Howard's pinch homer leads Timberlake to state
Joel Donofrio | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 8 months AGO
SPIRIT LAKE - A tie game in the sixth inning of the 3A District 1 baseball championship. What better time to hit your first varsity home run?
Wyatt Howard did just that, setting off an uproar in the Timberlake High dugout, then at the plate, as the Tigers used a seven-run sixth inning to earn a 12-5 victory over Priest River on Saturday afternoon at Timberlake.
Pinch-hitting in a 5-5 game with teammate Bryce Johnson on second base, Howard faced Spartans hurler R.C. Akre, who had largely shut down the Tigers since the first inning with a healthy diet of breaking balls.
"I was just looking for a base hit to right field," Howard said.
Instead, the sophomore turned on an Akre fastball and drove it over the left-field fence. Six more hits followed, breaking open a close game and sending Timberlake (14-7) to the state 3A tournament for the second straight season.
"He's just a pup, but he's always hit the curve ball well," Tigers coach Bill Rider said of Howard. "Instead, he got a fastball up and was more surprised than anyone to see it go out."
It was a closely-played game until the sixth, as Priest River (14-6) fought back from an early 4-0 deficit.
A two-RBI single by Trevor Masterson keyed a four-run opening frame for Timberlake, but Spartan middle infielders Jake Perkins and Dalton Sommer turned a double play to end the inning, and Priest River rallied from there.
The Spartans scored two unearned runs in the third inning, then tied it at 5 in the fifth inning on Nick Farnham's two-run single and an RBI double from Ashton Brooks.
"It says a lot that our kids scratched and clawed to get back into it," Priest River coach Mark Schultz said. "But you've got to give credit to Timberlake - they just hit the ball well in the sixth inning."
Also performing well for the Tigers was junior John Galloway, who relieved starter Hunter Tonkin in the fifth inning. After allowing Brooks' double, Galloway held the Spartans hitless the rest of the way, with four strikeouts.
"I left one up high and (Brooks) capitalized on my mistake, but after that I bore down," Galloway said. "The ump was giving me the outside corner, and I was able to make some pitches there when I needed to."
Both Galloway and Rider said their team's experience in close games - and at state last spring - helped in Saturday's district championship.
"We've been pretty resilient all year as a group, especially as a junior-dominated team," Rider said. "But kids like Trevor Masterson, Kaden Foster and Austin Allen are the glue that holds us together."
Galloway had three hits while Masterson added two hits and 3 RBIs for the Tigers. Akre had two hits and two RBIs for Priest River.
Priest River 002 030 0 - 5 7 2
Timberlake 400 107 x - 12 15 2
R.C. Akre, Wyatt King (6) and Tyler Barber; Hunter Tonkin, John Galloway (5) and Austin Allen. W - Galloway. L - Akre.
HITS: PR - Akre 2, Somme, Farnham, Brooks, King, Ja. Griffin. TL - Galloway 3, Hansen 2, Masterson 2, Foster 2, Johnson 2, Cramer, Allen, Tonkin, Howard. 2B - Brooks, Foster, Johnson. HR - Howard (1).
ALL-INTERMOUNTAIN LEAGUE
PRIEST RIVER - Tyler Barber (MVP), R.C. Akre, Ashton Brooks, Nick Farnham. TIMBERLAKE - Austin Allen, Trevor Masterson, Hunter Tonkin, Mason Cramer, Derek Hansen, Kaden Foster. BONNERS FERRY - Garrett Skeen. KELLOGG-WALLACE Jack Long.
Coach of the Year: Bill Rider, Timberlake.
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