Sandpoint All-Stars fall to Lewiston in district championship deciding game
—Photo by ANNA BUTLER The Sandpoint Majors All-Stars pose in front of the “Big Red” left field wall at the District 1 Championship. Pictured from left to right are Colin Roos, Jack Zimmerman, Jacob DiGiulio, Blake Sherrill, Trevor Meyer, Ethan Butler, Cody Newhart, Zeke Roop, Hunter Jacobson, Gerrit Cox, Mickie Koch, Auggie Lehman and Avery Bocksch.
—Photo by ANNA BUTLER Showing the raw and spontaneous joy that Little League can offer, Avery Bocksch leaps toward home plate and awaiting teammates after swatting a two-run homer in Sandpoint’s 10-9 win over Lewiston on Saturday.
SANDPOINT — After splitting two close games in the best-of-three Championship Series, the Sandpoint Majors All-Stars were shut out by Lewiston, ending a highly successful and unprecedented run at the Distict 1 All-Star Tournament last weekend at Croffoot Park in Hayden.
It was the furthest a Sandpoint Majors team has ever made it in the tournament, going 4-1 in pool play and coming up just a game short of punching their ticket to Boise for the state championship.
In the championship opener on Friday, Avery Bocksch and Blake Sherrill pitched strong and were backed by good defense, and Ethan Butler and Zeke Roop each had hits, as Sandpoint struck out 14 times. Lewiston only managed six hits, but Cruz Hepburn hit two home runs to power Lewiston.
Hunter Jacobson chased down a ball to the gap and fired a laser to Auggie Lehman at second base, cutting down a would-be double in the defensive gem. The loss set up a must win game on Saturday.
Facing elimination, the Sandpoint bats came alive, with Gerrit Cox, Sherrill and Bocksch each going deep to power their team to a 10-9 win.
Sandpoint banged out 11 hits, and nearly blew a big lead, before Lehman struck out the side in the last inning to seal the win and set up a deciding game on Sunday.
“Lewiston has a dangerous offense and scored the game’s last six runs to close the gap,” described assistant coach Tony Butler. “But Auggie Lehman maintained composure, striking out the bottom of the sixth to secure the win for Sandpoint. Statistically this was a very even game on paper, but we came out on top in the column that mattered the most.”
Game three was over before it started, with Lewiston plating 11 runs in the first inning and never looking back in the 15-0 win, earning the right to face the District 2 champ from Boise on July 22-24. Zeke Roop had the lone hit for Sandpoint in defeat, facing a pitcher throwing around 70 mph with solid command.
Despite the loss, the future is clearly bright for Sandpoint baseball.
“There is a lot of pride within the Sandpoint Little League Board, coaches, players and families about the team’s accomplishment this season,” said Butler, also the league president. “This group of 12 year-olds were on the leading edge of the Sandpoint Sasquatch travel teams that expanded to three teams this year. It takes a lot of time and financial commitment from families to support the extra baseball opportunities along with regular season Little League, but people are wanting more. This really is an accomplishment by the Sandpoint baseball community and not just the players as we have been pulling in support from the high school coaching staffs to local businesses for several years to try and improve player development. This was a fun ride and a big step forward for Sandpoint Little League.”
2nd picture is Auggie Lehman getting bear hugged by his catcher Cody Newhart after securing Saturday’s win. Auggie struck out three batters in the bottom of the sixth to extinguish a Lewiston comeback attempt.
The other photo shows the players who hit a home run during the All Star tournament surrounding team Manager Todd Newhart. L:R Blake Sherrill, Mickie Koch, Avery Bocksch, Manager Todd Newhart, Ethan Butler, Gerrit Cox, Hunter Jacobson