Around the Horn: Highland, Blackfoot, Preston, North Fremont still alive heading into championship Saturday

EASTERN IDAHO — One team each remains in the hunt for a state championship in the 6A, 5A, 4A and 3A divisions, though each would need three wins Saturday to win it all.

Highland is alive in the race for a 6A banner, while Blackfoot breathes in 5A, Preston in 4A and North Fremont in 3A. The other seven local state participants were all eliminated in a busy Friday of softball action.

Here is what happened Friday in softball state tournament play:

6A, at Coeur d’Alene High School and Lake City High School

No. 4-seeded Highland

Riding high after beating the 6A bracket’s top-seeded Owyhee Storm, the Rams were run-ruled, 11-1, by No. 2 Eagle. Highland will take another crack at Owyhee Saturday morning with a spot in the championship round on the line.

Senior McKenna Sutton blew the Storm away, striking out 13 while scattering six hits in a complete game shutout. Sophomore Dawson Sommer made Sutton’s strong start stand up, knocking in the only runs of the 2-0 game with a first-inning two-run homer.

Sommer got the start in the afternoon loss and was unable to pitch around three Highland errors, allowing 11 runs, just four earned, in an 11-1 loss. Senior Reece Bybee went 3-for-3.

The Rams and Storm will square off at 9 a.m. with the winner moving into a title game matchup with Eagle, while the loser will leave with a third-place trophy.

No. 6 Thunder Ridge

After upsetting No. 3-seeded Lake City Thursday, the Titans fell against No. 2 Eagle 9-3 Friday morning, then again against No. 5 Mountain View 6-4, and have been eliminated.

Senior Carly Jones was lights-out against Lake City, but struggled against Eagle, surrendering seven hits and eight runs in 3 innings of work. Sophomore Pyper Smith led the way offensively for Thunder Ridge, going 3-for-3 with a triple, a run scored and one RBI in the loss.

Junior Alex Bundy got the start against Mountain View, allowing seven hits and six runs in a 6-inning complete game. Sophomore Chelsea Adams homered and drove in a pair for Thunder Ridge.

5A, at Post Falls High School

No. 3 Blackfoot

The Broncos galloped past No. 6 Lakeland Thursday to earn a Friday morning showdown with No. 2 Vallivue, but were outpaced by the Falcons in a 13-12 loss.

They bounced back, though, beating No. 8 Twin Falls, 9-7, then No. 4 Bonneville, 5-3, for another crack at Vallivue Saturday morning.

Senior Brianna Reynolds took over in the circle with her team trailing Twin Falls 6-2 in the second, and went the rest of the way, holding the Bruins to one run. Reynolds also matched junior Traylee Reid and senior Shea Staley with a team-leading two RBIs.

Reynolds was once again the second pitcher called upon against Bonneville, taking over a 3-3 tied game in the second and going the rest of the way to earn the win.

She pitched 11-2/3 innings between the two wins, allowing five hits and one run, while striking out eight.

The Broncos will face Vallivue at 9 a.m. The winner will head to the title round and face No. 1 Middleton, while the loser will claim the third-place trophy.

No. 4 Bonneville

The Bees fell 6-1 at the hands of the top-seeded Vikings. They bounced back to beat Lakeland but were eliminated by conference foe Blackfoot.

Junior Gracie Longhurst was solid in the circle for Bonneville, holding Blackfoot to five runs, one earned, after tossing 5 scoreless frames against Lakeland. She also picked up three hits and an RBI between the two games.

Longhurst also pitched 3 innings against Middleton, surrendering three runs, just one earned.

No. 5 Pocatello

The Thunder bowed out of the tournament, suffering a 13-3 loss at the hands of the Twin Falls Bruins.

Senior Madi Ward and junior Chelsey Oliver led Poky with two hits apiece, while freshman Adisyn Schmidtgall was the Thunder’s most productive bat driving in a pair of runs.

4A, at Filer High School

No. 5 Preston

Preston will get a rematch with No. 1 Kimberly after losing 10-2 to the Bulldogs Friday morning.

To earn that rematch, Preston beat and eliminated both Sugar-Salem and No. 3 Gooding.

Junior co-captain Maysa Jones led Preston in a 15-10 victory over the Diggers, going 3-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and three RBIs.

Junior Chloe Dunn took over the role of run-producer in a 10-5 win against Gooding, with two hits, one run and four RBIs.

If Preston avenges its loss to Kimberly, it will play for the banner. With a loss Saturday morning, Preston would leave state with the third-place trophy.

No. 6 Sugar-Salem

Before taking an elimination loss against Preston, Sugar-Salem beat and knocked out No. 7 Fruitland, winning 19-9 behind a three-hit, three-RBI, four-run game from junior Emily Harris.

Senior co-captain Kambry Bartholick was near-unstoppable in the Diggers’ loss to Preston, going 4-for-5 with a homer, two runs scored and four RBIs.

No. 8 Marsh Valley

The Eagles finished their season with an 0-2 state appearance, after losing 9-8 to No. 4 Weiser.

Sophomore Maddy Bartschi did her best to keep Marsh Valley in the game late, going 2-for-3 with a double, one run scored and two RBIs from the lead-off spot.

3A, Timberlake High School and Lakeland High School

No. 3 Malad

After falling 6-4 to No. 2 Parma, the Dragons fended off elimination with a 5-4 victory over No. 4 Orofino. They were eliminated on Friday though, suffering a 2-0 loss against North Fremont.

Junior Lydia Gonzalez pitched 5-1/3 innings in relief of sophomore Sarah Toone, holding Orofino to two run, one earned, and pitching into and out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to keep Malad alive.

While she did not pitch in the Dragons’ loss to the Huskies, Gonzalez was responsible for three of Malad’s five hits in the game.

No. 7 North Fremont

After claiming the program’s first-ever state trophy last season, the Huskies have guaranteed another this year, with still-beating aspirations for a first banner in program history.

North Fremont rebounded from a tournament-opening loss to Parma, going 3-0 on Friday, with wins over No. 6 Kellogg, No. 5 Wendell and Malad.

Senior Peyton Lenz was in the circle all day, pitching all 22 innings for the Huskies, allowing 21 hits, and eight runs, three earned, while striking out 23. She also went 4-for-11 with the bat, driving in two runs and scoring another.

With a victory over Parma in the 9 a.m. game, North Fremont would earn its first spot in the state championship game, where the Huskies would meet reigning state champ Nampa Christian.

No. 8 Firth

The Cougars saw their season come to an end, falling 9-6 to Orofino.

Junior Meg Leslie provided to the production, homering twice and driving in five runs for Firth.