Bulldogs trounced by Timberwolves in first home games of season

SANDPOINT – The Bulldogs lost their first two home games of the season to Lake City, 14-2 and 24-0, on Tuesday, April 11 at War Memorial Field.

Lake City has dominated the 5A Inland Empire conference for quite some time now, and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. The Timberwolves defeated Sandpoint for the 13th time in a row, but the scoreboard does not tell the whole story, especially in Game 1.

The Bulldogs battled hard in Game 1; going into the fourth inning it was a 3-2 ball game. The Timberwolves put up six runs in the fourth and five runs in the fifth, which spoiled the Bulldogs’ plans of an upset.

“We were doing well in the first game until we had some untimely errors with runners on base. However, I do believe we took another step forward today, because we played much better as a team,” head coach Elizabeth Hawkins-Williams said.

Offensively, Kaylee McCown notched an RBI double in the second to score two runs for the Bulldogs. Ali Knowles and Baeley Sykes also recorded singles in the contest. Layla Gugino and Hope Bodak led the way for the Timberwolves with a hit and three RBI’s each. Defensively, Ashlynn Darling had two crucial tag outs at third base that kept the Bulldogs in the game.

Mayle Ducken pitched well on the mound for Sandpoint; she only gave up three hits and struck out two. Unfortunately, she was outmatched by Lake City’s Kylee Palmer who went a full five innings and struck out 11 batters.

In Game 2, Sandpoint lost control of any momentum they had. The Timberwolves put up a combined 21 runs in the first two innings of the game; 14 in the first and seven in the second.

Ainsley Hull and Hayden Koberstein struggled to record outs on the mound. Hull gave up nine walks; Koberstein gave up seven of her own. For the Timberwolves, Palmer pitched another gem. She gave up no hits and recorded five strikeouts in five innings of work.

Karsyn DeMent and Taylor Hill had three hits out of Lake City’s 11 total in Game 2. Gugino and Bodak added two hits each as well.

Despite being on the wrong end of a blowout, Hawkins-Williams was encouraged by her teams’ effort.

“We are going to continue to build a 'team first' mentality and support each other. We are heading into a gauntlet of games this month, so we will continue to focus on limiting free passes on defense to become more competitive every week. If we can continue to take a step forward and build on every performance, we will be exactly where we want to be by the end of the season,” Hawkins-Williams said.

The Bulldogs (0-8) will be back in action on Saturday, April 15 in a doubleheader versus Post Falls at War Memorial Field.

GAME 1

LAKE CITY 14, SANDPOINT 2

LAKE CITY 120 65 – 14 3 1

SANDPOINT 020 00 – 2 3 6

HITS: LCHS – Bodak, Gugino, Chavez. SHS – McCown, Knowles, Sykes.

2B — Bodak, Gugino, McCown.

GAME 2

LAKE CITY 24, SANDPOINT 0

LAKE CITY (14)71 21 – 24 11 0

SANDPOINT 000 00 – 0 0 7

HITS: LCHS — DeMent 3, Hill 3, Bodak 2, Gugino 2, Kolden. SHS – None.

2B – Hill 2. 3B - Bodak 2, Hill