Bulldogs fall to Hawks in 4A district opener

RATHDRUM — It was a familiar scene for the Bulldog softball team as one bad inning overshadowed six really solid ones in their season-long battle with 4A rival Lakeland. In the 4A District opener on Monday, it was a five-run second inning, helped by four Sandpoint errors, that proved too much to overcome as the Hawks held on for a 6-3 win."We did enough with the bat to win the game, had some good swings and the middle of the order has been coming through for us," said Sandpoint head coach Derek Dickinson. "One bad inning seems to be the recipe for us against Lakeland." Stephanie Ferguson had three hits, and Rachel Hammack and Macaela Brady two apiece as the Bulldogs out-hit Lakeland 10-8, outplayed them for six innings and even out-pitched them, as freshman Molly Givens shut them down except for the second inning."Molly threw a gem, hitting her spots all game," said Dickinson, whose team has now lost five close games to Lakeland this season. "I'm hoping we get another shot at Lakeland. I told the girls this is our home away from home, hopefully the sixth time will be the charm."Alisha Watson stroked a two-run double for the Hawks (9-16) in the five-run second inning. Lakeland will play at Moscow in a winner-to-state game at 4 p.m. today. The Bulldoggs (5-19) will play the loser in a loser-out game on Friday. Sandpoint 000 003 0 — 3 10 6Lakeland 050 010 x — 6 8 4 Molly Givens and Macaela Brady; Klopatek and O'Hara. W — Klopatek (8-8). L — Givens.HITS: SPT — Brady 2, Ferguson 3, Hammack 2, Crabb, Givens, Bunn. LL — Ali.Watson, Heuett, O'Hara 2, North, Campbell, Klopatek, Bruner.