Lake City baseball earns split with Lewiston

The Lake City High baseball team handed Lewiston its first Inland Empire League loss Saturday afternoon.

The visiting Bengals managed to stay atop the conference and keep some separation from their pursuers, though, by salvaging a split.

Behind a one-hitter from pitcher Alex Capaul, Lake City prevailed 1-0 in the opener before Lewiston rallied for a 4-2 victory in a doubleheader played amidst a steady rain.

The Timberwolves were three outs away from sending the Bengals home on the short end of a pair of 1-0 decisions.

“We were in position to get a sweep and that would have really boosted our position because we haven’t played extremely well,” LC coach Cory Bridges said. “That would have done a lot for our confidence …. As it turns out we’re back there kissing our sister with a split.”

Lewiston moved to 11-2 overall and 9-1 in league. LC is third among the four 5A teams at 7-5 and 3-4. Coeur d’Alene (12-2, 6-2) and Post Falls (6-8, 3-5) were idle Saturday. Lewiston swept CdA on Tuesday and CdA topped PF in a single game Friday after PF split with LC on Wednesday in a busy week of league play.

“I’m elated to get out of here with a win the way we were at the plate,” Lewiston coach Tom Grunenfelder said. “Their pitchers had a lot to do with that and the weather probably had a little bit to do with that, too. At one point (in the second game) I was thinking to myself, ‘How can you give two runs up on the day and get swept in a doubleheader?’ That’s the way it was looking there for a while.”

LC pitcher Zach Clanton allowed just two hits through the first five innings of the second game. In the sixth, Lewiston loaded the bases with no outs thanks to a single, a walk and a sacrifice bunt that hugged the third-base foul line before dying in fair territory for a hit. But Clanton worked out of the jam, getting the next batter to ground into a fielder’s choice to third baseman Mike Collins, who threw to catcher Tobin Broesch for the force, and striking out the next two batters.

Clanton didn’t have the same fortune in the seventh, though. After Lewiston loaded the bases again, this time with one out, Clanton issued back-to-back walks to allow the tying and go-ahead runs to score. Then Matt Martin lined a two-run double over the first-base bag.

After Lewiston left-handed starter Brett Harris yielded a walk and a run-scoring double to Chris Combo in the bottom of the inning, Grunenfelder brought in lefty Josh Richardson. He got back-to-back T-Wolves to strike out weakly on changeups before a groundout allowed Lewiston to return home with a split.

“Having a little bit of a cushion coming in here today, two losses up here would have evened things up a little bit,” Grunenfelder said. “But we still give ourselves a little separation by getting (the second game). It was big.”

Capaul, who threw a no-hitter last year, was two outs away from a second one. But Lewiston’s top hitter, John Rohde, lifted a changeup on a 1-2 count to short right-center.

Perhaps rattled after seeing his no-hit bid erased, Capaul inadvertently hit the next batter, Matt Blankenship, in the helmet with a fastball that got away. After a brief visit from Bridges, Capaul got Tim Kerr to ground into a game-ending double play.

“I just left a changeup over the middle of the plate,” said Capaul, who explained he should have thrown a curveball. “Right when he hit it, I knew it. I was a little upset, what can you do, but we still won the game.”

Grunenfelder praised the pitchers in both games, but he thought Capaul was especially effective.

“I didn’t think he had the zip on his fastball that he normally has, but he located really well,” Grunenfelder said.