STATE SOFTBALL: Timberlake brings home fourth-place trophy in 4A; Coeur d'Alene bows out in 6A after second straight tough loss

4A 

NAMPA — After dropping their opener Thursday, the Timberlake Tigers won twice on Friday in the losers bracket before falling in their third game of the day to finish with the fourth-place trophy from the state 4A softball tournament at Skyview High. 

No. 6 seed Timberlake beat No. 7 Preston 10-2 and No. 5 Teton 4-2, then was eliminated after losing to No. 3 Weiser for the second time in two days, this time 5-3. 

Timberlake fell to Weiser 7-2 in the first round Thursday, after leading 2-1 in the sixth. 

“Today was a great day,” said Timberlake coach Casi Lupinacci, who announced earlier this season she was stepping down as coach at the end of this, her 10th season, as Tigers head coach. “The girls fought hard. They were tired, coming through the losers bracket, but they battled. Shae (Jones) threw three great games for us. Amy McCune hit the ball well all tournament long. I am so proud of these kids. I learned so much from them, and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. These kids earned it.”

Jones, a freshman, struck out 31 in 20 innings on Friday. 

In the Preston game, Jones fanned 16 and drove in two runs, Marissa Needs homered and Alannah Winland went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. 

Against Teton, senior Jesi Kitchin drove in a pair of runs and Jones delivered a sacrifice fly for Timberlake, which had just three hits. Jones struck out nine.  

Against Weiser, McCune hit an RBI single to start a three-run fourth that pulled Timberlake within 4-3.  

Madi Janicek, who struck out 11 in a two-hitter Thursday for Weiser, fanned seven and scattered three hits on Friday against the Tigers. 

Lupinacci guided Timberlake to state nine times (the 2020 season was canceled in April due to COVID-19), bringing home five trophies (a second, a third and three fourth-place finishes), along with seven league titles and seven district titles. Her overall record at Timberlake was 161-57. 

TIMBERLAKE 10, PRESTON 2 

Preston    000    200    0    —    2    7    5 

Timberlake    222    013    x    —    10    11    1 

Ellie Keller, Tylee Archibald (4) and Paisley Campbell; Shae Jones and Taylor Bentley. 

HITS: Pres — Biggs, Keller, Dunn, Smith 2, Jones, Owens. TL — Needs, Allaway, Kitchin, Jones, Winland 3, McCune, Lee, Green 2. 2B — Winland, Green. HR — Needs. 

TIMBERLAKE 4, TETON 2 

Timberlake    101    002    0    —    4    3    2 

Teton    000    020    0    —    2    6    6 

Shae Jones and Taylor Bentley; Jimmi Williamson, Gracie Kincaid (6) and Kapri Eiden. 

HITS: TL — Allaway, Kitchin, McCune. Teton — Kincaid 2, Eiden, Wombacher, Strong, Hansen.  

WEISER 5, TIMBERLAKE 3 

Timberlake    000    300    0    —    3    3    4 

Weiser    310    010    x    —    5    5    2 

Shae Jones and Taylor Bentley; Madi Janicek and Bennett Torres. 

HITS: TL — Needs, McCune 2. Wei — Shirts, Stromberg, Torres 2, Janicek.  

6A 

Timberline 2 

Coeur d’Alene 1 

MERIDIAN — Another day, another heartbreaking finish for the Vikings at the state 6A softball tournament. 

Sixth-seeded Coeur d’Alene led 1-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning, only to see second seed Timberline of Boise tie it in the sixth, then win it with a walk-off single in the seventh to eliminate the Vikings in two games at Owyhee High. 

Coeur d’Alene, which led No. 3 Eagle on Thursday until the Mustangs scored four runs in the sixth and won 4-2, finished 18-4. 

“We had a quick trip to Boise but we played exceptionally well,” seventh-year Coeur d’Alene coach Bobbi Darretta said. “Losing in the bottom of the seventh with two outs off a blooper is tough, but my girls got moved around in positions because of injuries during the game and we still competed with the best.” 

Against Timberline, Coeur d’Alene broke the ice in the top of the sixth when sophomore Jenna Davenport doubled with one out, and eventually scored on a wild pitch. 

Timberline tied it on an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, then won it with a two-out single in the seventh to score the runner from third. 

Davenport went 2 for 3 for the Vikings, and struck out six in four innings of relief. Leah Nordman, who started the game in the circle, fanned three in 2.2 scoreless innings. 

“Jenna was the youngest pitcher in the two games at state and had an equal amount of strikeouts with Timberline; Timberline had two errors and we had none. They just had six hits and we had five so the game was tight until the end. I couldn’t be happier with our season and we are still young with only two seniors leaving us next year. I couldn’t be prouder of my girls and calling myself a Viking.” 

Delaney Wright, who has signed with NCAA Division I Utah Tech in St. George, struck out nine and scattered five hits for Timberline. 

Coeur d’Alene    000    001    0    —    1    5    0 

Timberline    000    001    1    —    2    6    2 

2 out when winning run scored. 

Leah Nordman, Jenna Davenport (3) and Ollie Dudley; Delaney Wright and N/A. 

HITS: Cd’A — Knutson, Davenport 2, Henderson, Nordman. Tim — Casch, Graklanoff, Wright, Pereira 2, Hill. 2B — Davenport, Wright.