Lake City barges into 5A title picture
Winning has a way of developing poise.
Case in point is the Lake City High baseball team. If any team is riding a wave of confidence heading into the State 5A tournament today, it’s Lake City.
The Timberwolves (19-6) have won 10 straight. Included in that stretch were three victories over defending state champion Lewiston – all at Lewiston and punctuated by a 9-2 victory in the Region I championship game.
LC will take on Caldwell (12-15), the District III fourth-place finisher, in the tourney nightcap at 6:15 at Borah High School in Boise. Lewiston will have a chance to defend as the Bengals captured a berth with a come-from-behind 7-6 win over Centennial last Saturday. Lewiston (23-5) meets District IV-V-VI champ Twin Falls (19-6) at 9 a.m. in a rematch of last year’s state final.
“They’re very confident about how they’re doing things right now,” LC coach Cory Bridges said. “What I like is they’re not getting too high or too low. They’re just getting things done. After we won the regional title, they didn’t show a lot of emotion – like they expected it. That is a neat quality.”
LC is making its first trip to state since 2004. That year, the T-Wolves lost to Timberline 7-6 in the title game.
The T-Wolves have a link to the 2004 team. Right-handed senior pitcher Alex Capaul (6-1) was a starter on the team. He played mostly first base and designated hitter.
Bridges has talked all season about how his team has played a lot of baseball and won a lot of games over the years. Capaul, the lone senior who starts, was on the 2000 Coeur d’Alene Little League team that won a state title and played in the Northwest Regional in San Bernardino, Calif. Six juniors – Bridges’ son, Trent (shortstop), Tucker Anderson (pitcher/left fielder), Chris Combo (infielder/pitcher), Nick Combo (infielder), Zach Clanton (pitcher/outfielder) and Michael Korczyk (infielder) – were on the 2002 Coeur d’Alene LL team that won a state title and advanced to the semis in San Bernardino, the best finish of any CdA team.
So with the bulk of his team back next year, one can’t fault Bridges for being excited about the future.
“I’m excited about the fact that they’re young,” Bridges said. “But I think we have a chance to win it all this year. If we swing the bat like we’re capable of, we can win it.”
Bridges won’t get any argument out of Lewiston coach Tom Grunenfelder.
“They’ve played very well against us. They beat us four times and we’ve got just five losses,” Grunenfelder said. “They pitch real well and they hit the ball real well. They should have a lot of confidence. They remind me of the team they had four years ago that we couldn’t beat, and they had a chance to win it all. They’ve got a legitimate chance to win it.”