T-Wolves beat Trojans to continue rallying ways

Winning games late or in clutch situations isn’t anything new to the Lake City High baseball team.

Sure, the Timberwolves won their final 13 on the way to the State 5A championship last year.

Close inspection, though, will show Lake City had to go to extra innings to win its state opener and had to rally from a 7-1 deficit in the semifinal before capturing the state title.

So the fact Lake City needed another rally Tuesday isn’t a stunning development. What probably would have been astonishing would have been if the T-Wolves didn’t rally.

Second-seeded LC pulled out a 9-8 win over No. 3 Post Falls in a Region I opener at LC.

“Why we were so good down the stretch last year is we were good in clutch situations,” said senior pitcher Zach Clanton (5-1), who picked up the win in relief. “I think we’re finally starting to realize that now. We’re finding that mentality and attitude again.”

LC (16-5) will travel to top-seeded Lewiston (19-1) at 5 p.m. Thursday to decide the regional title and top seed to state. Post Falls (9-14) will play host to fourth-seeded Coeur d’Alene (9-16) in a loser-out game at 4.

Lewiston handled visiting CdA 10-0 in a run-rule shortened five-inning game in the other opener.

The PF/CdA winner will go to the Lewiston/LC loser on Friday to determine a second state berth.

Post Falls enjoyed leads of 1-0, 3-0, 5-3 and 8-6 before LC’s final rally.

The Trojans’ final lead came after they scored three runs in the sixth. A run-scoring single by Brandon Brubaker tied it at 6 and then Zack Aker greeted Clanton with a two-run single.

Clanton then settled down to limit the damage after Aker’s hit put runners at first and third. Clanton got help from his defense when shortstop Trent Bridges fielded a sharply struck grounder and threw out Brett Winn at home. The LC pitcher followed with a strikeout to end the inning.

That set the stage for LC’s final rally. It appeared as if the T-Wolves were going to have a bigger inning than they ended up having when catcher Tobin Broesch got a leadoff single, his third, and Kyle Kausen followed with a triple to the fence. But Christian Hanna, who was courtesy running for Broesch, was called out for missing third base.

As it turned out, it was a minor hiccup. Tucker Anderson pulled LC within 8-7 on a single and Trent Bridges followed with an RBI double. Bridges advanced to third on a sacrifice fly and scored moments later when Aker had a wild pitch while striking out Dylan Collinson.

Clanton allowed a two-out single in the seventh before coaxing a groundout to end the game.

“They’re the state champs. You find ways to win,” PF coach Mick Zeller said. “That’s what good teams do. They’ve got a bunch of seniors who have been playing together forever.”

LC coach Cory Bridges ceases to be amazed by his team’s ability to rally.

“I feel very fortunate, but I also really believe in these kids and they believe in themselves,” he said.

•At Lewiston, the Bengals struck quickly in the first when Tom Kerr hit a three-run homer. Matt Blankenship hit a solo homer to lead off the fifth when Lewiston ended the game early with four more runs. Lefty Josh Richardson (6-1) picked up the win.

•In a 4A Region I loser-out game, Moscow (3-18) tripped Sandpoint (10-10) in eight innings on a run-scoring single by Zack Hull at Sandpoint. Moscow travels to top-seeded Lakeland (8-10) today in the championship game at 4. Lakeland earns the lone state berth with a win. Moscow must beat Lakeland twice to go to state.

•In a 3A District I loser-out playoff, host Timberlake shut out Kellogg 7-0 at Spirit Lake behind 11 strikeouts from Ty Wilkerson and a two-run single from John Morris that highlighted a four-run second inning. Timberlake (10-9) advances to take on top-seeded St. Maries (13-4) when the tourney begins double-elimination play at 4 p.m. Friday at Timberlake. In the first game, Bonners Ferry (10-6) takes on Priest River (7-6) at 2.

Softball

Jamie Klopatek struck out 12 and Alisha Watson had two hits and an RBI as Lakeland beat host Moscow in the 4A District 1 playoffs. Moscow (8-16) will play Sandpoint in a loser-out game Thursday. The winner will play Lakeland (13-12) at noon Saturday for the championship and a trip to state. If a second game is needed in the double-elimination format, it will be at 3 p.m.

•Afton Allred struck out 10 and went 3 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored as host Timberlake defeated Kellogg 10-3 in the 3A District 1 playoffs at Spirit Lake. The Tigers (16-6) move onto state while Kellogg (12-5) plays the St. Maries/Priest River loser at 4 p.m. today at Timberlake.