Viks dodge rain, win with small ball

Small ball, quality pitching and defense are the cornerstones of fastpitch softball. Inclement weather is the scourge.

For Coeur d’Alene High, there was an abundance of all the above Friday at the State 5A Tournament.

The Vikings killed time during a morning rain delay watching movies, then thumped Mountain View 6-1 during a break in the weather at Ramsey Park. They returned to the field Friday night to learn their showdown with Timberline had been rescheduled for 9 this morning at CdA High. The winner will advance to the championship game at 1 p.m.

In other words, the Vikings are still on track, even if the game schedule isn’t.

“That was playing more like a championship team,” said coach Larry Bieber, who wasn’t satisfied with CdA’s intensity in a 3-1 win over Idaho Falls in Thursday’s opener.

A dedicated effort by the grounds crew and roughly 70 bags of drying compound allowed five of eight scheduled games to be completed. The Borah-Twin Falls loser-out contest was washed out with Borah leading 1-0 in the fourth. That game will resume this morning at 8 at Ramsey Park.

The Borah-Twin Falls winner will face Meridian, which eliminated Mountain View 7-4, at approximately 9 a.m. at Ramsey Park. That winner faces the CdA-Timberline loser at approximately 11 a.m. at CdA High, where the remainder of the tourney will unfold.

Five teams have title aspirations, but only Coeur d’Alene (21-6) and Timberline (26-3) are unbeaten. Idaho Falls (18-11), Eagle (16-12) and Mountain View (14-18) were eliminated.

CdA 6, Mountain View 1

Game time was pushed back three hours by overnight rains, so the Vikings spent the morning watching videos and relaxing.

“We watched some movies, ate a bunch of food,” said sophomore Jenna DeLong. “Chick flicks – all sappy and we’re crying. It was awesome.”

Vikings hitters didn’t get off to an awesome start against crafty senior pitcher Marcela Anderson, so they chose a different strategy in the fourth inning: Small ball.

Brianna Robson beat out a bunt for a lead-off single and Lindsey Stark’s bunt eluded charging third baseman Mary Hoell. Hoell then misplayed Samantha Ritzheimer’s bunt, leaving the bases loaded.

“We small-balled them right there,” Bieber said. “We’ve been getting that all year.”

Small ball took a brief intermission as DeLong lined an 0-2 pitch to center to deliver two runs. Two more bunts, one resulting in another Mavericks’ error, pushed CdA’s lead to 4-1.

“I widened my stance and choked up a little bit and then I was thinking just make contact,” DeLong said. “It was way out of the strike zone so I hit it like a 1-iron.”

Mountain View managed only three hits against DeLong, who was backed by solid defense. Heather Helmhout, who hasn’t pitched since early in the season because of a shoulder injury, worked a 1-2-3 seventh.

“It was great to see her out there again,” Bieber said of Helmout, who trotted home with CdA’s final run in the sixth after Kylie Chandler’s double to left.

The Mavericks are coached by Judy Crandell, who had been a thorn in Bieber’s side. Crandell guided Eagle to the last three state championships with the Vikings settling for second place.

In other games, Timberline’s Mandy Klein notched her second win of the tournament and 19th of the season with a three-hitter against Twin Falls (25-4). Stacey Rose drove in two runs and Jenny Duncan had two hits and scored twice.

Heather Dixon celebrated her birthday by pitching a perfect game and swatting her 11th home run of the season in Borah’s 3-0 win over Idaho Falls. Dixon improved to 21-3 for the Lions (24-5).

Meridian bounced Eagle 1-0 as Teri Shigeno tripled and scored the lone run in the first inning. Chelsea Pinkley tossed a four-hit shutout. The Warriors (15-12) followed that with a 7-4 victory over Mountain View.