Viks, Bengals split
Inland Empire League-leading Lewiston arrived at Coeur d’Alene with a comfortable lead atop the conference Tuesday afternoon.
Lewiston tiptoed out of Coeur d’Alene still possessing a comfortable lead even if the Bengals didn’t demonstrate dominance.
Coeur d’Alene rallied to knock off the Bengals 6-5 in eight innings in the opener before Lewiston salvaged a split with a 3-2 decision in the nightcap.
The Bengals moved to 14-2 overall and 9-2 in league. They hold a two-game lead over Lake City (11-5, 6-4), which split with Moscow in other IEL action Tuesday. CdA (9-6, 5-5) remained a game behind its crosstown rival.
The split gives Lewiston the head-to-head series with CdA, which was swept by the Bengals by 9-5 and 8-2 counts Saturday at Lewiston.
CdA visits LC on Thursday in a single game. The Timberwolves have won two of three against the Viks. So it shapes up as a key showdown. Lewiston plays host to Lakeland in a doubleheader on Thursday before returning to CdA on Saturday for a doubleheader against LC. The Bengals swept the T-Wolves 6-5 and 6-1 earlier.
In the opener at CdA, the Bengals led 4-2 when the Viks came up for their final swings in the seventh inning. Lewiston lefty Collin Gibbs struck out the first batter, but then allowed back-to-back walks. Travis Georgius and Andy Seaman followed with run-scoring singles to tie the score.
In the top of the eighth, Lewiston’s No. 9 batter, Clay Allen, put the Bengals back in front 5-4 with an RBI double. Bengals coach Tom Grunenfelder pulled Gibbs and brought in Demar Love, but he promptly hit the first two Vikings he faced. Jake Hall attempted to sacrifice his teammates ahead a base, but Love’s throw to first base was wide as CdA knotted the score at 5-5. Brock Douglas’ sacrifice fly plated Shea Vucinich with the winning run.
It was a pitchers’ duel in the second game despite the fact that the home-plate umpire’s strike zone had all the circumference of a thimble. Lewiston righty Rob Roth checked the Viks on three hits while striking out five and walking five.
Still, CdA, like the first game, had a chance in the seventh. After an unassisted groundout, Vinny Lupinacci got aboard on a deep infield single up the middle. Roth then hit Vucinich. But the Lewiston pitcher got a strikeout and a flyout to end the game.
“We wanted to get one today. I figured if we could come up and get one today and one Saturday we’ve got it,” Grunenfelder said of the league title and top seed to the regional tourney. “We did what we needed to do, but it kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you let one slip away taking a lead into the seventh.”
Overall, Grunenfelder thought his team lacked intensity in the doubleheader.
“We didn’t play very well,” Grunenfelder said. “We were real lethargic at the plate. And their pitchers did a nice job of mixing speeds and throwing strikes, and they played good defense. They didn’t do anything to hurt themselves. And we never got anything going.”
Grunenfelder chalked up his team’s flatness to not playing on the road in nearly a month.
CdA coach Brian Holgate, who called his team’s play ‘stupid’ at Lewiston on Friday, thought the Viks responded Tuesday.
“I was pleased with the effort of our guys. We bounced back after losing a couple of tough ones down there,” Holgate said. “It was two well-played games. If we’d played like that down there (Lewiston), it probably would have been different results.”
•In other IEL action, Moscow’s (6-9, 6-7) first seven runs were unearned as the Bears rolled to a 9-3 win in the first half of a doubleheader at Lake City (11-5, 6-4).
Alex Capaul batted 4 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored to lead Lake City to an 8-1 win in the nightcap. Trent Bridges went 3 for 3 with two runs scored, and Zack Roan added three hits, two RBIs and two runs for the Bears.