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Produced & Maintained by Idaho Mountain Express, Box 1013, Ketchum, ID 83340-1013 
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Copyright © 2002 Express Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

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For the week of April 24 - 30, 2002

  Sports

Wood River sweeps 
Buhl in softball

Close 4-3, 8-5 victories in Hailey


Sweeps week came at a great time for the Wood River High School softball team, which got some terrific pitching from senior Amanda Engel and junior Aubrey Kirtley.

Wood River polished off its Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference rivals Kimberly and Buhl with a pair of doubleheader sweeps last week to grab the upper hand halfway through.

Amanda Engel, Wood River senior pitcher, tossed a six-hitter at Buhl in Saturday’s SCIC league game and walked none. It was Amanda’s fifth win of the season. Express photo by Willy Cook

Disregarding the cold and wind, Wood River handled defending SCIC champ Kimberly 14-8 and 18-9 Tuesday. The Bulldogs were sloppy, making 19 errors but Hailey’s hard hitters (11.1 runs per game) made their own luck with 23 hits.

Saturday’s home doubleheader with perennial SCIC power Buhl put a premium on pitching and defense—and Wood River (11-5 overall, 3-2 home) showed it could win that way.

Walking nobody, Engel (5-2) tamed Buhl 4-3 with a six-hitter in the first league game. Kirtley (4-2) scattered 11 hits in the second game and the Wolverines broke open a 3-3 contest with a five-run fifth.

The hitting star of the week was senior clean-up hitter Ashley Nilsen, who drilled the ball nearly every time up. Against Buhl, Nilsen (6-for-6) was never retired. She ripped two doubles, a triple and scored four runs.

Coach Chris Cey was pleased with the pitching and defense as well as his team’s hitting. Hailey’s defensive average dropped to 5.7 runs per game. That’s where winning streaks come from—now five and counting.

The seventh-year head coach also received an unexpected gift. The sweep of Buhl lifted Cey over the century mark in career wins, 101-75.

And counting.

Wood River is 8-0 in all its SCIC games and has outscored its league foes 113-40.

Laurel Williams, the senior Wolverine shortstop, has spearheaded a stingy Hailey defense that is allowing fewer than six runs a game. Last season it was 10. Express photo by Willy Cook

Having gone undefeated through the first half of its league schedule, Wood River begins the second half of its SCIC quest Thursday, April 25 when the Filer Wildcats come to the South Valley Sports Complex field.

In the SCIC action (only the first game counting in twinbills) Wood River stands at 4-0, Kimberly 3-1, Buhl 2-2, Filer 1-3 and Declo 0-4.

Game time is 4 p.m.

Wood River entertains Declo on Saturday, April 27 and Kimberly next Tuesday. The season-ending game at Buhl May 4 may determine the top seed and home site of the SCIC tournament starting Friday, May 10.

 

Tribe ‘Dogs go down

Hailey’s first challenge was to crack the mystique of Kimberly and its fine righthanded pitcher Kayla Lundy. But Wood River has been playing well on the road at 8-3.

Thanks in large part to Lundy, Kimberly hadn’t lost a league game in two years including 7-1 and 11-1 triumphs over Wood River in last year’s SCIC district tournament.

Lundy couldn’t do too much about the 11 errors Kimberly committed in the 14-8 Wolverine first-game win.

But Wood River hit well, got a fine eight-hitter from Engel (5 Ks, 3 BB) and some solid infield defense led by shortstop Laurel Williams and second baseman B.J. Adams.

Staked to a 2-0 lead in the first, Engel stroking a two-out RBI single, Wood River sent up 11 batters in its seven-run third inning for a 9-0 lead. The big blow was a two-run double by Aspen Wenglikowski (2 hits).

Kimberly responded immediately with four runs of its own, a two-run triple by Elaine Gunnell cutting the Bulldog deficit to 9-4.

The game settled into a pitcher’s duel until the ‘Dogs jumped on some shaky Wolverine defense for three more runs and a 9-7 game after six.

But Wood River batted around for the second time in the seventh, scoring the decisive five runs helped by three more Bulldog errors, an RBI double by Kirtley (2 hits, 2 RBI) and a two-run single by Nilsen (2 hits).

Wood River’s hit parade continued in the nightcap as the visitors gave winning pitcher Kirtley an 11-3 cushion after three frames.

Actually, Kimberly’s best chance came in the first inning after a leadoff double by B.J. Adams and a sacrifice fly by Nilsen put Hailey ahead 1-0.

The ‘Dogs loaded the bases with no outs and Kirtley walked home the first run, but catcher Nilsen started a double play that killed Kimberly’s threat. Wood River batted around for 10 runs in the second and third.

A long two-run triple by Kirtley (3 hits) and Nilsen’s RBI double made it 6-1, then the Wolverines tacked on five more runs in the third and ended the game with a six-run seventh.

Against Buhl Saturday, Wood River went ahead 1-0 on a second-inning leadoff single by Nilsen (3 hits, 2 runs) and an RBI double by catcher Joni Chatterton.

A leadoff triple by Adams (2 hits) and sacrifice fly by Ashley Washburn made it 2-1 after three innings. Buhl reached Engel for two runs in the fifth but Wood River got them right back.

Williams (2 hits) opened the home fifth with a single and Nilsen doubled. Kirtley and Engel followed with RBI grounders, Nilsen crossing with the eventual winner. Engel blanked Buhl in the final two frames.

In the second game, Nilsen’s leadoff triple in the second and a Chatterton single made it 1-0. Then one-out singles by Adams (2 hits, 2 runs) and Washburn (2 hits) hiked the home lead to 3-0 after three innings.

Led by the hitting of junior Sherry King (5-for-7, 2 triples, HR on the day), Buhl scratched back for a 3-3 tie in the fifth. Once again, Wood River had a convincing answer with a five-hit, five-run fifth for an 8-3 lead.

Hits by Adams, Nilsen, Engel, Chatterton (2 hits) and Tiffany Wheeler (2 hits) did the damage. And Wood River ended up out-hitting the Tribe 13-11. Kirtley (3 BB) pitched well, blanking Buhl in four of its seven at-bats for the game.

 


The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.