LEGION BASEBALL: Ellwood fuels eight-run inning in Northern Lakes win

RATHDRUM — Raiston Ellwood drove in four runs in Northern Lakes’ eight-run fifth inning in the first game, and the Mountaineers beat the Orofino Merchants 9-3 in class A North Idaho League play Friday at Gorton Field.

Northern Lakes won the nonleague second game 10-4.

Ellwood broke a 1-all tie with a two-run triple for Northern Lakes (8-5, 3-3 NIL). Ty Gallimore added a two-run single later in the inning to make it 7-1, and Ellwood capped the scoring in the inning with a two-run single.

“He’s been kind of our rock all year, that kid can flat out swing it,” Johnson said of Ellwood, who finished 2 for 4 and scored twice. “Having a good kid like that at leadoff, he’s a tone setter for us.”

Kenny Wells scattered five hits in a complete game for the Mountaineers, striking out four and walking four. All three runs allowed were unearned.

“I just think we were a little sluggish getting going,” Johnson said. “Thank goodness for Kenny Wells; he just kept hanging zeros, and kept stringing the game out.”

In the second game, Caleb Mason hit a run-scoring double to trigger a six-run first inning for Northern Lakes. RBI singles by Wells and Sam Pemberton put the Mountaineers up 3-2.

After a slow start by his team in the opener, Johnson asked assistant coach Jaret Taylor to address the team between games. Taylor last played with Northern Lakes in 2020, is a Lakeland High grad who played at Walla Walla Community College for two seasons, and in the spring was an assistant under Johnson at Timberlake High.

The Mountaineers responded to Taylor’s message with a six-run first inning.

“I told him whatever you said to them, say it every game,” Johnson said.

Orofino is 8-9, 3-5.

Northern Lakes travels to Lewiston on Monday to play the Lewis-Clark Twins in a makeup of a doubleheader rained out last Tuesday.

FIRST GAME

Orofino 000 100 2 — 3 5 2

N. Lakes 100 080 x — 9 7 3

Hanna, B. Barlow (5) and Christopherson; Kenny Wells and Jace Cooksey. HITS: Oro — Olive 2, Rigney, Phillips, Wicks. NL – R. Ellwood 2, Cooksey, Allaway, Lenz, Gallimore, T. Ellwood. 2B — Wicks, Allaway. 3B — R. Ellwood.

SECOND GAME

Orofino 202 000 0 — 4 5 2

N. Lakes 600 220 x — 10 13 2

Olive, B. Barlow (2), Wicks (5) and Phillips, Olive (5); Grant Allaway, Caleb Mason (4) and Sam Pemberton.

HITS: Oro — Tonderold 2, Barlow, Olive 2. NL — Horn 2, Mason 2, Allaway 2, Lenz 2, Wells 2, Pemberton 2, Gallimore. 2B — Mason.

Cd’A 5

Nampa 1

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Jesse Brown pitched six innings of two-hit shutout ball and the Lumbermen class AA team got strong pitching for the second straight game to improve to 2-0 at the Heroes Park Invitational.

Brown struck out three and walked three for Coeur d’Alene (10-6), which is 2-0 in tourney play.

“Jesse Brown was dealing,” said Lums coach Darren Taylor, who watched Cooper Erickson pitch a three hitter in a 9-0 win over the Twin Falls Cowboys on Thursday. “That’s what we were expecting from those two.”

Brown also plays first base and third base, and Erickson plays second and third. With those guys on the mound, Taylor shuffled his infield, putting Owen Benson at shortstop, Joe DuCoeur at third and Bryce Hall at second.

“Our infield was spotless; they made a bunch of good plays,” Taylor said.

Kyle Bridge, Erickson and Jared Taylor each had RBI singles in a three-run second inning. Erickson and DuCoeur each finished 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Coeur d’Alene plays the Pocatello Runnin’ Rebels today at 2 p.m. PDT and the Helena Senators at 4:30 to complete round-robin play in the seven-team tourney.

The top team earns a bye into Sunday’s championship game; the No. 2 and 3 seeds meet in a Sunday semifinal, with the winner advancing to the title game.

“This is like the state tournament,” Taylor said of the tourney field. “Pokey and Nampa are going to be at the state tournament. Pokey looks like they’re the cream of the crop. I think the tournament starts tomorrow.”

Nampa 000 000 1 — 1 3 3

Cd’A 030 110 x — 5 9 0

KJ Kerns, Triston Miley (5) and Jacob Scott; Jesse Brown, CJ Elliott (7) and Jared Taylor.

HITS: Nam — Wallingford, Parlin, Wade. Cd’A — Christ, Bumbaugh, DuCoeur 2, Bridge, Ziegler, Erickson 2, Taylor. 2B — Parlin, DuCoeur. 3B — Christ.