Quick starts help Bears sweep Bulldogs in 4A Inland Empire League clash
(Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) Sandpoint shortstop Billy Brackett applies the tag to a would-be base stealer in the Bulldogs’ loss to the Bears on Monday at Pine St. Field. The Bulldogs travel south to face the Bears again on Thursday.
SANDPOINT — Moscow jumped out to early leads, and parlayed that into a sweep of Sandpoint on Monday during a 4A Inland Empire League baseball doubleheader played under a light drizzle at Pine St. Field.
Moscow jumped out to an early 6-1 lead after two innings in the opener and held on for a 9-2 lead. The loss was extra costly for the Bulldogs, as catcher Nick Holland and Wes Holland were ejected for arguing a close play at the plate and by rule had to sit out the second game of the doubleheader.
The Bulldogs (6-8, 2-4 4A IEL) could never seem to get things going offensively, managing just four hits in the first game and five in the second.
“Our team is so much better than that. At the end of the day, you win as a team and you lose as a team,” said Bulldogs head coach Chase Tigert. “Today wasn’t the way we play baseball.”
The Bears jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the nightcap, and made it stand up in a 5-3 win. Tyler Shaffer had three hits on the day, and Billy Brackett continues to produce at the plate with a pair of hits in defeat. Tyrone Larson came in and logged six strong innings of long relief to keep his team in the game.
“Tyrone came in late notice and did a great job out of the pen,” praised Tigert, who loved mental toughness of Shaffer and Brackett. “We’re down 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh, and they came up with big hits. That’s determination, perseverance, they’re going to get the job done.”
The Bulldogs will travel south to face Moscow on Thursday in a key doubleheader that will determine who earns the No. 2 seed and right to host the loser-out game of the upcoming district tournament.
Game 1
Moscow 330 021 0 — 9 12 3
Sandpoint 011 000 0 — 2 4 2
Garrett Connolly, Wes Holland (2), Alex Stockton (5) and Nick Holland. W — Broenner. L — Connolly (1-2).
HITS: Spt — N. Holland, Shaffer, Brackett, Dewey. 2B — Dewey.
Game 2
Moscow 021 200 0 — 5 4 0
Sandpoint 100 000 2 — 3 5 3
Talon Dewey, Tyrone Larson (2) and Thomas Riley. W — Dunn. L — Dewey (1-2).
HITS: Spt — Shaffer 2, Brackett, Flint, Dewey.