Idaho state baseball: Homedale’s rubber-match win over Fruitland delivers title
It came down to a battle of Snake River Valley Conference rivals to settle the 4A state championship Saturday.
And it came down to the if-necessary round after Fruitland beat Homedale 14-4 to force the final game.
The third meeting between those teams went Homedale’s way, with the Trojans scoring a 6-4 win for the championship. The teams met three times in two days at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, with Homedale winning two — and the most important one.
Here’s how Treasure Valley teams fared Saturday outside the 6A tourney.
IDAHO 5A STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
SKYVIEW FALLS SHORT: Sandpoint and Skyview put on offensive shows in the state tournament this week, including in the championship round Saturday. The Hawks fought their way to the final out of the losers’ bracket but couldn’t overcome the Bulldogs, losing 18-13 in a game that featured 23 hits.
That came a day after Sandpoint scored a 16-14 victory to send Skyview to elimination games.
The state title was the Bulldogs’ first since 2006, and a seven-run fifth inning ultimately provided the difference. A back-and-forth game saw the two teams tied 8-8. After Skyview took a 10-8 lead, Sandpoint blew the game open. The Hawks battled to within 15-13 but got no closer.
Skyview had only seven of the 23 hits in the championship game. Left fielder Elijah Strong led the Hawks with two hits, including a single in the second inning that scored two runs.
IDAHO 4A STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
HOMEDALE RALLIES LATE TO CLAIM TITLE: For a short while on Saturday, it looked like Fruitland might complete a title-winning comeback from the losers’ bracket, having been sent there by Homedale in a 6-3 game Friday.
The Grizzlies beat Marsh Valley 11-1 early Saturday to earn the rematch with Homedale, and came out with bats ablaze vs. the Trojans, scoring seven runs in the first inning en route to a 14-4 victory that forced the if-necessary game in the double-elimination tourney.
Fruitland led for the back half of the game thanks to a three-run fourth inning. Trailing 3-1, designated hitter Cameron McKinney came up with a two-run double that made it 3-3. Shortstop Titus Vidlak reached on an error, allowing McKinney to score to make it 4-3.
The Grizzlies carried that lead into the seventh inning, when Homedale’s bats came alive in the top half. A pair of singles sandwiched a walk to load the bases, and a wild pitch allowed pitcher Boston Ivie to come home for a 4-4 tie.
The Trojans’ Lukas Hall singled one at-bat later to score the winning run, and third baseman Wylee Bidiman launched a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in an insurance run. Relief pitcher Bently Holland saw out the victory by going three up, three down for Homedale’s first state title since 1999.
IDAHO 3A STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
OROFINO 14, MALAD 0: The Orofino Maniacs shut out defending champs Malad on Saturday to claim their second title in three years. Pitcher Blake Barlow threw five scoreless innings.
IDAHO 2A STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
POTLATCH 10, KENDRICK 4: This year’s state championship featured a rematch of the 2025 title game. But this time around, Potlatch emerged as the victors. The Loggers put together an efficient performance, scoring in every inning but the first. Third baseman Connor Carpenter had three of Potlatch’s 10 hits in the game.
