Cda Peaks At Right Time For Tourney

State baseball

The pressure is off now for first-year Coeur d’Alene High baseball coach Paul Mather.

A month ago, it appeared reaching the State A-1 Tournament would be nothing but a dream for CdA.

The Vikings were struggling in two of the three areas vital to success: they were booting routine ground balls and couldn’t get a clutch hit with runners in scoring position. In fact, they weren’t getting many hits, period.

If CdA had done anything under former coach Ted Page, it had made a habit of qualifying for the state tournament. But no CdA team won a state title in Page’s 20-year stint at CdA.

Mather has worked under more pressure this spring than most rookie coaches usually endure. He didn’t get a unanimous endorsement from the school board when he was recommended as Page’s replacement last year.

So there have been a few curious eyes following the Viks this season.

After CdA defeated Lewiston 6-1 in the Region I championship game Saturday, Mather isn’t likely to feel the stares from the distance.

“There are people out there that don’t know me,” Mather said. “The kids obviously know me and believe in what we’re trying to do. The people that made the decision to hire me made the right decision. It’s nice to be able to say that those that believed in me have been justified.”

Now Mather has an opportunity to put some distance between himself and Page’s program this week. He’s also facing an opportunity to more than justify his hiring.

There are teams headed to state with more impressive records than CdA (14-11 overall), but the Viks travel south as one of the hottest teams in the tournament.

CdA meets Centennial (14-13) at 6:30 PDT tonight at Simplot Stadium in Caldwell. In an earlier opener at Caldwell, Hillcrest (22-2) meets Mountain Home (9-16).

In two games at Rodeo Park in Nampa, Lewiston (21-6) takes on Minico (21-6) and heavily favored and defending state champion Boise (23-3) meets Idaho Falls (11-13).

An interesting tidbit about the Boise-IF game: The teams are coached by former CdA High standouts - Larry Price of Boise and John Bridges of Idaho Falls. Bridges is the youngest brother of Lake City coach Cory Bridges.

“There’s not much to say except we’re peaking at the right time,” Mather said. “They believed what we said at the start of the season, that if we worked hard things would come together.”

Pitching usually plays a pivotal role in the crowning of a state champion, and Mather will match his top three starters against any in the state.

Mather sends left-handed senior ace Jeff Anstine (6-2, 2.19 ERA) to the mound for tonight’s opener. On Friday, Mather will go with right-handed sophomore Mark Scates, who pitched splendidly in the Viks’ regional title victory.

If the Viks advance to play Saturday, junior right-hander Jesse Hoorelbeke will start. The state title game is Saturday at Hawks Stadium in Boise (6 p.m.).

“We want to win a state championship,” Mather said. “It may take some time. If we don’t get there this year, we’re coming. It’s going to happen for us. We know we’re going to play some good ball clubs, but we’re going to compete and play well.”

CdA may face a team that appears to be a mirror image of itself in Centennial. The Patriots are playing their best ball now and will send 6-foot-3 Eric Booth against the Viks. Booth is a hard-throwing right-hander who is being recruited by Gonzaga. He’s also one of the Pats’ top hitters.

“I think we’re pretty good, especially right now,” Centennial coach Frank Wright said.

State A-3 Tournament

Wallace makes its fifth straight trip to a state tourney and fourth straight to the A-3.

The tournament, held at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Ore., begins today.

Wallace (16-3 overall) will play in the final game tonight when it takes on District VI champion Firth (16-6) at 5:30 PDT.

In the other openers, Wendell (22-2) takes on Marsing (8-15); Homedale (12-5) meets Prairie (10-8); and Kendrick (15-4) goes against Nampa Christian (16-3).

Homedale, runner-up last year, returns six starters off last year’s team and is considered a pre-tourney favorite.

But Wallace coach Bob Schreiber considers his team a contender for the state title - if not this year, then certainly next year.

“We’re going down to win it,” said Schreiber, who has just two seniors on his state-experienced team. “We should do well if we continue to play good defense and hit the ball the way we’ve been hitting it.”