Sandpoint 7, Moscow 6

Sandpoint 6, Moscow 5

SANDPOINT — Junior Dallen Williams hit a walk-off single in the opener, junior Soren Caprio had a two-run double and multi-hit effort in the nightcap, and the host Bulldogs bested the Bears in both games of a doubleheader at War Memorial Field on Saturday, propelling themselves to tied for No. 1 in the 5A Inland Empire League standings.

Williams, who was 2-for-3 in the opener, hit his walk-off single to center on a 1-0 count. He also tied the game in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, also to center.

"We put together some good at-bats that inning," Sandpoint High head coach Rickly Klontz said of the inning Williams hit the walk-off. "Dallen put a really good swing on the ball and drilled it right up the middle and Drew (Lehman) scored to walk it off."

Down 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third, senior Drew Lehman, who was 3-for-3 in the contest, hit a three-run bases-clearing triple to deep right to bring the Bulldogs within one run. In the fourth, juniors Sage Medeiros and Coleman Inge hit back-to-back RBI singles to give Sandpoint a 5-4 lead.

"We felt like that was going to come," coach Klontz said about the 5-run fifth frame. "We got outside of what our approach should be at the plate early on. We made a few adjustments and the guys really bought into it and put it together. We've shown the ability to put together those big innings throughout the year. It really boils down to the depth that we have."

Medeiros relived sophomore Brennan Shaw, who started off the game with a solid four innings on the bump, in the fifth inning and pitched three one-hit innings of baseball to go along with three strikeouts to lift the Bulldogs to the 1-run victory.

In game two, the result was another 1-run win that was equally as exciting. Moscow outhit Sandpoint 11-7, but the Bulldogs rallied late when it mattered most.

Down 4-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, Shaw hit an RBI single, Caprio a two-run double, and junior Mason Little put a ball in play and the Bulldogs scored two runs on errors to take a 5-4 lead. In the sixth, senior Jesse Turner knocked in an insurance run via an RBI double to left, which proved to be crucial as Sandpoint surrendered a run in the top of the seventh before holding on for the sweep.

On the mound, Williams struck out four batters over four innings, senior Jayden Kuprienko struck out three over 2.2 innings, and Turner came in for the final out and recorded a strikeout in just four pitches to pick up the save.

"Today was a good day," coach Klontz said. "We still have more work to do, but from the momentum that we're riding it was nice to get the two at home — which means we only need a split on the road on Tuesday to get the one-seed. It means a lot to get to host districts, so the wins today put is in the driver seat."

Klontz said his team is hitting their stride at the right time.

"It's fun to watch," coach Klontz said. "The biggest thing is that both of these wins were come from behind victories. That shows a testament to the team's mentality, that there is really no quit... we just have to continue it."

Sandpoint (12-10, 9-7), which has won six in a row, will travel to Moscow on Tuesday for a 5A Inland Empire League doubleheader — the regular season finale for both teams.

GAME ONE

Moscow 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 — 6 3 0

Sandpoint 0 0 3 2 1 0 1 — 7 11 2

PITCHING

SPT — Shaw: 4IP, 2H, 1ER, 4BB, 0K. Medeiros: 3IP, 1H, 0ER, 0BB, 3K. MOS — Kiblen: 5IP, 8H, 6ER, 1BB, 5K. Clark: 1.1IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 0K. 

BATTING

HITS: SPT — Lehman 3, Williams 2, Medeiros 2, Inge 2, Reichart 1, Little 1. MOS — Hurley 1, Izzo 1, Rigney 1; 2B — Lehman, Williams, Rigney. 3B — Lehman; RBI: SPT — Lehman 3, Williams 2, Inge 1, Medeiros 1. MOS — Rigney 2, Clark 2.

GAME TWO 

Moscow 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 — 5 11 1

Sandpoint 0 0 0 0 5 1 X — 6 7 1

PITCHING

SPT — Williams: 4IP, 6H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K. Kuprienko: 2.2IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 3K. MOS — Rigney: 4.1IP, 5H, 3ER, 3BB, 2K. Isakson: 1.2IP, 2H, 1ER, 0BB, 0K.

BATTING

HITS: SPT — Caprio 2, Medeiros 2, Turner 1, Williams 1, Shaw 1. MOS — Izzo 3, Hurley 2, Isakson 1, Hartig 1, Clark 1, Kiblen 1, Breese 1, Helbling 1. 2B — Turner, Caprio, Medeiros, Izzo; RBI: SPT — Caprio 2, Shaw 1, Turner 1. MOS — Izzo 2, Clark 2.

Grangeville 19, Priest River 0

Grangeville 19, Priest River 0

PRIEST RIVER — Priest River High sophomore Brayden Elder had Priest River's lone hit in the opener, freshman Jacob Best struck out eight batters over four frames in the nightcap, and the host Spartans were bested by the Bulldogs in both games of 3A Central Idaho League doubleheader held Saturday at Priest River Junior High.

Priest River (4-11, 4-7) will look to regroup on Wednesday when they host Bonners Ferry for a non-league doubleheader.

GAME ONE

Grangeville 2 4 6 6 1 — 19 15 0

Priest River 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 1 4

Game called in five innings due to run rule.

PITCHING

PR — Collins: 3.1IP, 12H, 14ER, 7BB, 3K. Elder: 1.2IP, 3H, 2ER, 1BB, 0K. GRA — Goicoa: 5IP, 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 13K.

BATTING

HITS: PR — Elder 1. GRA — Goicoa 4, Sickles 3, Long 2, Jackson 2, Told 1, Poxieltner 1, Wassmuth 1, Williams 1; 2B — Goicoa, Long, Poxieltner, Sickles, Told. HR — Goicoa 2, Jackson 1; RBI: PR — None. GRA — Goicoa 7, Jackson 3, Sickles 3, Long 2, Williams 1, Told 1, Poxieltner 1.

GAME TWO

Grangeville 0 1 2 4 12 — 19 11 0

Priest River 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 4

Game called in five innings due to run rule.

PITCHING

PR — Best: 4IP, 7H, 6ER, 3BB, 8K. Eason: 1IP, 4H, 1ER, 5BB, 2K. GRA — Sickles: 4.2IP, 0H, 0ER, 1BB, 9K. Hietzman: 0.1IP, 0H, 0ER, 0BB, 0K.

BATTING

HITS: PR — None. GRA — Wilson 2, Jackson 2, Wassmuth 2, Sickles 2, Poxieltner 1, Williams 1, Long 1; 2B — Jackson, Sickles. 3B — Williams; RBI: PR — None. GRA — Sickles 3, Wassmuth 2, Poxieltner 2, Wilson 2, Jackson 2, Williams 1, Goicoa 1, Brown 1, Long 1.