Bengals, Bantams, Bears and beyond ready for state baseball

May 17—Eight area baseball teams are gearing up to take the diamond for state tournament action, which begins today today at the Idaho 1A ranks and later in the week for the others.

Lewiston, Moscow, Clarkston, Clearwater Valley, Potlatch, Troy, Prairie and Orofino will all represent the area at the end-of-the-season tourney.

Here's how each of them got there:

Bengals bought in

Last year, the Lewiston baseball team cruised to a 5A Inland Empire League crown after finishing 23-6 overall and 14-4 in league.

The Bengals' regular season success didn't translate, as they fell 6-4 to eventual state champion Owyhee in the first round of the Idaho Class 5A state tournament. But with nine returning seniors, the Bengals seemed primed for another successful season.

That wouldn't be the case to start with, as Lewiston was inconsistent to begin the spring. The Bengals finished the regular season going 13-11 overall and an abysmal 2-10 in league play.

During their rough stretch, the Bengals were bit by the injury bug, but more prominently, Lewiston lost a sense of direction.

"We had to reset what our expectations were," Lewiston baseball coach Darren Trainor said. "They were upset with the way things were going."

During that talk sometime in late April, Trainor explained that in a four-team league, regular season struggles don't matter much as long as you show up in the postseason — and he was right.

The Bengals finished 5-1 in their final six games, which included two wins over Coeur d'Alene, a team they fell to four times in the regular season.

Lewiston capped off this stretch by earning a berth to Sate following a 6-1 state play-in victory over Rocky Mountain on Saturday at Church Field.

"I'm just really proud of the direction of the program," Trainor said. "Saturday was a great turnout. We had people from the community and kids from the JV team and freshman team out there supporting us. It was just a good day."

Lewiston will be the No. 8 seed at the tournament and will have a rematch against No. 1 seed Owyhee at 6:30 p.m. in the opening round Thursday at Wolfe Field on the campus of the College of Idaho.

"They are extremely well coached," Trainor said. "They're going to put the ball in play and they have a ton of depth on the mound."

Bears claw in

As Trainor said, when it comes to smaller leagues, as long as the best is saved for last, you'll have a chance at State.

The Moscow baseball team had an even smaller playing field in the three-team 4A Inland Empire League.

The Bears started the year slow, going 2-8 in their first 10 games and 3-7 in their final 10. But just like the Bengals, Moscow found a way to get hot at the right time.

Moscow junior Levi Anderson sat down 10 Lakeland batters on May 6 in the Bears' 6-1 victory to earn a spot in the district championship game. The junior has been the Bears' ace throughout their end-of-year stretch.

The left-hander has pitched 38 innings and retired 62 batters. Even more impressive, he's only walked 25 out of the 181 batters he's faced in 2023.

"He struggled a bit with confidence at first," Moscow baseball coach Griffin Rod said. "But the daily grind helped him stay on track. He brings out the best in people, and he's a guy that wants to be in clutch situations."

The other postseason standout has been Jack Driskill. The third baseman tallied three singles in Game 1 of the championship series against Sandpoint.

Driskill is a cool .411 at the plate with a team-high 30 hits.

The junior has been the cog that runs Moscow's offense, leading the Bears in nearly every offensive category, including RBI (14), stolen bases (14) and on-base percentage.

"He's one of the most fun competitors I've been around in a long time," Rod said. "He just has a knack for making things happen, and he is just so reliable."

Moscow enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed and will face Skyview at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Skip Walker Field in Twin Falls.

Consistent Clarkston

The Bantams started the regular season 11-0 and looked like the favorites to land the 2A Greater Spokane League crown.

During this stretch, Clarkston collected victories over league foes Pullman, East Valley and Rogers.

The only league opponent the Bantams couldn't seem to clear this season was Shadle Park. The Highlanders ended Clarkston's 11-game win streak following a 5-4 decision on April 19. The Highlanders also defeated the Bantams 4-3 in the district championship game.

Clarkston still managed to earn its way to the state tournament following a 4-0 victory over Ellensburg in a Washington Class 2A crossover game.

The Bantams were treated to a great pitching performance by junior pitcher Trace Green in that one. Green retired five batters before reaching his pitch limit in the bottom of the seventh inning. This forced the Bantams to call on Lance Heitstuman to close the game with the bases loaded and one out.

With the lights on bright, the senior struck out the final batter to send the Bantams to the end-of-the-year tournament.

Clarkston's pitching staff and defense have been the highlights of the year. They've allowed three runs per game and haven't allowed double-digit runs all season.

Clarkston opens up Washington Class 2A state tournament play as the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 Fife in the opening round at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Selah High School.

Maniacs making a push

The Orofino baseball team finished a near-flawless league season at 9-1 in Central Idaho League play.

The Maniacs' one league loss this season was also their only loss to an in-state competitor — a 5-1 blemish to Grangeville in the second game of a doubleheader on April 29.

Orofino will host the Idaho Class 2A state tournament and will play Declo in the opening round at noon on Thursday.

The Maniacs are led on the mound by junior Drew Hannah. Hannah has pitched 37 innings and has allowed just 17 hits while striking out 56.

Orofino is led at the dish by Bodey Howell, who has a batting average of .455 and has registered 20 hits.

Whitepine League represent

No matter what sport, the Whitepine League always provides some of the best competition in the state.

Troy, Clearwater Valley, Potlatch and Prairie will all represent the league in the Idaho Class 1A state tournament.

Three out of the four teams that qualified for state come in with a 10-4 or better league record. The only exception to that rule is Potlatch, which was 12-9 overall and 7-7 in league action.

The Loggers notched a 3-0 win over Kendrick on May 10 in a district play-in game to earn a shot at the dance.

Potlatch won by relying on the arm of Jaxon Vowels. The junior pitched a no-hitter and finished with 14 strikeouts. The ace has been dealing all season, striking out 44 batters compared to just 12 walks.

The Loggers will play Glenns Ferry in the opening round of the tournament at noon today at Church Field in Lewiston.

Potlatch's run at a district championship came to an end at the hands of the No. 1 seed during the tourney, Clearwater Valley.

The Rams downed the Loggers 12-9 in the opening round of the tournament. Clearwater Valley has been consistent at putting their league foes to rest — finishing 10-3 in Whitepine league action.

Whether it be close games or blowouts, the Rams have found a way to win games against their league opponents. Most of this has come from the entirety of their lineup being able to make contact.

"They're going out there and swinging for contact," Rams coach Josh Bradley said. "They're not going out there and swinging for the fences. You just have to choke up on the bat and make contact."

Clearwater Valley will be the No. 2 seed from the north and plays the No. 3 seed from the south, Horseshoe Bend, in the opening round at 6 p.m. today.

The Rams fell 20-8 in the district championship to Troy. The Trojans scored 13 runs in the bottom of the sixth to cap off the victory.

That victory earned Troy the No. 1 seed in the north and a date with Idaho City in the opening round at 9 a.m. today.

The Trojans came into the district tournament as the No. 3 seed, but the quality at-bats and work on the mound they got from senior Dominic Holden and junior Joseph Bendel got the job done.

Bendel enters the tournament as the Trojans' leader at the plate, he's batting a clean .438 at the plate and has three home runs on the season.

Holden has a 0.58 ERA and has done some solid work on the mound. He leads the entire league with 89 strikeouts and has allowed just 13 hits in 48 innings pitched.

Troy earned its way to the championship game after downing Prairie 9-0 in the opening round. The Pirates redeemed themselves in the third-place game, however, beating Potlatch 18-0 in five innings to improve their seeding.

They will play the No. 1 seed from the South, Vision Charter, at 3 p.m. today in the opening round.

Prairie led the Whitepine League in shutout victories with four and is led at the plate by Cody Kaschmitter, who has a .409 batting average with 14 hits.

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.