Hailey's Pat Patterson has been just about the hottest high school pitcher in the state of Idaho for the past 12 days. On Thursday morning in Nampa, he was absolutely on fire.
Wood River High School senior Patterson threw the best game of his life at probably the best time. The ace righthander has now won four straight games in 12 days and allowed only six runs in 26 innings.
He threw a complete-game 1-hitter at the Lakeland Hawks and whiffed 14 batters in his team's 4-0 victory that kicked off the State 4A prep baseball tournament at Lofholm Field located at Nampa's Rodeo Park.
All Wood River (10-18) needed to win its first-ever game at the State 4A tournament was Patterson's 110-pitch masterpiece and a monstrous three-run homer belted way over the left field fence by senior designated hitter Danny Kramer with two outs and two runners aboard in the first.
Wood River managed only four hits off Lakeland senior righthander Cory Rohrenbach, one of them a two-out RBI double by leadoff hitter Keven Abbott in the second. It was 4-0, all the runs unearned, after two innings. That's how it stayed. The brisk game took only 94 minutes.
Hailey coach Matt Nelson said about the Lakeland pitcher, "He was good. We got to him early, but that's what we've been doing lately—early and often, we call it, aggressive with the bats. The difference now is we believe we can score with two outs.
"We beat a very tough Lakeland team, and it doesn't get any easier."
Patterson, eligible to pitch again Saturday, was strong at the outset and stayed strong all the way.
He said afterward, "I've been feeling it the last four games. There's no comparison between the way I feel now and the way I felt earlier in the season. I wanted to come out and prove everybody wrong when they said Wood River shouldn't be here at the state tournament."
Wood River assistant coach Jonah Torseth kept encouraging Patterson to "pound that thing" into the strike zone. Patterson (3 BB, 14 K, 1 hit) threw 43 balls and 67 strikes and only went to a full count six times. He stayed ahead of Hawks batters.
Torseth said, "He's just on a roll. The high fastball was Pat's bread-and-butter pitch today."
In what became a dandy pitcher's duel, Wood River needed to score early, and the visiting team got some help from Lakeland in the first frame.
After Rohrenbach (7 innings, 4 hits, 8 K, 2 BB, 90 pitches) whiffed the first two Wolverine hitters of the game, the Hawks first baseman dropped a throw on a near-certain throw across the diamond for an out. It put Michale Brunker on first base.
The next hitter, senior Trent Seamons, had a terrific 12-pitch at-bat, fouling off five offerings, and drew a walk. Kramer was up next, and Wood River fans prayed that the #4 hitter would get a pitch he could lift into the stiff breeze to left field.
Kramer swung and missed at the first pitch, a high fast ball. The next pitch was outside for a ball. On the third pitch, Kramer got another high fast ball and just belted it. It kept rising and rising and ended up bouncing out on Garrity Boulevard.
He said afterward, "The first pitch was my pitch and I just missed it. The second pitch was outside. I didn't think I'd get another high, inside fastball again. When I did, I turned on it and got it all."
Coach Nelson said, "Danny has been just pounding pitches in the zone during our practices."
Patterson certainly enjoyed watching Kramer's homer leave the rodeo yard. He said, "We fed off that error that kept the inning alive. Then Danny's homer. It gave me a boost."
On the hill, Patterson was in command all the way, getting two strikeouts in five of six innings and fanning the side once. He surrendered his only hit with one out in the fifth, to Lakeland's #9 hitter, right fielder Matthew Peterson.
It was a clean line drive single to right.
Immediately, coach Nelson walked to the mound and gathered the infielders and catcher Sean Bunce around Patterson. There were runners at first and second, one out.
Nelson said, "I told them, let's get a ground ball. And I reminded Pat to keep his balance and throw one pitch and only one pitch at a time."
It turned out that no ground ball was needed. Patterson went to the well and whiffed leadoff hitter Caleb Guerber on four pitches. He battled to a full count with #2 hitter Cody VanDyne and struck him out swinging.
Patterson, his shirt untucked, pounded his mitt and ran off the hill. And he didn't allow a hit the rest of the way.
Wood River now plays the winner of Thursday's first-round game between Boise-area champion Bishop Kelly of Boise (22-5) and Pocatello (13-9) Friday at 4 p.m.
Hailey split its season-opening doubleheader against Bishop Kelly, winning the first game 4-3 behind junior pitcher Greg Wakefield, and dropping the nightcap 9-8. The Wolverines didn't play Pocatello this season.
Coach Nelson said he'll start Wakefield (1-1) in Friday's semi-final game of the eight-team tournament. Championship game is Saturday at 4 p.m. preceded by the 10 a.m. consolation final and 1 p.m. third-place contest. And there will be a new champion this year, since 2007 winner Columbia isn't in the field.
