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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Vikings repeat history, finish second yet again

Coeur d’Alene High softball coach Larry Bieber took the microphone and gave a speech that’s he’s pretty much memorized by now.

“This is getting old,” Bieber told the crowd Saturday after the Vikings accepted the second-place trophy for the fourth straight year and the fifth time in six years at the State 5A Tournament. “It’s disappointing taking second place, but I’m not disappointed in these girls. They’re a great bunch of girls.”

The Vikings took two shots at Timberline, but couldn’t solve left-handed pitcher Mandy Klein in a 3-0 loss, then fell short 4-3 in a nine-inning thriller at CdA High. In between, the Vikings eliminated Borah 3-0 on a gutsy no-hitter by Heather Helmhout, who pitched in considerable pain from a season-long shoulder ailment.

“Four years of second place,” said Sammy Ritzheimer, CdA’s only senior. “It was a heartbreaker.”

Timberline (28-3), which has five seniors in its starting lineup, claimed its first state title after placing third the last two years. The Vikings (22-8) return nine juniors and three sophomores, facts not lost on Bieber.

“Congratulations, Timberline,” he said in his closing remarks. “We’ll see you next year.”

Borah (26-6), which eliminated Twin Falls 2-0 and Meridian 9-2, finished third. Meridian (15-13) took fourth.

Timberline 4, Coeur d’Alene 3 (9)

The Wolves capped a 4-0 run through the tournament with superior execution in the extra-innings tiebreaker, where each team starts its at bat with a runner at second base.

Both teams scored once in the eighth inning.

In the ninth, Ritzheimer fielded Katie Duncan’s bunt, but her throw to first sailed wide, allowing Laura Welch to score. Klein’s bunt moved Duncan to third and Kristen Clovis, who previously stroked two doubles into the left-center gap, smoked a double down the line to plate Duncan.

“When we get into that tiebreaker, that (two runs) is what we’re shooting for,” Timberline coach Annie Schmidt said.

CdA nearly answered in the bottom of the ninth. Ritzheimer’s single drove in Brianna Robson and Jenna DeLong followed a base hit off Klein’s glove. Klein fanned Helmhout and threw out Jordan Corbey on a come-backer to end it.

“If not for a couple of mistakes we’d still be playing,” Bieber said. “We always talk about the first person flinching (in tiebreakers). But we showed a lot of character and we were knocking on the door in the ninth.”

The Vikings didn’t knock too often against Klein, who was backed by a defense that didn’t make an error in two wins over CdA on Saturday. Klein left Robson stranded at second base in the first and third base in the sixth.

Coeur d’Alene, which needed a win to force the if-necessary title game, countered with Jenna DeLong, who worked the first three innings before Bieber summoned Helmhout with two on and two out in the fourth. Helmhout got out of that jam and another in seventh by enticing a flyout.

“The last couple innings it was hard to focus,” Helmhout said. “I was just trying to give everything I had.”

Coeur d’Alene 3, Borah 0

Helmhout earned revenge against Borah and the Vikings earned a rematch with Timberline. Helmhout pitched one inning on Friday – her first since getting rocked by Borah on March 26. A physical therapist helped soothe some of the aches in her troublesome shoulder Saturday morning.

Without her best velocity, she relied on location and movement to silence the Lions. Helmhout had a perfect game with two outs in the seventh before walking Heather Dixon on a 3-2 pitch that hung tantalizingly off the outside corner. Helmhout closed out the no-hitter by retiring Allison Green on a soft liner.

“An amazing performance,” Bieber said.

The Vikings broke a scoreless tie in the sixth on Lindsey Stark’s clutch two-run double to left-center.

Timberline 3, Coeur d’Alene 0

If the Vikings had been using wood bats, a bunch of ‘em would have been in splinters. Klein’s late-breaking pitches continually tied up CdA hitters on the inner half of the plate.

The result was a stream of fisted grounders and quick innings.

“My ball has a funny spin on it,” said Klein, who will attend Boise State on a volleyball scholarship. “They’re good hitters so I didn’t want to leave the ball over the middle.”

Timberline took advantage of a costly dropped pop fly – one of three Viking errors – to score twice in the second. Clovis, batting No. 8 in the order, ripped a two-run double.

CdA’s best scoring opportunity came in the seventh. Robson and Stark had back-to-back singles, but Klein enticed two groundouts to end the threat.