Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Clutch pitching carries Hailey to three wins

Weekend swing through Treasure Valley


Complete-game pitching performances by seniors Tyler Thiede and Tyson Reynoso highlighted Wood River High School's three-game winning run through the Treasure Valley last Friday and Saturday.

Thiede (1-1) scattered five hits and walked one batter leading Wood River to a 9-1 victory Friday in a non-conference baseball game at Middleton. "It was a very impressive game for Tyler, encouraging for him and for the entire team," said Wood River coach Lars Hovey.

After lashing out 19 hits in a come-from-behind 10-5 triumph over Skyview Saturday, Wood River made it a doubleheader sweep with a 2-0 nightcap win behind Reynoso's one-hit, complete-game pitching job. He whiffed five and walked four Hawks in the 94-pitch effort.

Hovey said, "Like any team in Idaho at this stage of the season, we're just looking for a little more consistency. But we did a lot of things well over two days. We got the pitching we expected and played good defense, and our bats are continuing to come around."

Wood River is maintaining a team batting average of .327 through five games led by Reynoso and Dylan Fullmer.

At Middleton, designated hitter Fullmer (3 hits) continued to have the hot hand with clutch hits in the first inning to get his team off the mark. His two-run single in the opening stanza capped a three-run first.

Wood River (9 hits, only 1 error) added five runs in the third building an 8-1 lead for Thiede. Getting runs early relaxes a team and its pitcher, Hovey said, and that was certainly the case at Middleton.

Morgan Uhrig and Reynoso each had two hits. Catcher Billy Kramer drew three walks.

In the Skyview opener won by the visitors 10-5 at Nampa, ace righthander Steve Hansen struggled a bit through four innings and sophomore Kenny Cardona relieved Hansen in the fifth, with the game tied 4-4.

Another two-run Fullmer (2 hits) single in the first and a two-run Reynoso (4 hits) double in the fifth accounted for Wood River's first four runs against Skyview. In the sixth, Ben Molyneux and Thiede (3 hits) scored for a 6-5 lead on singles by Kramer (3 hits), Reynoso and Derek Abbott (2 hits).

Wood River broke it open by batting around in a five-run seventh. Kramer's two-run double was the big blow. Meanwhile, reliever Cardona (1-0) filled the bases with no outs in the home seventh, then struck out the side with the sacks jammed for his first win.

"Kenny really bore down," said Hovey. "And we hit the ball hard all game, which accounted for a few of Skyview's six errors." Indeed, the 3-4-5 Wood River batters—Thiede, Kramer and Reynoso—went 10-for-14 in the big triumph.

In the nightcap, Hovey said he didn't expect Reynoso to pitch the whole game. But it turned into a pitcher's duel and Reynoso was equal to the task. "He was throwing 12 to 15 pitches an inning, so it wasn't that strenuous," Hovey said.

Reynoso (1-0) allowed only one hit and one runner to third base, both coming in the third inning when second sacker Fullmer and shortstop Brady Femling turned a double play to get Hailey out of trouble.

The Wolverines (8 hits) scored their runs early, thanks to #3 hitter Hansen (3 hits). Fullmer (2 hits) singled in the first and scored on Hansen's RBI single. In the third, leadoff hitter Femling singled, stole second and scored on Hansen's second hit of the close contest.

"It was a good confidence booster at the plate for Steve," said Hovey about Hansen's 3-for-3 performance at the dish.

Wood River (4-1) carries its three-game winning streak to Storey Park in Meridian Thursday, March 24. That diamond will play host to pool play in the 24-team Bucks Bags early-season tournament.

The Wolverines play Idaho Falls Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and then have a doubleheader Friday—at 10 a.m. against Caldwell and 4 p.m. against Meridian. Depending on how the Wolverines fare, they'll play Saturday at either noon or 3 p.m.—at Storey Park or on the Eagle High School diamond.




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