Prep roundup: Vikings open state with win
Devon Austin went 3 for 3 with three runs batted in Thursday as Coeur d’Alene opened the 5A State baseball tournament at Hawks Memorial Stadium in Boise with a 5-3 win over Capital (15-13).
Drew Turbin tripled and scored three runs, and Colin Comack pitched five sharp innings and drove in a run for the Vikings (22-9).
CdA will meet Centennial (19-9) at 6:15 (PDT) tonight in the semifinals.
Earlier, Rocky Mountain (20-8) beat Lewiston 6-0. The Bengals (24-3) will meet Madison (7-17) at 9 a.m. today in a consolation.
•Side-armer Casey Christianson pitched a three-hitter, striking out 11, as Minico (22-11) opened the 4A State tournament at Rodeo Park in Nampa with a 10-1 win over Lakeland.
The Hawks (13-12) will attempt to avoid elimination at 9 this morning against Kuna (14-12).
•Matt Hamilton homered and doubled and Buhl (22-5) scored with two outs in the seventh to edge Timberlake 10-9 in a 3A State opener at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Ore. The Tigers (13-8) play Kimberly (14-13) at noon today in a loser-out game.
Softball
Richelle Ashburn struck out 16 in a three-hitter to lead Post Falls to a 4-0 win over Mountain View (23-10) to open 5A State play at Twin Falls High.
The Trojans (15-9) completed their scoring in the third with Dara Koler’s RBI double and Michelle Booth’s two-run single.
PF will meet Timberline (22-7) at 11 a.m. today.
In a late game, Jennifer Woodson went 3 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs and Sami Verity went 3 for 4 with two doubles and two runs as Rocky Mountain (21-7-1) posted a 7-3 win over Lake City. Katie Rowe hit her eighth homer of the season for LC (21-6), which plays Eagle (20-10) at 9 this morning.
•Amber Grubham supported Ashley Metcalf’s five-hitter with three hits and an RBI as Lakeland (14-11) opened the 4A State tournament at Pocatello High with a 3-2 win over Wood River (10-18). Metcalf struck out 11 for the Hawks, who meet Kuna (23-4-1) at 11 a.m. today.
•Fruitland (23-2) collected 18 hits in four innings to power past Timberlake 18-2 in a 3A State opener at Coeur d’Alene’s Ramsey Park.
The Tigers (15-11) will meet Intermountain League neighbor Kellogg at 10 a.m. today. The Wildcats (11-9) committed six errors during a 7-3 loss to Teton.
In other openers, Sugar-Salem defeated Buhl 17-7 and Kimberly beat Marsh Valley 15-1. At 10 a.m. today, Buhl (21-8) plays Marsh Valley (19-7). At noon, Sugar-Salem (19-3) meets Kimberly (26-0) and Fruitland plays Teton (14-11).
•Colville (17-1) and Cheney (11-10) qualified for state with wins in the District 7 2A semifinals. Amanda Hamilton hit a grand slam in the third and Alison Holst (8-0) struck out 10 in five innings as Colville topped visiting Riverside 5-1 in a rain-shortened game. Mandy McDowell singled home Ryelynn Mendoza in the seventh to give Cheney a 4-3 win at West Valley. Cheney and Colville will play for the district title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Whitworth University. Also Saturday at Whitworth, WV (13-9) will meet Pullman (11-10) at 9 a.m. and Riverside (13-9) will play Clarkston (10-9) at 11 in loser-out games. The winners will play at 3 p.m. for the third state berth.
•Emily Witthuhn struck out nine and Kelsye Lopez had a two-run double during a five-run second as Garfield-Palouse (8-11) posted a 6-3 win over host Dayton in District 9 2B play. The tourney continues at 4 p.m. today at Pasco with Gar-Pal playing Waitsburg-Prescott and Tekoa-Oakesdale/Rosalia meeting DeSales in winner-to-state games.