Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Baseball team
goes 2-1 in Vegas

Home debut Friday in Hailey

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After nearly three weeks away from the diamond due to spring break, the Wood River High School baseball team got its bats going last weekend during the 32-team Easter Classic tournament at Las Vegas, Nev.

Wood River (7-2, 0-0 SCIC) posted 20-3 and 16-3 run-rule shortened victories over Clearfield, Utah and Whittell High School of Zephyr Cove, Nev. on Friday and Saturday. "We started swinging the bats coming back from spring break," coach Lars Hovey said.

Although Thursday’s opener against Little Rock, Ca. was suspended by rain after four innings and eventually never finished, Wood River played one other game in the tourney and lost 6-3 to an excellent team from Jordan, Utah Thursday evening.

"That was probably the best team we’ll face all year," said Hovey, accompanied by assistant coach Larry Lloyd on the four-day trip to Las Vegas. The longtime Hailey coaching tandem was surprised to see that the Jordan squad was coached by a woman.

"And she was a good coach, too," said Hovey. "We could tell we were playing a good team because the intensity level immediately picked up. It’s good to see that kind of competition. Even though we lost we got more out of that game than our two wins."

Spotting Jordan a 6-0 lead after three, Wood River (6 hits) battled back with two runs in the fourth as Dylan Fullmer and Steve Durkin stroked RBI singles. Billy Kramer delivered an RBI single in the seventh. Dylan McIlhenny added two hits.

Righthander Steve Hansen (1-1) held Jordan to four hits and whiffed seven batters. Reliever Ted Dankanyin mopped up with effective work.

Friday, Wood River sent 12 runners home in the second inning, helped by eight Clearfield errors.

The Wolverines ended up with a 12-hit attack in the lopsided five-inning 20-3 victory. Leading the way were Joe Paisley (triple, double) and Durkin with three hits apiece along with Brady Femling and Kellen Kinghorn (triple) with two hits each.

Righty Tyler Thiede (2-1) got the win with a five-hitter. He struck out four batters and walked five.

Saturday, steady Ted Dankanyin (2-0) scattered seven hits in the 16-3 victory over Whittell. Wood River (11 hits) kept applying the offensive pressure with eight runs in the first inning.

Wood River’s catcher Kramer ripped a three-run double in the first. Second baseman Fullmer (2 hits) and shortstop Femling (2 hits) added two-run singles, and Hansen chipped in with an RBI single in the big inning. Paisley drilled a three-run double in the fourth frame to ice the victory.

 

Home openers

Wood River, after playing its first 11 games away from home including Tuesday’s Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference twinbill at Buhl, opens its home campaign at Hailey’s Founders Field this weekend.

The Wolverines entertain Preston on Friday, April 16 for a varsity game at 3:30 p.m. followed by a junior varsity contest against the Indians. Then, Wood River hosts Mountain Home for a varsity doubleheader Saturday, April 17 starting at 11 a.m.

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