Relaxation Key To Lakeland’s 11-4 Victory R&R; Strategy Works Well For Hawks In Easy Non-League Victory Over Cda

After easily defeating Coeur d’Alene 11-4 in a non-league high school baseball game Thursday, Lakeland coach Ken Busch felt that the relaxed play of his team was the key to victory.

Vikings head coach Brian Holgate felt his team was a little too relaxed.

“I guess we decided to take the day off,” Holgate said. “I don’t know what we thought we were doing out there.”

Holgate knew one thing the Vikings weren’t doing, and that was playing defense. Coeur d’Alene committed nine errors in the game - five of which came in Lakeland’s decisive six-run second inning that featured a towering three-run homer by Kurt Reese.

“Our bats are starting to come alive and it’s about time,” Reese said.

Reese reached base three times, and more importantly, gave his arm a day of rest while playing catcher. The other half of the Hawks’ talented pitching duo, Ryan Banks, also got the day off because Derek Felton pitched a complete game in his first start of the year.

Felton, who was called up from the junior varsity, kept the Vikings batters at bay with a variety of breaking pitches. He could provide Lakeland with a much-needed third starter later in the season.

“I can’t stress how much Derek helped us today,” Busch said. “We needed to let the two aces rest, and since this was non-league we gave him the start.”

Coeur d’Alene’s starter, Seth Alderman (1-2) didn’t pitch poorly but was hurt by defensive lapses. Alderman allowed just four earned runs, but by the time he left in the fourth inning the Hawks were up 8-4. Lakeland, which did not have a home run coming into the game, hit three.

Holgate said his Vikings (8-4 overall) might have got caught looking ahead to a pair of Inland Empire League doubleheaders this weekend.

“We’ve played well lately, but today we seemed to have other things on our mind,” Holgate said.

Coeur d’Alene catcher Andy Gore paced the Vikings with a single and a double, but Felton stranded him at third in the bottom of the second when the Vikings were threatening to come back. After the Vikings pulled within 7-4 in the third inning, Felton shut them out for the rest of the game.

Busch said Lakeland (10-2) is playing solidly. The Hawks appear to be playing as well as last season when they claimed the A-2 state championship.

“Our spirits are up right now and we’re playing very relaxed and confident,” Busch said.

Lakeland 11, Coeur d’Alene 4

Lakeland 160 202 0 - 11 10 1

Coeur d’Alene 013 000 0 - 4 7 9

Felton and Reese. Alderman, Ross (4), Rook (7) and Gore. W-Felton (1-0). L- Alderman (1-2). HR- Reese, Dershem, Rothrock.

St. Maries 21-4, Freeman 5-20

At St. Maries, Lane Watkins had 10 RBIs, finishing 4 for 4 including a grand slam, as the Lumberjacks beat the Scotties in the completion of a non-leaguer postponed by darkness April 2 at Freeman.

In the scheduled game, Josh Sheffield homered and had five RBIs, and Matt and Chris Miller added four RBIs apiece to guide the Scotties.

St. Maries 114 510 - 21 15 2

Freeman 300 20 - 5 6 2

Eberlin, Hanson (4), Willard (5) and Holdahl, Sindt (4), Eberlin (5); White, Harper (1), Beeler (2), Sheffield (3), Odle (4), Ryan (5) and Sheffield, Wyngher (4). W-Eberlin (2-1), L-White. HITS: St. Maries- Watkins 4, Duffey 3, Lounsbury 3, Eberlin 2, Bierman, Marchese, Holdohl. Freeman- White 2, Beeler 2, Miller, Padden. 2B- Duffy, Eberlin, Watkins, Beeler, Padden. HR- Watkins (2).

Freeman 057 17 - 20 12 3

St. Maries 000 31 - 4 1 5

Sheffield, White (4) and Olsen, Sheffield (4); P.Eberlin, Peters(2), Smith (3), Bierman (4), Lounsbury (5) and D.Eberlin, Sindt (4). W-Sheffield. L-Eberlin (0-1).

HITS: Freeman-M.Miller 3, Sheffield 3, C.Miller 2, White 2, Beeler, Padden. St. Maries Holdahl. 2B-M.Miller. HR-Sheffield, Beeler.

Priest River 9, Newport 8

Adam Hester scored on an outfield error to tie the game in the seventh, and the Spartans pushed across the winning run to beat the Grizzlies.

Newport 001 051 3 - 8 7 5

PR 115 000 2 - 9 7 1

Bacon, Opp (3), Matney (5), Pettit (6) and Kenobbie; Kawamoto, Mason (6), Hester (7) and Nelson. W-Hester. L-Pettit (2-4). HITS: Newport-Frandrup 2, M.Perry 2, McNair 2, Q.Perry. Priest River-Connolly 2, Johnson, Hester, Rogers, Nelson, Ivie. 2B-Frandrup, Q.Perry. 3B-M.Perry. HR-M.Perry.