LC tops CdA in key IEL game

Lake City’s 2-0 victory over Coeur d’Alene may have set up a showdown for the top seed in the upcoming 5A Region I softball tournament.

How’s it most likely going to be settled?

A coin toss, naturally.

The Timberwolves (8-2 IEL, 10-3 overall) did it the old-fashioned way Thursday – on the field – getting a big two-run single from senior catcher Alysha Krier and pulling even with the visiting Vikings (9-2, 10-6) atop the Inland Empire League standings.

Krier, who with runners on second and third knocked a pitch from CdA ace Jenna DeLong off the bottom of the center-field fence in the fourth inning, said it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

“She just missed her spot there – it should have been a rise ball or something,” Krier said. “I just saw it and I drove it to center field. It was a little flat and right down the middle.

“I couldn’t have picked a better pitch to hit, basically.”

And LC couldn’t have picked a better time to win, evening the season series with CdA with each team winning once on the other’s field and once at home.

“Going into districts, we needed something to pump us up, and this is it,” Krier said.

With only IEL also-ran Lewiston remaining on each team’s schedule, it seems a near-lock that LC and CdA will finish league play with two losses, leading to an co-IEL championship and coin flip to settle seeding.

So Thursday’s game loomed large, and DeLong (5-3) seemed in command early, holding the Timberwolves hitless with three strikeouts through the first three innings.

But in the fourth, Richelle Fenenbock led off with solid single between first and second. Kelli Bridges sacrificed her to second and Chantal Waide followed with a hard ground ball to the right of diving shortstop Lindsey Stark.

Sophomore cleanup hitter Amanda Krier – who has hit DeLong well in the past – then chopped one in front of the plate that DeLong was able to field and get the out at first, holding the runners and, seemingly, bottling up the potential rally.

That’s when, on the third pitch, the elder Krier delivered.

DeLong had a chance to help the proverbial cause in the sixth after Lela Work relieved LC starter Stephanie Saadoun (6-1). But with runners on second and third and one out hit a high chopper to Bridges at short, who leaped in the air to snag it and fired it home to cut off Brianna Robson trying to score from third.

Jessyca Le then popped one to Bridges ending the rally – and the Vikings’ chances.

“We just didn’t string anything together whatsoever,” CdA coach Larry Bieber said. “That sixth inning was the perfect setup – Lindsey moved ‘em over and I had Jenna there and she just didn’t get it.

“We had our chances to do it, but (LC) played a great game.”

• In other IEL action, Kayla VanDuine had three hits and scored three runs at the plate and struck out nine on the mound to lead Lakeland to a 7-2 win in the first half of a doubleheader at Sandpoint (2-14, 1-12). Alesia Butts had a three-run triple in the first inning to spark the Hawks (8-12, 6-10) to a 10-5 win in the nightcap. Lindsay Owens chipped in two RBIs.

•Intermountain League: Alicia Schanilec batted 3 for 4, hit two home runs and tallied three RBIs as Priest River (6-7, 4-4) charged to a six-inning 10-0 victory over visiting Kellogg in the first game of a doubleheader. Kellogg (3-6, 4-7) bounced back to win the late game 19-17 as Sam Pickering was 4 for 5 with two doubles, a triple and four RBIs.