District champ Timberlake, Lakeland off to state

Some dreams came true and others were dashed Saturday in the 3A District I softball tournament at Timberlake High in Spirit Lake.

The host Tigers and Lakeland earned berths in the state tournament beginning Thursday at Ramsey Park in Coeur d’Alene. Priest River and St. Maries saw their seasons come to an end.

Timberlake (18-9) took the short route to state, rallying late in the day’s first game to beat St. Maries 6-4 and earn its second straight district championship and third in five years.

Top seed Lakeland (22-4) needed two wins and got them, eliminating No. 2 Priest River 2-0 before ousting the No. 4 Lumberjacks 10-0 in five innings. The latter victory achieved a measure of revenge for the Hawks, who were upset by St. Maries 6-5 in extra innings Friday.

The Tigers open state competition Thursday against Fruitland, a play-in game winner from District III. Lakeland takes on the Diggers of Sugar-Salem, champions of District VI. Both games are scheduled for 3 p.m. starts.

Timberlake 6, St. Maries 4

The Lumberjacks took the lead, getting two runs in the third and two more in the fifth on Chrissy Noyes’ two-run single to take a 4-0 lead.

St. Maries starter Betsy Bentcik was excellent early on, putting out fires in both the third and fourth innings.

But things changed in the fifth when Tigers Amber Wells and Melissa Piephoff led off with back-to-back singles. Jenna Schue followed with a shot to left that scored Wells and Piephoff. Three batters later, Jenny Durrin delivered a hard ground-ball double down the left-field line to score Schue.

In the sixth, Bentcik was relieved by Kristi Smith after giving up a leadoff walk to Katrina Galloway. Smith didn’t fare much better, giving up five hits to the first six batters including the game-tying RBI single by Wells and two-run single by Shanda Masterson.

“This win means a lot to us – we came back from some tough times,” said Schue, who went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs for Timberlake. “I’ve been in a slump lately, so I’m pretty proud of myself.

“I just got mad up at the plate and started hitting the ball.”

Tigers coach Mike Menti said the game was a perfect example of the box-of-chocolates nature of the Intermountain League.

“That’s the parity of our league right now – you have the third- and fourth-place teams playing for the championship,” Menti said. “And it was a great game all the way down to the end.

“You can’t credit St. Maries enough; they’re a battling team and we just ended up executing in the end.”

Solom led the way at the plate for the ‘Jacks, going 3 for 4 with a RBI. Smith and Eisses were both 2 for 4 with two runs scored.

Lakeland 2, Priest River 0

Senior Jessie LaPlante, named the IML MVP Saturday was the story of the game.

The Hawks ace mixed searing fastballs and wicked change-ups, striking out 10 and allowing just two hits – both with two out in the seventh inning. Up to that point, the Spartans managed just one base runner on a hit-batsman in the third.

LaPlante and Melissa Frank knocked in the game’s only runs for Lakeland.

Senior first-baseman Ashley Sturgill had the only hard-hit ball of the game for Priest River, which finished the year at 13-9.

Spartans coach John Mullaley said he couldn’t be prouder of his team, which delivered the first softball trophy in school history.

“It’s tough to see all these seniors leaving,” said Mullaley, whose IML runner-up team graduates seven next month. “They stepped up this year and helped out all the underclassmen more than I could have asked for.

“I’m really, really proud of these guys – they’ve done an exceptional job the entire year.”

Lakeland 10, St. Maries 0

Rarely has the never-know-what-you’re-gonna-get nature of the IML been so apparent as is was with the Lumberjacks in this tournament.

St. Maries was leading 4-0 Timberlake and just two innings away from the district title, then a few hours later it was getting 10-runned by the Hawks and facing what must have been one of the longest bus rides ever.

LaPlante was again dominant, striking out 11 and allowing just two hits while leading the way offensively, scoring twice and knocking in two runs while going 2 for 3.

The Hawks did most of their damage in the second, sending 10 batters to the plate and capitalizing on five hits and five wild pitches.

Sophomore Mallory Twidt, who also went 2 for 3 for Lakeland, summed up the tournament for her Hawks.

“It shows a lot of character from our team,” Twidt said. “To come back from a loss and 10-run the team that beat us.

“I’d say it’s pretty cool.”

First-year St. Maries coach Cory Stapleton looked at the events not as much as an ending, but more a beginning.

“I can be proud of these girls here,” an emotional Stapleton said after the game. “It was kind of an up-and-down, rocky season, but I can be proud.

“We were a couple of plays away from being the first seed to state, and that’s something to build on. . . . I think our program is on the upswing.”

St. Maries finishes 14-14.

All-IML Team

MVP: Jesse LaPlante, Lakeland

Pitcher: Kristin Yount, Priest River

Catcher: Brittney Birsette, Timberlake

Infield: Melissa Piephoff, Timberlake; Jodee Jahnsen, Lakeland; Ashley Sturgill, Priest River; Rachelle Solom, St. Maries

Outfield: Kala Allred, Timberlake; Julieann Turbak, Kellogg; Erika Lehman, St. Maries

Utility: Aimee Fitting and Mallory Twidt, Lakeland

5A

For a second straight year, the Lake City High softball team fell short in a bid for a state berth.

Ashley Barr hit a two-out single to drive in the eventual winning run in the seventh inning as Meridian held off Lake City, 4-3, in a 5A state play-in game at Lewiston.

Lake City (18-10) pulled within 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh on a double by Amy Adams. She advanced to third on a sacrifice fly, but was stranded there to end the game.

Meridian (17-12) advances to state, which will be held Thursday through Saturday at Pocatello.

In state openers, Region I champ Coeur d’Alene (25-0) will take on District III third-place finisher Borah (22-5), while District III champ Timberline (23-4) meets Idaho Falls (22-5), Twin Falls takes on Meridian and defending state champ Eagle (22-3) meets Highland.

4A

Post Falls earned its first state berth, topping Mountain Home 4-1 in a 4A state play-in game at Lewiston.

The Trojans (11-15) got a run in the second on a single by Felicia McAlpin. She added an RBI groundout in the fourth. Pitcher Katie Ness fired a four-hitter, striking out seven with no walks.

Post Falls advances to state, which will be held at Blackfoot High School beginning Thursday. The Trojans will take on District VI champ Madison. In other openers, Region I champ Moscow (6-22) meets Caldwell (18-8), Century goes against Blackfoot and Emmett takes on Bonneville.