Bulldogs fall short to Hawks in opener; Lehman strong in defeat
(Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) Senior Thomas Riley tries to square up a pitch on Monday in the district tournament opener at War Memorial Field.
(Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) Lakeland’s Braden Gifford is tagged out at home plate by Sandpoint catcher Hunter Donahoe in the Hawks’ 3-1 win in the opener of the best-of-three 4A Region 1 tournament on Monday.
SANDPOINT — A pair of strong pitching performances and crisp defense helped lead Lakeland to a pair of wins to open the 4A Region 1 baseball tournament on Monday at War Memorial Field, not only keeping their season alive, but stealing home field advantage for the next game.
In the loser-out opener, Max Baker spun a complete game five-hitter to lead the No. 3 seed Hawks to a 5-1 win over the No. 2 seed Bears (5-12), setting up the first game in a best-of-three series with the host No. 1 Bulldogs for the right to go to state.
Dylan Bradbury and Tristan Clift combined to hold the Bulldogs to six hits, winning a low-scoring 3-1 pitcher’s duel against Sandpoint sophomore Tyler Lehman. The win enables the Hawks (13-13) to host the Bulldogs (10-6) on Wednesday in game two of the series.
Lakeland coach Jason Bradbury didn’t hesitate when asked what led to the surprise wins.
“Our defense was the No. 1 key. They put a clean game together. We only had one error in the two games,” said Bradbury, whose team has been plagued by errors in the past. “We’ve got the sticks, but can’t keep giving up free 90s (feet). Everybody executed, I’m very proud of them.”
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when a flair from Alex Stockton scored Trey Flint, who had just laced a double to the gap. Lakeland wouldn’t score until the fifth inning, as Lehman was in command from the first pitch of the game.
Lehman only gave up one earned run, earning the respect of his head coach with 6 and 2/3 innings of quality mound work.
“He was outstanding. He’s a bulldog, through and through, I couldn’t be more proud,” said Chase Tigert. “He gave us everything we needed to win the game, I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Lakeland tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning when Logan Siegford stole second, and scored on an over-throw at third. The Bulldogs made four errors defensively, and made several more on the base paths that ultimately proved costly in a tight game. RBI singles from Garrett Moen and Max Baker in the top of the sixth led to a 3-1 Lakeland lead.
The Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh when Trey Flint ripped a single to right, before Alex Stockton flew out to center to end the game and some anxious late moments for Bradbury, praising the pitching in the nightcap.
“I was going crazy there with Trey up. I’ve got to hand it to my pitchers,” described Bradbury, looking ahead to Wednesday’s game two. “Build on these wins, keep the confidence defensively. We can’t get ahead of ourselves. Sandpoint’s a great team, we’ll have to earn everything we get.”
The Bulldogs have proven resilient more than once this season, and Tigert hopes that will be the case when they travel to Lakeland with the season hanging in the balance.
Facing elimination, he said it’s important for his players to not try and do too much.
“Do the same thing we’ve done all season. Play baseball our way, stay positive, believe in ourselves and have confidence,” said Tigert. “I’m looking at it as it’s not our backs against the wall, they (Lakeland) have to win twice.”
Game two of the series is Wednesday, with first pitch at 4 p.m. at Lakeland High School.
Lakeland 000 012 0 — 3 4 1
Sandpoint 100 000 0 — 1 6 4
Dylan Bradbury, Tristan Clift (5) and Colton Aragon; Tyler Lehman, Preston Pettit (7) and Hunter Donahoe. W — Clift. L — Lehman (2-3).
HITS: LL — Bradbury, Gifford, Taylor, Grigg. Spt — Lehman 2, Flint 2, Stockton, Cometto. 2B — Flint.
Loser out game
Lakeland 030 010 1 — 5 4 0
Moscow 000 100 0 — 1 5 1
Max Baker and Colton Aragon. W — Baker.
HITS: LL — Clift 2, Baker, Moen. 3B — Moen.