BADGERS POUND WILDCATS IN SWEEP

The Badger baseball team traveled to Wildcat country to complete their regular season and came away with a sweep of Kellogg in Intermountain League action.

Game 1

The Badgers pounded out 20 hits in route to a 27 to 11 win over Kellogg. Senior pitcher Alex Kellogg went the distance scattering eight hits, striking out five and walking eight batters.

Bonners Ferry started the game by scoring 14 runs in the first inning on nine hits. The first two batters walked and later scored on CJ Erickson’s RBI double. Alex Kellogg later hit a tow run single.   

Kellogg and sophomore Alex Awbreyboth had multiple hits in the first inning. The Badgers added five more runs in the second inning capped off by Erickson’s first home run of the season.

The Wildcats added 4 runs in the first and second to make the score 19 to 8 after  two innings. In the third inning, Alex Kellogg added a solo home run that was hit approximately 512 ft. Bonners Ferry added seven more runs in the fourth inning with consecutive hits from Matt Holak, Alek Lopez, Erickson and Zach Maas.

Holak, Erickson and Kellogg each got three hits in the game while Lopez, Maas, Awbrey, Garrett Skeen and Josiah Owinyo all contributed two hits.

Game 2

 The Badgers rallied back from eight runs down for a come from behind win against the Wildcats 15 to 13. The game was capped off by a fantastic suicide squeeze play executed by sophomore Alex Awbrey to score the winning run.

Bonners Ferry scored two runs in the first inning when CJ Erickson and Zach Maas hit back to back singles and later scored on a fielder’s choice from Alex Kellogg and RBI single from Colton Telford. The Badgers added two more runs in the third inning when Erickson hit a single and Kellogg reached on an error. Telford and Alex Awbrey hit back to back RBI singles. The Wildcats responded with 8 runs in the bottom of the third inning as the Badger pitcher walked four batters and hit a batter. Kellogg added three more runs in the fourth with a walk and two errors from the Badgers.

In the top of the fifth, Bonners Ferry scored four runs to cut the lead to 11 to 8 Kellogg only to have the Wildcats score two more runs in the bottom half of the inning to make the score 13 to 8. Bonners Ferry added a single run in the sixth inning when Telford walked and later scored on a fielder’s choice from Holak narrowing the lead to 13 to 9.

In the top of the seventh inning down four runs in their final at bat, Bonners Ferry scored a total of six runs to take the lead for good. The inning started off with Lopez reaching on an error and five consecutive hits from the Badgers. With Lopez and Erickson on base, Zach Maas hit an RBI single to score Lopez. Junior Lance Abeytapinch ran for Maas. Alex Kellogg hit a RBI double to score Erickson and then senior Colton Telford hit a two run triple scoring Abeyta and Kellogg tying the game 13 to 13. 

With no outs in the seventh inning and Telford at third, sophomore Alex Awbreywas up to bat. As the pitcher prepared to throw to Awbrey, Telford broke to home and Awbrey dropped down a perfect suicide squeeze to scoreTelford and take the lead 14 to 13. The Wildcats were so stunned that nobody covered first base and Awbreyreached on a single. He later scored on a RBI single from Matt Holak. Senior Zach Maas come in and pitched the last inning for the Badgers to complete the game.

   “The entire team played with enthusiasm and intensity today. I am really proud of how they executed”. Coach Turpin said.

   Bonners Ferry was lead by Erickson and Telford who each had three hits in the game while Holak, Maas and Awbreyhad two hits. Lopez, Kellogg, Owinyo and senior Ryan Wilson each had a hit for the Badgers.