LEGION BASEBALL: Lums take two more, clinch spot in Monday's semis

COEUR d’ALENE — Coeur d’Alene put itself in a good position entering the final day of the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Wood Bat Classic with a pair of wins on Saturday.

Jayden Butler struck out seven in five shutout innings for Coeur d’Alene, which beat the Spokane Expos 16U Red 2-0 at Thorco Field in its second game of the day, a game shortened to five innings due to lightning in the area.

“The umpires saw a bolt of lightning right above the Kroc Center,” Coeur d’Alene coach Darren Taylor said. “We got the final out in the top of the fifth and they called it. They just wanted to clear the crowd and get everyone out of there, which I don’t blame them for.”

Coeur d’Alene (21-7) improved to 4-0 in its pool, with its finale tonight against the Palouse Patriots at 7. The Lums hold the tiebreaker should they lose to advance to Monday’s championship bracket play in Spokane.

“We’ll take Palouse seriously and try to find our way,” Taylor said.

Ryan Schneider led off the second inning with a triple and scored on an RBI single by Joe DuCoeur to give Coeur d’Alene a 1-0 lead. Cooper Larson scored on an RBI single by Cooper Erickson to make it 2-0.

Earlier Saturday, Ethan Taylor had three hits, two runs scored and two RBIs as the Lumbermen beat the Spokane Expos 16U White 11-4.

“Ethan’s really heating up and trending in the right direction right now,” Darren Taylor said. “He’s really coming on at the plate, which is nice to see.”

Lucas Erickson also had two RBIs in the win for Coeur d’Alene.

Only the champions of the four senior league pools advance to bracket play on Monday, with the Thorco Field champion facing the Hart Field (Spokane) champion at Al K. Jackson Field at 11:30 a.m.

The championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m.

COEUR d’ALENE 2, SPOKANE EXPOS 16U RED 0

Spokane Expos 000 00 — 0 3 0

Coeur d’Alene 020 0x — 2 4 1

Ayers and Saunders; Jayden Butler and Joe DuCoeur.

HITS: SE — Andreas, Ayers 2. Cd’A — Schneider, DuCoeur, C. Erickson, Bumbaugh. 2B — Ayers. 3B — Schneider.

COEUR d’ALENE 11, SPOKANE EXPOS 16U WHITE 4

Coeur d’Alene 411 202 1 — 11 14 1

Spokane Expos 000 030 1 — 4 4 1

Jesse Brown, Eric Bumbaugh (6) and Lucas Erickson; Wasley, Grissom (4) and Dean.

HITS: Cd’A — Bridge, C. Erickson, Zeller, Bumbaugh, DuCoeur, Schneider 2, Larson 2, E. Taylor 3, Brown, A. Taylor. SE — Shupe 2, Grissom, Anderson. 2B — E. Taylor, C. Erickson, Larson, Shupe.

Northern Lakes splits

at Wood Bat Classic

SPOKANE — Sam Pemberton had three hits and drove in five runs for the Mountaineers in a 24-7 win over the La Grande (Ore.) Legends in pool play in the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Wood-Bat Classic at West Valley High.

Payden Wysong had three hits, three runs scored and four RBIs and Kenny Wells two hits and three RBIs for Northern Lakes against La Grande.

Against River City of Post Falls, the Mountaineers were no-hit by Aaron Gwaltney, a rising senior at Coeur d’Alene High, who struck out seven and walked three.

Northern Lakes (10-8) concludes tournament play with a consolation game at Gonzaga Prep today at 1:30 p.m.

NORTHERN LAKES 24, LA GRANDE 7

Northern Lakes 02(10) 93 — 24 19 5

La Grande 131 11 — 7 13 4

Cooper Lenz, Scott Pote (4), Tim Sheppard (5) and Sam Pemberton; Needham, Seaquist (3), Street (4) and Huff.

HITS: NL — Wysong 3, Wells 2, Pote 3, Borges, Horn, Pemberton 3, Schaffner, Sheppard, Kitchin, Lenz 3. LG — Williams, Begin 3, Needham 3, Huff, Tucker 2, Anderson, Street, O. Seaquist. 2B — Schaffner, Pemberton, Wysong.

RIVER CITY (CASTON) 3, NORTHERN LAKES 0

River City 000 210 0 — 3 5 3

Northern Lakes 000 000 0 — 0 0 3

Gwaltney and Cooley; Tim Sheppard, Scott Pote (4), Andrew Horn (6) and Sam Pemberton.

HITS: RC — McLean, Coey, Cooley 2, Hansen. NL — none. No extra-base hits.