Jackson's RBI

single in 7th caps T-Wolves comeback to beat Lewiston

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

COEUR d'ALENE - When Paige Wells' grand slam sailed over the left field fence in the second inning, capping a six-run uprising for Lewiston, the defending state 5A softball champions were suddenly in danger of not returning to state.

Well, they said later they weren't that worried. Well, maybe a little concerned.

But sophomore Michaela Flerchinger came on in the third inning and pitched five shutout innings of relief, Lake City slowly chipped away at the deficit, and Hailey Jackson's two-out single scored Vanessa Shippy from third base with the winning run as Lake City rallied past Lewiston 7-6 in the second-place game of the 5A Region 1 tournament Thursday afternoon at Lake City.

"I believe in my team enough to know that we can fight back, and we did, and I was really proud of them for that," Jackson said. "There were nerves, but we believe in each other, and know that when we have to push through, we will."

Lake City (19-6) advances to state next Friday and Saturday at the Skyview Softball Complex in Nampa. The Timberwolves open next Friday vs. Eagle (18-6), the third-place finisher from District 3, at 10 a.m. PDT.

Dakota Wilson slammed a three-run homer over the fence in center field in the first inning for a 3-0 Lake City lead. Lewiston answered with its six-spot, but the Timberwolves got one back on Jackson's RBI double.

Flerchinger replaced Jordyn McCracken in the circle in the third, and shut Lewiston (10-9) down the rest of the way. She scattered five hits, struck out five and walked none.

"I think it kept them a little more off-balance after the first couple of innings," Lake City coach Tolzmann-Fierro said. "She's got a little more speed and a little more movement, and she did a great job today hitting her spots and throwing the right pitches."

"Curveball, breaking away from us, I believe is what she was throwing," fifth-year Lewiston coach Dave Garrett said. "And then she was jamming us well; she was getting the ball in on our hands."

Shippy pulled a home run over the fence in right in the fourth to pull Lake City within 6-5, accepting a high-five from Wells as she rounded second. In the fifth, Bailey Cavanagh doubled, and pinch runner Danielle Collinson moved up to third on a fly ball. Sophomore pinch hitter Heather Hawkes, in just her second varsity at-bat, doubled to left center to score Collinson and tie the game.

Shippy started Lake City's winning rally with a two-out line single to center field. JaeCie Wilson's bunt was thrown wildly down the right field line for an error, moving runners to second and third.

On the first pitch, Jackson grounded sharply through the hole into left, scoring Shippy and sending the T-Wolves back to state for the sixth straight year.

"I love to be in that position," said Jackson, a senior who went 4 for 5 with two RBIs and a run scored. "I've never done that before, so it was really nice. I just wanted to attack it, hit it hard."

JaeCie Wilson also went 4 for 5, and Shippy, the leadoff hitter, was 3 for 4 and scored three runs.

"We're a team that I know can put up runs at any time of the game," Tolzmann-Fierro said. "It was good to have a little pressure on us, I think, and we answered. It was nice to see us respond as a team, and slowly inch our way back into it."

Lewiston came into the game 0-5 vs. Lake City this season, three of the losses by the 10-run rule.

"We knew coming in after playing them on Tuesday that they could hit the ball hard," Garrett said. "They 10-runned us on Tuesday, so to come back and play them to a 7-6 loss in the bottom of the seventh, that's a great game. The girls held their heads up after the Tuesday defeat and came back hard."

Lewiston 060 000 0 - 6 10 0

Lake City 310 110 1 - 7 16 0

2 out when winning run scored.

Chelsie Wiik and Darcie Huffaker; Jordyn McCracken, Michaela Flerchinger (3) and Chloe Falciani, Kimmie Cook (3). W - Flerchinger (7-1). L - Cook.

HITS: Lew - Fuhs 2, Wells 3, Dodge 2, Bowden 2, Johnson. LC, Shippy 3, J. Wilson 4, Jackson 4, D. Wilson, Nelson, Gay, Cavanagh, Hawkes. 2B - Jackson, Hawkes. HR - Wells, D. Wilson (11), Shippy (7).