Relaxed T-Wolves primed for repeat
MARK NELKE | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 years, 8 months AGO
Mark Nelke covers high school and North Idaho College sports, University of Idaho football and other local/regional sports as a writer, photographer, paginator and editor at the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has been at The Press since 1998 and sports editor since 2002. Before that, Mark was the one-man sports staff for 16 years at the Bonner County Daily Bee in Sandpoint. Earlier, he was sports editor for student newspapers at Spokane Falls Community College and Eastern Washington University. Mark enjoys the NCAA men's basketball tournament and wiener dogs — and not necessarily in that order. | May 17, 2012 9:15 PM
It was one swing of the bat in late March, but it meant the difference between the pressure of trying to complete a second straight undefeated season — and the relief of all that weight being lifted off their shoulders.
A home run by Courtney Pena with two out in the bottom of the sixth lifted Meridian to a 1-0 victory over Lake City on March 31 — snapping the Timberwolves’ 31-game winning streak.
Lake City (21-1) hasn’t lost since. The Timberwolves are 47-1 over the past two seasons, and take a 16-game winning streak into this week’s state 5A tournament, which runs Friday and Saturday at Capell Park in Chubbuck.
“It was a huge relief, actually,” Lake City senior shortstop Katie Rowe said of the loss. “It was a huge weight off of our shoulders.
At the beginning of the season, when we were in Boise, we were playing not to lose, and when we finally did lose we could breathe again and play our own game.”
Lake City faces Timberline (15-10) of Boise, the fourth-place team from District 3, in the first round Friday at 11 a.m. PDT. Lake City beat Timberline in the state title game last year. If Lake City wins, the T-Wolves will likely face District 3 champion Mountain View (23-2) of Meridian in the semifinals.
For the second year in a row, state tournaments are single-elimination with a consolation bracket, rather than double-elimination as in previous years.
Other than that loss, Lake City has been the same dominant team it was last year — and has adjusted nicely to Vanessa Shippy having to move from second base to catcher, and Amber Edwards capably replacing Shippy at second.
“We had some crazy things happen at the beginning of the season, with kids in positions they haven’t been in,” Lake City coach Laura Tolzmann said. “In different games this season, different kids have stepped up.”
Coeur d’Alene: The Vikings return to state for the second straight time after missing the tournament in 2010.
Cd’A had been to the previous eight tournaments before then.
“We were there last year,” Coeur d’Alene coach Larry Bieber said. “It’s good to be on the other side of the bracket to Lake City.”
Coeur d’Alene lost to Rocky Mountain 5-3 in the consolation championship game last year at Post Falls High and returns five starters from last year’s team.
Coeur d’Alene (19-5) opens with Capital (11-14) on Friday at 9 a.m. PDT at Capell Park in Chubbuck.
“It’s good we’re getting back,” Bieber said. “The kids have fought all year long to get there.”
Sophomore Sydni Parker had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Lewiston 5-4 in the regional runner-up game last Thursday.
Lakeland: The Hawks qualified for the second time in three years after beating Moscow in the regional championship game last Saturday in Rathdrum.
“I’m really excited,” said Lakeland coach Colleen Bevacqua, who has guided the Hawks to state in five of her eight seasons as coach. “I’m excited for these girls. It has been a great year with them. I’m really looking forward to getting down to state and playing to the best of our abilities.”
Lakeland (15-6) opens with Kuna (20-5) at 9 a.m. on Friday at Twin Falls High.
Junior pitcher Kristin Klopatek has gone 15-5 for Lakeland this season.
“I’ve never gotten to pitch at state,” Klopatek said. “Hopefully we’ll have some big hits and wins. We’ve played good and come together in tough situations.
Emmett won last year’s championship, but failed to qualify.
Timberlake: The Tigers’ 7-6 victory over Priest River in the 3A District 1 title game was closer than most Timberlake fans would have hoped for, but Tigers coach Mike Menti was happy to see his team prevail in a close game.
“These are the kinds of games you’re going to play at state,” said Menti, whose Tigers (14-6) open state vs. Buhl (17-8) on Friday at noon at Travers Park in Coeur d’Alene.
“In close games, we’d have a breakdown in defense or we would walk somebody, and those mistakes would get contagious,” he added. “You can’t let that mistake be contagious; you have to stop the bleeding and move on. Right now we’re playing the game we should be playing.”
Timberlake is making its 13th straight trip to state, all under Menti.
Defending champion Fruitland is on the other side of the bracket, and opens vs. Priest River (14-7) on Friday at 10 a.m.
“If my time at state has told me anything, it’s that anything can happen,” Menti said. “It’s a three-game tournament, and a team gets hot at the right time ... maybe we could be that team that gets hot.”
STATE SOFTBALL SCHEDULES
Times PDT
At Capell Park, Chubbuck
Friday
Game 1 — Highland (22-2) vs. Meridian (21-4), 9 a.m.
Game 2 — Capital (11-14) vs. Coeur d’Alene (19-5), 9 a.m.
Game 3 — Mountain View (23-2) vs. Centennial (16-10), 11 a.m.
Game 4 — Lake City (21-1) vs. Timberline (15-10), 11 a.m.
Game 5 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 2 p.m. (loser out)
Game 6 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 2 p.m. (loser out)
Game 7 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 4 (loser out)
Game 8 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 4
Saturday
Game 9 — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 7, 10 a.m. (consolation championship)
Game 10 — Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 a.m. (third-place game)
Game 11 — Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8, noon. (championship game)
At Twin Falls High
Friday
Game 1 — Rigby (16-8) vs. Columbia (16-11), 9 a.m.
Game 2 — Lakeland (15-6) vs. Kuna (20-5), 9 a.m.
Game 3 — Century vs. Blackfoot, 11 a.m.
Game 4 — Twin Falls (22-3) vs. Skyview (19-5-1), 11 a.m.
Game 5 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 2 p.m. (loser out)
Game 6 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 2 p.m. (loser out)
Game 7 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 4 (loser out)
Game 8 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 4
Saturday
Game 9 — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 7, 10 a.m. (consolation championship)
Game 10 — Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 a.m. (third-place game)
Game 11 — Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8, noon (championship game)
At Ramsey Park, Coeur d’Alene
Friday
Game 1 — Bear Lake vs. Kimberly (18-7), 10 a.m.
Game 2 — Fruitland vs. Priest River (14-7), 10 a.m.
Game 3 — Teton (17-3) vs. Homedale, noon
Game 4 — Timberlake (14-6) vs. Buhl (17-8), noon
Game 5 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3 p.m. (loser out)
Game 6 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3 (loser out)
Game 7 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 5
Game 8 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 5
Saturday
Game 9 — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 7, 11 a.m. (consolation championship)
Game 10 — Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, 11 a.m. (third-place game)
Game 11 — Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8, 1 p.m. (championship game)
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“The whole process has been completely amazing,” said Nathan Williams, now in his fourth season as the Badgers boys basketball coach. “And the parents … it’s an hour and a half to Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, when we’d play an AAU game, and an hour and a half back, and there were so many times there was 6, 8 inches of snow. And we’ve got a game at 8 a.m. They’d always schedule us at 8 a.m., coming from Bonners. So we’re waking up at 5 … it was crazy. But the commitment from the parents and the kids has been amazing.”