Lewiston Takes Doubleheader In Double Figures

Prep baseball

The offensive strength of the Lewiston High baseball team has swung completely around since the beginning of the season.

“We started off not hitting,” Bengals coach Tom Grunenfelder said following his team’s 10-4, 10-6 Inland Empire victories over Lake City on Saturday. “The last few weeks, we’ve been putting 13 or 14 runs on the board. We’re a pretty confident team.”

The success of late, featuring seven wins in nine games, may be long overdue, considering a 2-7 start the Bengals (9-9 overall, 6-5 league) faced earlier in the season.

Lewiston’s most productive innings were the seventh and final ones of each game. The Bengals capitalized on four hits for two runs in the opener and used five hits to score four runs in the second game.

“They hit the snot out of the ball,” said LC coach Cory Bridges, whose team fell to 6-11, 3-5. “For a long time, we wanted our pitchers to throw strikes. Now, we have to focus on them throwing good strikes.”

Throwing strikes wasn’t a problem for either of Lewiston’s pitchers and it wasn’t that Lake City had trouble hitting the ball. Both Bengals pitchers went the distance and relied heavily on their defense.

Brad Harding finished with just two walks and one strikeout in the opener. Steve Storey struck out five and walked two in the second game.

“Toward the later innings, I made sure I mixed it up for the meat of their order,” Storey said. “Confidence is the main thing. It’s picked up over the last few games.”

According to Grunenfelder, the team’s offensive danger is mixed throughout.

Dustin Zager, the Bengals’ ninth batter, epitomized Grunenfelder’s statement, proving to be especially troublesome in the second game. Zager went 3 for 4 with a triple and scored all three times he reached base.

“If I have two leadoff hitters I bat one at No. 1 and one at No. 9,” Grunenfelder said. “(Zager) is a good leadoff hitter with good speed and he walks a lot.”

With two outs in the sixth inning in the second game, Zager kept the Bengals alive with an infield hit. LC shortstop Jake Lenz tripped over third baseman Tim Gittel and couldn’t attempt a throw to first base.

Zager, a sophomore, later scored on a fly-ball error and Derek Bruce’s single scored Nate Martin to pull the Bengals ahead 6-5.

“I’ve been ninth batter all year long,” Zager said. “I like it because I get mostly fastballs and not much junk. I like hitting up the middle and to the right side of the field.”

Up the middle was precisely where Zager sent his two-out triple over LC’s centerfielder in the seventh. The hit scored pinch-hitter Norman Marcell for an 8-5 lead in the second game.

Bruce’s 3 for 5 batting with three RBIs and a sacrifice fly led the Bengals in the opener.

In the second game, LC’s Sean Moglia was 3 for 4 with three doubles and an RBI.

“Right now, it’s a mental thing,” Bridges said. “We’ve got to learn how to win again. I think we’ve lost six in a row. We’re just not getting it done.”

Across town, meanwhile, league-leading Coeur d’Alene suffered its first hiccup.

Sandpoint handed the Vikings their first IEL loss, topping CdA 12-7 in the opener. The Viks rebounded for a split, 11-3.

Luke Radonich led Sandpoint (7-9, 4-6) with two hits in the opener, including a two-run homer. The Bulldogs also took advantage of 13 walks.

Pitcher Ryan Holland went the distance for the Viks (13-4, 10-1) in the second game as he scattered five hits. Kirk Gosch had a double and home run, Rob Crain had a two-run double as did Brad Ross to support Holland (3-0).

At Moscow, the Bears moved within a half-game of second-place Lewiston by sweeping Post Falls 7-0 and 10-0 in six innings.

The Bears (9-10, 6-6) received two pitching gems from Trent Baysinger and Adam Bush. Baysinger, who worked out of two bases-loaded, no-out jams in the first and second innings, struck out 16. Bush had 13 strikeouts.

Post Falls (7-10, 2-7) was held to two hits in both games.

In a key Intermountain League doubleheader at Rathdrum, Lakeland pulled within a half-game of first-place and idle Bonners Ferry as the Hawks swept St. Maries 18-1 in five innings and 7-2.

Lakeland (13-6, 6-3) jumped on the Lumberjacks (10-7, 4-4) for eight runs in the first inning of the opener, knocking usually tough St. Maries pitcher Trent Duffey out of the game after less than an inning. The Hawks sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning.

Lakeland, which had 18 hits in the game, put it away with seven more in the fifth.

The Hawks’ Bryan Phelps led off the game with a homer and had four RBIs. Chase Williams led with five RBIs.

In the second game, Hawks pitcher Mike Banks (4-0) struck out 12 and limited St. Maries to four hits. Taylor Skidmore led with three RBIs.

In another IML doubleheader at Spirit Lake, Timberlake swept Priest River 5-4 and 10-5.

The Tigers (10-5, 4-5) rallied in the opener, scoring the winning run with one out in the seventh inning on a single by Craig Craviotto.

Timberlake pitcher Adam Rouse threw a complete-game six-hitter with eight strikeouts.