Badgers Take Fifth at State

The Badger baseball team went down to Ontario, OR to compete in the 3A State Tournament for the fourth straight year with visions of bringing home some hardware. Unfortunately, sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way and the Badgers had to settle for fifth place at last weekend's tournament.

Game 1 - Bonners Ferry - 2, American Falls - 1

In game 1, Junior pitcher Zack Roberts dominated the American Falls batters striking out 13 while walking only two in route to a 2-1 win. This was the first ever win at state in the first game of the tournament for Bonners Ferry. There were a total of nine hits combined for both teams. American Falls scored in the first inning after Kody Laggis walked and Kacey Farrens hit an RBI single. Bonners Ferry tied the game in the bottom of the second inning when Greg Taggart started the inning off with a single and later scored on Alex Kellogg's RBI fielder's choice. The Badgers got the winning run across the plate in the fifth inning when Aaron Hoisington scored on a passed ball. Hoisington, Roberts, Taggart and Erickson each had hits for the Badgers.

Game 2 - Bonners Ferry - 1, South Fremont - 11
(5 innings)

South Fremont came into the State Tournament with only one loss on the year. Senior Aaron Hoisington started the game off scoring for the Badgers in the first inning after being hit by a pitch. After that, the Badger bats were shut down. Senior pitcher Greg Taggart labored at the mound giving up four hits, three walks, two hit batters and eight runs in the first two innings. Senior Robby Burns relieved Taggart in the third inning after the Cougars took a 10-1 lead. Roberts had two hits in the game while Burns and Colton Telford each had a hit.

Game 3 - Buhl - 8, Bonners Ferry 5
(8 innings)

Described by most in the stands, this third place game was one of the most intense State games of the tournament. The Buhl Indians escaped with 8-5 extra inning win to take the third place trophy. Buhl got on the board in the third inning after Badger pitcher Alex Kellogg hit two batters in a row. With the infield drawn in, Zack Roberts missed a ground ball and the runners scored. In the top of the fourth inning, the Indians added another run after Dylan Brooks walked and later scored on Dade Pettinger's RBI double. The Badgers responded in the bottom of the fourth with two runs to cut the lead to 3-2. After CJ Erickson and Aaron Hoisington walked and Zach Maas reached on an error to load the bases, the Indians pitcher walked in two runs scoring Erickson and Hoisington. At one point in the game, there were a total of five runs scored for both teams on only one hit. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Badgers tied the game 3-3 after Taggart singled to start the inning. Junior CJ Erickson lined a double to the left field wall to score Taggart. Hoisington then ripped a single and Erickson rounded third not seeing Coach Turpin hold him up. He continued to head for home only to be nailed at the plate. In the bottom of the sixth inning with the score still tied 3-3, the Badgers took the lead for the first time in the game. After Zach Maas and Alex Kellogg reached on walks, sophomore Alek Lopez lined a double which scored Maas. Kellogg was waved home and rounded third. As he reached home, he dove head first and what appeared to be a two run lead, the umpire called him out at the plate with a tag from the catcher. The Badgers went into the seventh inning with a one run lead, 4-3. In the top of the seventh inning, the Buhl Indians responded with two runs to take the lead 5-4 when Cedar Owen reached on a single and Marco Avelar reached on an error. They later had an RBI sacrifice fly from Nick Hamilton and a fielder's choice from James Leckenby. But, the Badgers weren't done. Bonners Ferry down by one run in the bottom of the seventh responded with the tying run when Taggart walked and later scored on Zach Mass' RBI single. In the top of the eighth inning, the Buhl Indians scored three runs to take the lead for good winning the game and the third place trophy.

Coach Tom Turpin was extremely proud of the way the Badgers battled in the game and all season. "This is probably one of the most improved teams and hardest working teams I've had the pleasure of being around," Turpin said.

The Badgers end the season 17-10 overall with 10 of the 15 players returning next year.

Two Badgers Selected to All-State

Junior Zack Roberts and Senior Greg Taggart were selected to play in the All-State Baseball Showcase this weekend in Twin Falls, ID. This is the first time the Badgers have representatives and will be playing for the North team. The Junior games will be played at Minico High School in Rupert, ID while the Senior games will be played at Twin Falls High School. Congratulations to Greg and Zack!