyout to end the game after Marsh Valley rallied in the final inning.
The Wolverines’ turn to rally came in their second game, when they trailed Gooding 6-1 heading into the sixth inning but put together a comeback that featured a bases-clearing triple from right fielder Ali Sorensen. The potential game-tying run for Weiser in the final inning could not advance past first base.
SUGAR-SALEM 19, FRUITLAND 9: The Grizzlies led 5-3 before things really got away from them, with Sugar-Salem stringing together a 13-run third inning that featured three Fruitland errors and ended its season.
IDAHO 3A STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
THE NAMPA CHRISTIAN MACHINE: Through three victories, top-seeded Nampa Christian has outscored opponents 52-1 — with No. 5 seed Wendell getting the prize of scoring in an 11-1 loss Friday. The Trojans followed that up with a 20-0 wipeout of No. 2 seed Parma.
The Trojans scored four runs in the first inning, one apiece in the third and fourth, and five in the bottom of the fifth to get the mercy-rule win over Wendell. Catcher Addison Gray opened the scoring with a two-run homer before adding a double and a sacrifice fly later in the game, and second baseman Quenna Hartley tied Gray with a game-high three RBIs.
The win over Parma took just five innings. The Trojans had three players record three hits apiece, including Peyton Shook, who recorded a team-high six RBIs. Nampa Christian caused most of its damage in an 11-run third inning that saw Hartley hit a three-run homer and Kaitlyn Kinzer smash a two-run shot.
PARMA 6, MALAD 3: Parma’s Nalani VanTuyl was swinging for the fences Friday morning, and it ended up being the difference as three of the Panthers’ six runs came off two VanTuyl homers.
VanTuyl scored the first runs of the game with a two-run line-drive homer on Parma’s second at-bat of the game. She then cracked open a 3-3 deadlock with a solo home run in the fifth inning. Pitcher Wesli Crockett took care of business with 11 strikeouts while allowing just one earned run.
IDAHO 2A STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
Glenns Ferry went a perfect 4-for-4 to win the 2A state title on Friday. The Pilots won all three of their games on Thursday, then defeated Potlatch 9-6 in Friday’s title game. Glenns Ferry had already defeated Potlatch 3-2 in the semifinals, meaning just one game was needed to decide the title. First baseman Natalie Hernandez had three RBIs in the title game, while pitcher Charlee Stewart struck out nine.
This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 10:15 PM.
