Wolverines slip past Jerome 7-6 for third place

Wood River wins twice in baseball tourney

Errorless team defense and a balanced hitting attack enabled the Wood River High School baseball team to rally past defending champion Jerome 7-6 in Saturday’s third-place game of the Wood River Classic baseball tournament, played at Nelson Field in Hailey.

Meanwhile, Vallivue of Caldwell (15-6) used an 11-run third inning and 15-hit attack to overwhelm Snake River Valley Conference foe Kuna 18-5 in Saturday’s five-inning championship game at Founders Field. Vallivue scored 51 runs (17 per game) in three lopsided wins.

Sporadic sunshine, hail and cool weather were the order of the day Saturday. Nonetheless, the eight teams finished two days of play with their allotment of three games. Vallivue’s hitting and outstanding fundamentals gave the Falcons the trophy, but the host Wolverines gave home fans some thrills.

Fittingly, Wood River and league rival Jerome met in a grudge match.

The protagonists in last year’s Wood River Classic title game won by Jerome 3-2 clashed this year for the tournament consolation prize. Wood River had lost 11-4 to eventual champ Vallivue Friday evening and Jerome had dropped a 9-4 semi-final to Kuna Saturday morning.

A solid team effort and good pitching from a pair of young players boosted Wood River.

Wood River spread its 13 hits among nine different players led by second baseman Max Bailey (3-for-3, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI). Indeed, Wood River has outhit Jerome 58-35 in five games this season, but the games have been close because the Wolverines have committed 12 errors to Jerome’s 4.

Saturday, Wood River had no errors against Jerome and catcher Kenny Nelson made an excellent defensive play to end the tight game.

Bailey gave Hailey a 2-0 lead with a 2-run homer—Wood River’s first round-tripper of the season—over the 330-foot fence in straightaway center field. The Wolverine pitcher in his first varsity start was freshman righthander Tyler Nice, who kept the ball low and threw well in a three-inning, 5-strikeout stint.

Jerome led 5-2 in the third when Nice opened with a single, Bailey hit an RBI single down the left field line, Royce Barney (2 hits) singled to right and first baseman Kayo Sady ripped an RBI double cutting Jerome’s lead to 5-4.

Summoned in middle relief was Wood River sophomore righthander James Cordes. He enticed five ground-ball outs and kept the home team in the game with three innings of 1-hit, scoreless pitching. Center fielder Justin Herald helped with a leaping catch on Jim Shockey’s well-hit line drive.

Cordes started the home fifth with a perfect drag bunt and moved to third on Bailey’s one-out double. Left fielder Bo Pritchett lifted a sacrifice fly to right for a 5-5 tie, and third baseman Alex McLaughlin belted a two-strike pitch to the center field fence for an RBI double. 6-5.

Wood River added an insurance run in the sixth when Herald doubled with one out, Kenny Nelson singled him to third and Cordes blooped an RBI single to right.

In the seventh, Wolverine coach Lars Hovey brought on hard-throwing lefthander T.J. Peterson to protect the lead and nail down the win. Peterson had a little trouble finding the strike zone and walked home a run with the bases loaded. Jerome trailed by a run, 7-6.

Jerome runners still jammed the bases when Peterson got a big strikeout for the second out. Catcher Nelson alertly noticed that the runner at first, Shockey, had been straying far off the bag. After catching the third strike, Nelson fired down to Sady at first base, and Sady applied the tag on Shockey for the third out.

Cordes (1-0) got his first varsity win. Jerome’s sophomore lefty K.C. Hills pitched a good game, but Wood River got its hits when it counted.

Friday, Wood River opened the two-day, eight-team tournament with an 11-4 victory over Payette and an 11-4 loss to Vallivue, both games at Founders Field. The loss to Vallivue nine snapped a four-game win streak for the Wolverines.

Against Payette, Wood River assumed a 2-1 lead after two innings when starting pitcher Sady doubled and DH Peterson ripped a 2-run double to left. Left fielder Bailey (2 hits, 3 runs) drilled a two-out single and McLaughlin (2 hits) drove Bailey home for a 3-1 Wolverine lead after three innings.

Righthander Sady, sailing along with a 3-hitter and 6 strikeouts through four innings, ran into trouble with a couple of walks in the fifth—and Payette scored 3 runs for a slim 4-3 lead. Wood River answered with 3 runs, Cam Lloyd’s leadoff triple starting the rally. A well-executed hit-and-run single by McLaughlin pushed the rally along.

In the home sixth, Wood River provided reliever Matt Zachary with breathing room. The Wolverines (12 hits) pushed 5 runs across with 5 hits. Third baseman Brandon Bush (2 hits) opened with a double and catcher Kenny Nelson singled him home. Lloyd (2 hits) added an RBI single and Bailey a 2-run double.

Zachary (4-1) allowed 2 hits and no runs in two-and-a-third.

Against Vallivue, starter Peterson gave up a leadoff triple, walked a pair and spotted the Falcons a 5-0 lead—only 3 of the runs earned. Wood River bounced back, capitalizing on 2 Vallivue errors and RBI hits by McLaughlin and Peterson to reduce its deficit to 5-4.

The rest of the game was a showcase for Vallivue junior righthander Jason Wonderlich (8 strikeouts).

Wonderlich started firing his low strikes early in the game, mixed it up with a sweeping curveball and finished with a 3-hit complete game. Wood River never advanced a runner as far as second base until the seventh inning. McLaughlin managed a pair of singles and Bailey added the other Wolverine hit.

Coach Gordon Gunter, whose Wendell team (9-8) lost to Vallivue 22-0 in the tournament opener, said, "Vallivue is a very impressive team. I told coach Hovey, after we played Vallivue, that Wood River would have its hands full against them."

For the tournament, Bailey hit 6-for-9 with 7 runs and 6 RBI, and McLaughlin was 5-for-8 with 3 RBI.

Vallivue’s victory

Sophomore righthander Jason Myers threw a five-inning, 6-hitter lifting Vallivue past Kuna 18-5 in Saturday’s run-ruled title game.

The Falcons outhit Kuna 15-6 led by second baseman C.J. Pfeifer (3 hits, 2 RBI), third baseman Wonderlich (3 hits, 4 RBI), center fielder Aaron Woodard (3 hits, 3 RBI) and catcher Ronnie Boyd (2 hits, 3 RBI).

Against Vallivue, Kuna didn’t use its ace lefthander Jeremiah Bullock, the senior who was being watched by major league scouts last weekend at Founders Field. Bullock, who throws in the 88-89 miles-per-hour range, had thrown a 1-hitter at Vallivue in the last meeting of the teams.

Vallivue coach Lelan Sasaki said he hoped his senior-laden team would continue its hot hitting when the conference tournament opens Saturday, May 2. Vallivue and Kuna are fighting for the #2 seed, with Emmett the top-seeded nine.

In other Wood River Classic games last weekend:

Madison of Rexburg defeated Wendell 11-0 for fifth place and the Hillcrest junior varsity downed Payette 12-4 for seventh place.

In other games: Kuna defeated Madison 10-4 and Jerome advanced 13-5 over Hillcrest in the opening round; while Madison pasted Hillcrest 14-6 and Wendell downed Payette 12-4 in the consolation round.