Vikings sweep Bulldogs in pair of home openers
SANDPOINT — Breana Burke threw a perfect game, striking out 11 and only allowing one ball to be put in play, and provided her own run support with a big day at the plate, leading Coeur d’Alene to a 23-0 win over Sandpoint in a nonleague softball opener at Sandpoint Middle School.
Burke also had two double among her three hits, driving in three runs and scoring five from the leadoff spot. Vikings (1-0) head coach Larry Beiber said Burke had all of her pitches working.
“She was throwing hard, but also changing speeds,” said Beiber of his ace. “She’s hitting her spots really well.”
It was a tough opener for the Bulldogs (0-1), who might not face a team that good again all season. Even in defeat, new head coach Elizabeth Hawkins praised freshman pitcher Bri Baldree, facing a lineup that already has five girls committed to playing in college and will put up crooked numbers all season.
“How well my freshman pitcher performed,” answered Hawkins after the game. “Debuting as a freshman against Coeur d’Alene, she had five strikeouts.”
Hawkins praised the effort of her defense, which was busy as the Vikings banged out 15 hits.
Sandpoint travels south face another 5A program in Lewiston on Thursday.
Coeur d’Alene 237 47 — 23 15 0
Sandpoint 000 00 — 0 0 6
Breana Burke and Abby Howard; Bri Baldree and Sam Holland. W — Burke (1-0). L — Baldree (0-1).
Hits: Cd’A — Burke 3, Smith 2, Rasmussen, Howard 2, Raynor 2, Catt, Bassett, Donovan, Montee, Amos. Spt — None. 2B — Burke 2, Smith, Raynor. 3B — Amos, Donovan.
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Holland smacks two-run double in loss to Vikings
SANDPOINT — Devin Kluss went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two RBIs as the Coeur d’Alene Vikings beat the Sandpoint Bulldogs 13-2 in five innings in the season opener for both schools at War Memorial Field on Thursday.
Michael Hicks also had two RBIs and Jonny Plum had two hits and three runs scored for Coeur d’Alene, which scored 12 runs in the final three innings to pull away.
Nick Holland had a two-run double in the fourth inning for Sandpoint (0-1), which banged out five hits while facing one of the top teams in the state in the home opener.
“In the region, they’re (Vikings) the standard,” said Bulldogs head coach Scott Fitchett, who saw the typical positives and mistakes that often accompany an opener. “We came away frustrated because we didn’t play as well as we could have.”
Coeur d’Alene travels to Mead today.
Coeur d’Alene 105 43 — 13 10 1
Sandpoint 000 20 — 2 5 0
Connor Cardinel, Trevor Luckey (3), Cameron Luckey (4), Reggie Nault (5) and Payten Zahnow; Malaki Smith and Nick Holland. W — Cardinel (1-0). L — Smith (0-1).
HITS: Cd’A — Plum 2, Green, Nault, Hicks, Kluss 2, Carter, English. Spt — Oliver, Dewey, Pearlstein, N. Holland, Brewington. 2B — Green, Hicks, Kluss, Plum, English, N. Holland.
n JV girls notch big win over Vikings
SANDPOINT — Kaitlan Ward was sharp on the mound for most of the game, and Audrey Mattila came in and closed the door, leading the Sandpoint JV to a 5-1 win over Coeur d’Alene, which boasts one of the top programs in the state.
Cheri-Lyn Darrah handled the pitchers from behind the plate, and head coach Jeff Free praised the way his team played together and supported each other.