Founders Field season opens
with a bang
Baseball team wins 14-10, 25-1
Founders Field wasn’t exactly a
pitcher’s paradise last weekend.
Offensively, Wood River’s bats
were on fire (39 runs and 33 hits) in two games on the Hailey diamond.
Steve Hansen, Wood River
righthander, hums a pitch during Saturday’s 25-1 win over Mountain
Home at Hailey’s Founders Field. Express photo by Willy Cook
Big innings and torrid-hot bats
turned into 14-10 and 25-1 non-league wins for the Wood River High
School varsity baseball team in its home openers Friday against Preston
and Saturday against Mountain Home.
Wood River (11-2) extended its
winning streak to six, during which it has outscored foes 83-20. The
Wolverines scored eight runs in the first inning against Preston, and a
school-record 15 runs in the first frame against Mountain Home Saturday.
The news wasn’t all good, though.
For one thing, Wood River coach
Lars Hovey hoped to play closer games and use the non-conference duels
to "work on some things," before getting deeper into the Sawtooth
Central Idaho Conference league schedule.
"But it’s nice to get those big
innings and see our bats come alive," said Hovey about a Hailey team
that was expected to manufacture a lot of runs and play tight games this
season.
Then again, there was a truly
frightening injury suffered by Preston senior pitcher Todd Parker
Friday.
Righthander Parker was working on
his third batter of the game, Wood River #3 hitter Joe Paisley, when
Paisley ripped a line drive up the middle. The ball struck Parker in the
head, squarely in the forehead and temple.
Hovey, recounting the severity of
the impact, said, "It was not a glancing blow." The ball caromed nearly
all the way to the Wood River dugout, and Parker collapsed on the mound,
unconscious for a few anxious moments.
Parker finally got up and was able
to walk off the field. His parents took their son to St. Luke’s Wood
River Medical Center, where a CAT scan revealed internal bleeding. He
was life-flighted to a Pocatello hospital.
The standout Preston athlete,
headed for Idaho State University to play football, remained in the
intensive care unit throughout the weekend. Hovey was informed of his
condition by Preston coach Mike Hansen.
Hovey said, "The kid isn’t out of
the woods yet, but he’s alert and in good spirits. He still has some
bleeding. They anticipate a strong recovery."
One of the most concerned people
was Paisley, the Wood River senior who stood alongside Parker on the
mound for about 10 minutes after the injury, and then telephoned Parker
Friday night at the Pocatello hospital.
The sudden loss of Parker, one of
Preston’s top pitchers and hitters who isn’t expected to play again this
season, had an immediate impact on the Indian fortunes Friday.
Wood River ended up scoring eight
runs on eight hits in the first frame, then added three more runs on
four hits in the second to lead 11-2.
Left fielder Kellen Kinghorn
clouted a three-run homer—Wood River’s first round-tripper of the
season—in the first. And shortstop Steve Durkin added a two-run double.
With 12 errors, six by each side,
game was anything but an artistic masterpiece. Preston chipped away and
drilled eight of its 10 hits in the final four frames to make it close
at 14-10.
The winning pitcher was Tyler
Thiede (3-1), who allowed three earned runs and six hits in six innings
of work. He walked five and whiffed seven Indians. Ted Dankanyin worked
the seventh, yielding four hits.
Six Wolverines enjoyed multi-hit
games in the 17-hit attack led by leadoff batter Brady Femling (3 hits,
3 runs), Durkin (2 hits, 3 RBI), Paisley (2 hits), Dylan McIlhenny (3
singles), Steve Hansen (2 hits, 2 runs) and Dankanyin (2 hits, 2 runs).
The hitting continued Saturday.
Wood River batted around twice and
sent up 20 batters in an eight-hit, 15-run first inning uprising.
Mountain Home didn’t help its cause with five errors, nine for the game.
The first inning took 40 minutes to complete.
Although he walked an
uncharacteristic seven batters Saturday morning, righty Steve Hansen
(3-1) enticed two double-play balls, left the bases loaded once and
whiffed his final batter with two runners aboard. McIlhenny made a fine
catch in right.
Tyson Reynoso worked two scoreless
innings in relief as the lopsided game ended on the run rule after five.
Reynoso (3 runs, 4 RBI) was also a
factor at the plate, and first baseman Thiede (5 RBI) delivered a
three-run triple in the monstrous inning. Another run producer was #9
hitter and third baseman Dankanyin (3 RBI).
In all, Wood River had 16 hits.
Leading the way were Durkin (3 hits, 3 runs), Paisley (2 hits, 4 runs, 2
RBI), McIlhenny (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBI), Kinghorn (2 hits, 4 runs),
Femling (2 hits) and catcher Billy Kramer (2 hits).
Over two games, the 1-4 Wood River
batters went a combined 22-for-41 (.537) with 24 runs scored.
Kuna, Teton due Saturday
Wood River (11-2, 2-0 SCIC) was
scheduled to visit the Filer Wildcats (13-2, 1-1 SCIC) Tuesday for an
important Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference twinbill, with both games
counting in the league standings.
Filer lost 11-10 and 6-4 at Buhl
March 16, and since has won 11 consecutive games including the
championship of the Buhl Midseason Classic tournament 12-4 over Buhl
April 10. The Wildcats have another league game against Buhl Saturday,
April 24.
Next up on the Founders Field
diamond is a doubleheader Saturday, April 24 against Kuna at 11 a.m. and
Teton of Driggs at 4 p.m. Kuna will face off against Teton about 2 p.m.
Kuna defeated Wood River 6-2 in
the opening game of the season March 12 at Kuna. And, of course, Wood
River defeated Teton 15-1 in last May’s State 3A title game at Ontario,
Ore.