Baseball unable to rebound from rough 1st inning in loss to Trojans
Sophomore Kody MacDonald throws a pitch during Saturday's game against Post Falls at War Memorial Field.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Senior Max Thielbahr stands in the batter's box on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Junior Ethan Butler gets tagged out while crossing home plate on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Junior Auggie Lehman pitches on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Evan Williams stands in the batter's box on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Zeke Roop pitches on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Cody Newhart stands in the batter's box and eyes a pitch on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Jack Zimmerman throws a pitch on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
SANDPOINT — From the get-go on Saturday, things went awry for Sandpoint baseball.
Post Falls scored 11 runs across the first two innings to cruise to a 12-1 Inland Empire League victory over the Bulldogs. The win allowed the Trojans to split the season series with SHS.
Head coach Chase Tigert said he felt like his team was prepared to complete a season sweep of a tough Post Falls (11-4-1, 9-2 IEL) team, but it just wasn't their day.
"I have no idea," he said when asked what went wrong. "I wish I knew."
In the top of the first inning, starting pitcher Zeke Roop walked three of the first four batters he saw and hit another to give Post Falls a 1-0 lead. Auggie Lehman came in and relieved Roop with no outs and the bases loaded in the inning.
The Trojans scored five more in the first, before the Bulldogs were finally able to record three outs.
That inning was a shock for Sandpoint, and they never recovered.
"You make a mistake and you move on from it," Tigert said, "and it just seemed like we couldn't move on. To let one inning define your entire game, it's hard to be successful if you let that happen."
Post Falls added five more runs in the second to gain a commanding 11-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Bulldogs were able to avoid being shut out when Max Thielbahr singled to score Blake Sherrill.
Unfortunately, the game was called after the fifth inning due to the 10-run rule.
Mistakes plagued the Bulldogs against Post Falls, and Tigert said the loss was frustrating, but there were still plenty of positives.
The stat box didn't show it with just three hits, but Tigert said his team made solid contact throughout the game.
"From an offensive prospective, I thought we barreled the ball today much better than we've done all year long," he said.
Sandpoint also got some great relief pitching from sophomores Kody MacDonald and Jack Zimmerman. MacDonald only surrendered one run across 2 1/3 innings and Zimmerman went three up, three down in the fifth inning. Tigert said they were both lights out.
Moving forward, Tigert said he wants the team to communicate better and be more aggressive.
The Bulldogs (9-3, 4-3 IEL) will look to get back on track when they host a doubleheader with Lakeland at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Post Falls 650 10 — 12 11 2
Sandpoint 000 01 — 1 3 0
Game called after 5th inning due to 10-run rule
Ethan Miller and Zach Clark; Zeke Roop, Auggie Lehman (1), Kody MacDonald (2), Jack Zimmerman (5) and Trevor Brackett. W — Miller. L — Roop.
HITS: PF — Clark 3, Zeller 2, Miller 2, Sessions 2, Rutherford, Cripps. SHS — Williams, Sherrill, Garcia. 2B — Miller, Sessions, Williams, Sherrill. 3B — Miller.
