Ward goes deep twice in Bulldog win

RATHDRUM — Led by the power bat of Kaitlan Ward, the visiting Bulldogs tied it with three runs in the top of the seventh, then won it with three in the top of the eighth of a 7-5 win in first game of the scheduled 4A Inland Empire League doubleheader against the Hawks on Tuesday at Lakeland High School..

There was a rain delay of some 90 minutes after two innings of the opener, and the second game was postponed due to darkness.

Ward hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning for Sandpoint (4-3, 1-0 4A IEL). Ward and Brooklen Steiger hit solo homers in the eighth for the Bulldogs, as the two combined for five hits to ignite the offense.

Bulldog head coach Elizabeth Hawkins-Williams said both of Ward’s home runs came at crucial times, as the second baseman finished with four RBIs on the day.

“They were just monster home runs. They were huge,” said the coach. “She was hitting so hard today. She was so confident in the batter’s box and it showed.”

Katie Kastning’s solo homer in the bottom of the sixth broke a 1-all tie for Lakeland (6-7, 3-2), and triggered a three-run inning.

Both Bri Barlow and Audrey Mattila each had two stolen bases for the opportunistic Bulldogs, who backed another strong effort from ace Bri Baldree. Lindsay Guthrie added a key hit that helped score the tying run, before the Bulldogs busted the game open.

“They really had to battle to win. They need to win these difficult ones,” said Hawkins-Williams. “There was a long rain delay, and the pitchers and batters got out of rhythm.”

Lakeland and Sandpoint are slated to meet in a doubleheader Saturday in Sandpoint.

Sandpoint 010 000 33 — 7 9 0

Lakeland 000 013 01 — 5 7 9

Bri Baldree and Sam Holland; Brittany Charles and Abby Leon. W — Baldree (4-1). L — Charles.

HITS: Spt — Barlow, Bradley, Steiger 2, Ward 3, Holland, Mattila. LL — Woolley, Kastning, Schwalbach 2, Rivera, Shields 2. 2B — Rivera. HR — Ward (2), Steiger, Kastning.

n Hawks blank Bulldogs

RATHDRUM — JJ Mackesy hit a two-run homer in the third inning, and the host Hawks finished off the Bulldogs with a six-run sixth to win 10-0 in the 4A Inland Empire League game at Gorton Field.

Due to a rain delay earlier, the teams were unable to complete the second game. It was called in the bottom of the fourth inning with the game tied at 2. It will be made up Saturday in Sandpoint, prior to the teams’ scheduled doubleheader.

Tyler Shaffer and Caleb Edlund each had two hits in the loss for the Bulldogs (4-5, 0-1 4A IEL), who committed four errors in a game that was tight until Lakeland (8-6, 4-1 4A IEL) had the big inning.

Perhaps more than any other team, the Bulldogs have been hit by weather this spring, with just nine game under their belts heading into important league games.

The Bulldogs host Lakeland on Saturday in a big doubleheader.

Sandpoint 000 000 — 0 5 4

Lakeland 112 006 — 10 10 1

Garrett Connolly, Tyrone Larson (6) and Nick Holland; Max Baker, Joseph Strietzel (5) and Jared McDaniel. W — Baker. L — Connolly (1-1).

HITS: Spt — Shaffer 2, Brackett, Edlund 2. LL — Neilson 3, Pote, McDaniel, Mackesy, Bradbury, Price 2, Baker. 2B — Edlund, Neilson, Baker. HR — Mackesy.