Vikings get to Work in sixth
Coeur d’Alene High softball coach Larry Bieber was concerned that he didn’t see any fire in his players’ eyes.
That was largely because Lake City freshman Lela Work, making just her second start, had Bieber’s Vikings swinging as if they were in a midnight-dark room.
Finally in the sixth inning, the Vikings caught up with Work as Coeur d’Alene rallied for a 3-2 win in a sun-splashed Inland Empire League game at CdA.
The Vikings moved to 7-5 overall and 6-1 in league, pulling within one-half game of league-leading and idle Post Falls (9-2, 7-1). LC (7-3, 6-2) fell out of a three-way tie in the loss column.
It was the third and most competitive game between the crosstown rivals. LC won the first game 7-1 before CdA bounced back for a decisive 8-0 shutout last week. The teams will play a final league game Thursday at LC.
The Timberwolves staked Work to a 2-0 lead with single runs in the second and fifth innings. LC was just five outs away from victory when Work opened the sixth with a strikeout.
But CdA senior Brianna Robson, who had accounted for the Vikings’ lone hit through five innings, got the first of four consecutive hits to start the rally.
Robson scored on a sharp single by Lindsey Stark. That prompted LC coach Laura Tolzmann to pull Work and bring in usual starter Stephanie Saadoun to go against junior slugger Jenna DeLong, whom Tolzmann sensed was due after two sharply struck groundouts.
DeLong didn’t waste any time, lacing Saadoun’s first pitch up the middle to score Jackie Lenz from second base and knot the score at 2. Moments later, CdA took the lead when Stark scored on a wild pitch.
“I didn’t see the fire in their eyes until that sixth inning, when they knew they were behind 2-0,” Bieber said. “We were flat. There’s no other way to put it and they know it.”
Bieber said he reminded his team that it was aggressive from the first pitch in the 8-0 win at LC last week.
“I told them, ‘The fire was in your eyes in the first inning,’” Bieber said. “I told them I didn’t have to wait until the sixth inning to hear them say, ‘Now it’s time to win it.’ They turn it off and turn it on and you can’t do that against good teams like Lake City. So we got lucky.”
LC senior shortstop Kelli Bridges led the Timberwolves with two hits and an RBI. But she was probably more valuable on defense as she snagged a couple of hard-hit balls deep in the hole.
“They made every play,” Bieber said of LC’s defense. “Kelli Bridges was just great. Even when we hit it deep in the hole – she made every play.”
Tolzmann thought her team did everything but win. She was especially pleased with Work and thought the Timberwolves showed some spunk at the plate, too.
“The game was ours,” Tolzmann said. “I thought we played very well. We answered after the last round with Coeur d’Alene. We were way more aggressive in the (batter’s) box. We just came up short.”
CdA returns to action today when it plays host to Lewiston in a doubleheader. LC plays host to Post Falls in a single game Monday.