It's that time of year when everyone has to contribute.
That's what makes a winning high school baseball team—and certainly a well-rounded team effort lifted the Wood River boys over the Canyon Ridge Riverhawks in a three-game sweep last weekend in Hailey and Twin Falls.
Wood River (6-16, 5-10 league) snapped a 12-game losing streak Thursday with an 11-5 win over the Hawks in Twin Falls, then the Wolverines swept a Founders Field twinbill Friday 15-5 and 10-9 (9 innings).
Hailey coach Matt Nelson said, "We looked pretty good and have our heads held high entering the tournament."
Seeded fifth in the six-team Great Basin Conference 4A tournament, Wood River opened its quest Tuesday, May 4 with a game at #4-seeded Burley (13-15, 8-7). Burley took three from Wood River April 9-10 by scores of 10-4, 13-6 and 6-4, but Nelson felt his team played poorly in the field and would do much better in the tournament.
The winner of Tuesday's Burley-Wood River game advances to meet top-seeded Twin Falls (22-4, 13-2) on Thursday, May 6 at 5 p.m. in Twin Falls.
Tuesday's Burley-Wood River loser will most likely host #6-seeded Canyon Ridge (2-22, 0-15) Thursday at 5 p.m. Canyon Ridge debuted at #3 Jerome (12-14, 9-6) Tuesday. That winner will face #2-seeded defending state champion Minico (19-9, 10-5) on Thursday.
If the seedings hold up, it's possible that Wood River will return to Burley Saturday, May 8 for a 1 p.m. loser-out game. Championship game is Thursday, May 13. Two GBC teams qualify for the State 4A tournament May 20-22 in Nampa.
With a loss at Burley Tuesday, Wood River would get one more home game at Founders Field against Canyon Ridge Thursday. However, Nelson would rather keep winning and traveling in what could be an unpredictable GBC tournament. "We want to play every game on the road," he said.
Hits plentiful against Hawks
Junior Jake Freeman (2-3) pitched into the seventh inning Thursday as Wood River won 11-5 over the host Riverhawks.
Senior shortstop Keven Abbott (double, triple, HR) led the 15-hit Wolverine attack that also featured doubles by Freeman (2), Zach Israel, Taz Lyons and Collin Dean. Wood River scored five runs in the second and just kept on scoring.
Friday at Founders Field, senior righty Juan Martinez (85 pitches, 5 innings, 5 ER, 5 hits, 4 BB, 3 K) took a no-hitter into the fourth inning and finished off Canyon Ridge 15-5 in a run-rule shortened five frames. The Wolverines didn't commit an error and ended with 18 hits.
It was Martinez's first pitching win for Wood River.
Top hitters were Shane Friesen (3 hits, double, 3 RBI), Israel (2 hits, 2 runs), Tyler Peters (2 hits, triple, 2 runs), Alex Padilla (2 hits, triple, 2 RBI), Jimmy Hague (2 hits, 3 runs), Martinez (2 hits, double, 2 RBI) and Tanner Orchard (2 hits, 2 runs). Sophomore Braxton Parish ripped a one-out, two-run double in the fifth to end it.
Like Freeman the day before, junior righthander Taz Lyons gave Nelson a lengthy starting stint in the nightcap against Canyon Ridge. Nelson said, "Taz kept the ball down and did an outstanding job."
Lyons threw into the seventh inning, but the Riverhawks rallied from a 7-5 deficit with four runs in the visitor seventh to take a 9-7 lead. A leadoff double by Hague in the home seventh followed by an RBI double by Padilla and a long, laser triple off the bat of Zak Sjoberg tied the game 9-9.
Wood River couldn't push across the winning run with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, and also jammed the sacks in the eighth without scoring. An excellent defensive play by catcher Sjoberg, who backed up first base and threw out a base runner, kept the Hawks scoreless in the eighth.
Relief pitcher Tyler Peters (2-4) stranded a Hawks runner in the ninth, then led off with a towering fly in the home half that resulted in an outfield error. Peters eventually scored the winning run with a steal of home on a squeeze bunt play.
On fire at the plate all day, junior outfielder Padilla was 5-for-5 in the nightcap with two triples, a double and two singles, and three runs scored. He was hitting out of the clean-up spot. Nelson said about his hot hitting, "Alex is seeing the ball like it's a cantaloupe."
Israel (double, triple, 2 singles) added four hits and Martinez smacked a triple.
Senior shortstop Keven Abbott picks up a bouncing ball during a Founders Field game this spring. Photo by David N. Seelig
