Free Press/ Andrew Ottoson
Isiah Hartman beats a pickoff attempt at the first base bag in the second inning of Grangeville’s13-9 win over Kendrick on May 11 at Orofino.
Andrew Ottoson - sports/outdoors reporter
May 17, 2011
OROFINO--After a rocky first inning May 11 against Kendrick, Grangeville's Tate Stowers settled in, threw strikes and got plenty of help from the potent offense behind him. The Bulldogs mauled the Tigers with seven runs in the bottom of the third and cruised to a 13-9 win. Wallace beat Orofino in the late game, but had to cancel its confrontation with the Bulldogs.
Along with fourth district champion New Plymouth and perenniel contender Nampa Christian, Grangeville will be a top seed in the state tournament--an event it has qualified to play in nine consecutive years.
"If you look at 2A schools, only Nampa Christian has been there as much as we have," coach Skip Hall said.
Isiah Hartman made the play of the game with a thundering 2-run double to left field in the bottom of the third. The big hit made it 5-4. Later in the inning, he turned a dubious bit of baserunning into the tying run.
Breaking from third base on a grounder by Tyler Flowers, Hartman got hung up halfway to home. But he beat the play at the plate and the ball rattled the backstop, allowing Jasper Sabatino to cross as well.
"The first seven guys up that inning scored, and then we just had to hang on," Hall said. "We knew we were going to get to their pitcher, it was only a matter of time."
The big inning allowed the Bulldogs to overcome some sloppy play early on. In the top of the first, Kendrick turned a leadoff walk, two singles and two errors into four runs.
"I hate to blame the spring conditions, but we haven't had a lot of practice time," Hall said. "When we settle in, we actually have a pretty good defense."
The Tigers turned a 2-out walk in the second into another run and led 5-0. Stowers escaped by striking out Jarod Mendez.
Grangeville broke through with its first run when Hartman singled, stole second and scored on a hit by Logan Peterson.
Stowers fought through an error and a hit batter in the top of the third, but cruised after being handed an 8-5 lead in the bottom half. Sabatino pitched the seventh.
Coming--Grangeville plays Marsing at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 19, at Rodeo Park in Nampa. With a win, the Bulldogs would play at 4 p.m. Friday, with the top three places to be decided starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. A loss versus Marsing would put the Bulldogs in the 10 a.m. Friday game on the consolation side of the bracket.
