Baseball team on winning streak

Bonners Ferry High School baseball team got back to its winning ways, sweeping the Sandpoint junior varsity team 8-3 and 13-1 Friday.

In the first game, senior Ryan Merrifield led the Badgers with 3 hits and 2 RBIs including a double. Senior Jake Watt added 2 hits and 2 RBIs in addition to pitching a complete game, giving up 4 hits. The win improves Watt’s record to 4-0.

Watt had a shaky first inning, with Sandpoint scoring 2 runs and going through eight batters. Watt walked Bridger Paul to start the game and then struck out the next batter. Paul later scored when the bases were walked full. Watt struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

In the bottom of the first, senior A.J. Bennett led off for the Badgers with a walk and scored on a RBI single from Merrifield. The Badgers added 3 runs in the bottom of the third when Mike Oppenheimer started the inning with a single. Bennett was hit by a pitch followed by junior Greg Taggart’s single. Watt hit a 2-run single. Later in the inning, sophomore Derrick Alt hit a RBI single to put the Badgers up 4-2.

Sandpoint JV added its final run in the top of the fourth, and the Badgers placed four more in the bottom with singles from Bennett and C.J. Erickson followed by a RBI double from Merrifield. Watt then hit a RBI single to score Merrifield.

In the second game, Bonners Ferry jumped on the Bulldogs with 9 runs in the first inning to win in a 5-inning (10-run rule) game. Taggart (3-1) recorded the win. The Badgers had 9 hits with junior Connor Herdt and Aaron Hoisington each getting two. Herdt went 2 for 3 with a double and triple and 3 RBIs while Hoisington went 2 for 2 with a double and scored 2 runs. The wins improve the Badgers’ record to 8-3 overall.

In other action, St. Maries Junior Matt Corsi threw a one-hitter against the Badgers, and Dalton Baker added a 2-run double in the top of the seventh for a 4-0 win in league play on April 14.

Taggart got the only hit in the fourth inning with a single. Corsi finished the game striking out 12 and walking 2.

Badger pitcher Connor Herdt (1-2) gave up 9 hits, struck out 7 and walked one. The IML leading Badgers dropped to 3-1 in league and 6-3 overall while the Lumberjacks improved to 2-1 in league and 7-3 overall.

St. Maries scored one run in the top of the first inning when Bill Thurston scored from third on a delayed steal at first from Tice Siron. The Lumberjacks added another run when Mykel Guidry hit a leadoff single and later scored on Marc Grubham’s RBI single.