STATE 6A BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: Vikings have the pieces to bid for state title

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

Two things any high school team looks for are senior leadership and an experienced coaching staff. 

Brandon Williams, in his first year as head baseball coach at Coeur d’Alene High, is grateful for both. 

“Having Kolbe Coey roaming the outfield for me, having Harrison (Trunkey-Evans) in the infield (at shortstop), Tyson Voorhees (second base), both those guys up the middle, is absolutely crucial,” Williams said of three of his seniors. 

Coeur d’Alene takes part in the newfangled 6A Championship Series, a four-team double-elimination event running today through Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, home of the Boise Hawks. 

Coeur d’Alene (18-5), the No. 3 seed, opens today vs. No. 2 seed Middleton (20-4) at 3 p.m. PDT. No. 1 Owyhee (26-2) plays No. 4 Mountain View (21-10) at 6.

All told, Coeur d’Alene has nine seniors on the roster, including pitcher/infielder Will Beckenhauer, pitcher Kai Wheeler and outfielder Dylan Sutich. 

“From there, the rest are pretty much ‘youngins’ starting for me,” Williams said. “They see what those guys are doing, they see how they practice, and when you follow what good leaders do, you’re going to elevate everybody’s game.” 

“Having seniors that are mentors really help,” Coeur d’Alene junior infielder Gavin Helms said. 

Coeur d’Alene could have even more mentors, but three of the nine seniors were lost, either before the season or early in the season, to injury — outfielder Owen Field, catcher Richie Hackett and pitcher Hudson Kramer.  

Field, the Vikings’ projected leadoff hitter, suffered a torn MCL early in the season. Kramer, who last pitched with any regularity as a freshman, was unable to return from shoulder issues that have plagued him since then.  

“Thank God I surrounded myself with one of the best coaching staffs around,” Williams said. “Without them, I couldn’t do anything out here with these boys.” 

Those assistant coaches include third-base coach Mike Borowski, first-base coach (and former Coeur d’Alene head baseball coach) Brian Holgate, pitching coach Eric Smith, and former catcher Skyler Mantz. 

Coeur d’Alene is seeking its first state title in baseball. The Vikings have been runners-up a few times, most recently in 2013. 

Owyhee is the three-time defending state champs. 

Williams and the Vikings had enough pitching to get through last weekend’s play-in series, playing three games in two days. 

This week, Coeur d’Alene will play once on Thursday, once on Friday, then could play as many as three on Saturday. 

“It's spread out a little bit,” Williams said of the schedule. “You can’t go past that 60 mark (pitching), because then it’s one day’s rest. But you have to win Game 1 to get to Game 2, so once we get to Game 1, I’m going to go all for it, then we’ll figure out Game 2.”