For a team that hit pretty well over the course of the season at .323 overall and .351 in district competition, the Wood River High School softball team found its bats go suddenly quiet during the Great Basin Confer-ence 4th District tournament.
No. 2-seeded Wood River (12-13) missed out on a trip to the State 4A tournament for the first time in four years with a 5-3 loss to top-seeded Canyon Ridge of Twin Falls (20-5) in Wednesday's loser-out game on the Canyon Ridge diamond.
Coach Dale Martin's Wolver-ines managed a .244 batting average in three GBC tourna-ment games and were a little shaky on defense—yielding unearned runs that led to their 6-1 loss to Jerome Saturday and to Wednesday's 5-3 setback.
On Wednesday, Wood River started its difficult path through the loser bracket of the six-team double elimination tournament with an 11-6 vic-tory over the No. 5-seeded Minico Spartans (6-19). The Wolverines trailed 2-0, 4-2 and 6-4 before rallying for the win.
Sophomore Sydney Tidwell (2 hits, 4 RBI) was the Hailey offensive star with a towering three-run homer to straight-away center field in the home fourth for a 7-6 Wood River lead. The winners (9 hits) tacked on four runs in the home sixth for some insurance.
Tidwell led the team with a .457 season batting average.
Starter Madison Gove (3-2 season, 5-7 career) got the vic-tory with five innings of work in the circle. Gove (1 earned run, 2 K, 3 BB) was relieved by Ali Levy, who shut the door on Minico's season with two in-nings of scoreless pitching.
Other Hailey hitters against Minico were freshmen Shelby Cooper (3 RBI) and Mercedes Powell (3 hits, 3 runs, 1 RBI). Madison Gove added two hits from the leadoff batting spot.
Levy (9-11 season, 19-25 ca-reer for No. 4 all-time on the Hailey pitching list) returned to the circle against Canyon Ridge later Wednesday and allowed only three earned runs and four hits in six innings.
It was a tight softball game, but Wood River (3 errors, 7 for the day, 11 for the tournament) committed costly errors that gave Canyon Ridge its decisive two unearned runs in the fifth. Wood River loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh but couldn't score off of 'Hawks hurler Lauren Shotwell.
Powell had two hits leading the seven-hit Wolverine attack.
For the season, senior Madi-son Gove led the team in a number of categories (.612 on-base percentage, .687 slugging, 14 extra-base hits, 36 walks, 27 hits and 42 runs scored).
No. 4-seeded Twin Falls (15-10) lost to No. 3-seeded Jerome (16-7) by a 5-1 score in Wednes-day's district championship game. It was Jerome's second straight GBC tourney title. Twin Falls earned the league's second state tourney berth with a 7-1 romp over Canyon Ridge.
