Shaffer pitches Trojans into semifinal round

BOISE – The Post Falls High baseball team entered the first round of the 4A state tournament Thursday night with a sophomore on the mound and zero state wins in school history.

And for one inning, it showed.

Then left-hander Michael Shaffer settled down and pitched six gutsy, shutout innings as his pitch count rolled up to the 140 range, and the Trojans squeezed four runs out of three hits.

The result was a 4-3 victory over Madison, and a spot opposite Caldwell in tonight’s semifinals at Bishop Kelly High. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. PDT.

“We battled all the way,” Post Falls coach Mick Zeller said. “I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”

Even before the first-round game was over, the Trojans were in a pinch for round two. Ace pitcher Brandon Haas, who was expected to pitch tonight, was drilled in the face by a throw from Madison catcher Rhett Rasmussen as Haas scored on a passed ball.

Haas left the game with blood gushing from his nose, and he was taken for X-rays, Zeller said. Haas won’t play until at least Saturday, Zeller said.

The coaching staff planned to meet Thursday night to decide on a pitching plan for tonight.

Shaffer, a sophomore, threw 46 pitches in the first inning. He walked four of nine batters and allowed two singles – one a bunt – before using a pair of strikeouts to escape down 3-0.

“First state game,” Shaffer said. “Of course I was nervous, because I’m a sophomore and I’ve never pitched in something like that before.”

He changed the momentum with an RBI double in the top of the second inning that gave the Trojans some confidence, and pitched out of another jam in the bottom of the inning.

Haas singled home Bobby Kuber in the top of the third and scored the tying run just before he got hit.

In fact, Shaffer plunked Rasmussen with two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the third to send a message.

Rasmussen, who seemed rattled all night after hitting Haas, made a base-running mistake later in the inning that cost the Bobcats a run.

In other first-round action, Bishop Kelly beat Hillcrest 11-1 in five innings, Caldwell blasted Pocatello 16-5 in six and Minico blanked Moscow 10-0 in five. Bishop Kelly faces Minico in the early semifinal today.