Errors costly for Bulldogs in 4A playoff loss

RATHDRUM — The Sandpoint bats were hot, the pitching was solid, and things were going well for the No. 3 seed Bulldogs early on against No 2 Moscow in the 4A Region 1 baseball tournament opener on Saturday at Lakeland High School.

Then a spate of errors came, six of them in all, proving costly at the Bulldogs  (3-13) fell 8-6 to the Bears in the double-elimination tournament.

Sam Nitcy, Ryan Schwartz, Devin Hancock, Daniel Thompson and Chase Rodriguez each ripped two of the Bulldogs’ 13 hits on the day, with Caleb Nishimoto, Zac Farrell and Nik Feyen each adding a hit.

Nik Feyen and Caleb Nishimoto both pitched well enough to keep the Bulldogs in the game, but the errors opened the door and allowed the Bears to seize control

“It was one of the first games I felt we were in control, until the errors occurred,” said Bulldogs head coach Chris Young. “We had control of that game, it (the loss) was unfortunate.”

Farrell stole two bases and scored a run, Schwartz and Hancock each hit a double and Thompson and Nitcy each had a run and stolen base in defeat.

Moscow went on to lose 7-1 to Lakeland in the second game on Saturday, setting up a loser-out game with Sandpoint on Wednesday, at 4 p.m. in Moscow.

Young hopes his team can rebound and prolong the season, earning another shot at Lakeland on Saturday in the championship game.