Badgers drop season opener
<p>Senior Badger Alex Awbrey pitching at the game in Sandpoint Monday.</p>
The Bonners Ferry Baseball team finally got on the field for a game this year after having the first 9 games cancelled due to weather.
The Badgers played the Priest River Spartans at home losing 5-1.
Senior pitcher Alex Awbrey pitched four good innings striking out eoght and walking only two and junior Mike Clarkson finished with two innings in relief. The Badgers matched the Spartans in hits as both team could only muster three hits each.
Priest River started the scoring off in the first inning when the leadoff hitter scored after being walked. Awbrey settled down and gained command until the fourth inning when the Spartans put three more runs on the board. The Badgers scored their lone run in the sixth with Mike Clarkson hitting an RBI single scoring junior Garrett Skeen.
Senior Josiah Owinyo, Awbrey and Clarkson each collected hits in the loss.
“Considering the fact that we’ve only been outside six times to practice and haven’t played a game, we did pretty well. I think we battled hard” Coach Tom Turpin said.
The Badger baseball team was swept by St. Maries 15-5 (five innings) and 8-5 in the nightcap to push their record in league to 0-3 to start the season. This doubleheader was played on Monday, April 9.
In the first game, Badger pitchers could not find the strike zone and untimely fielding errors and baserunning miscues gave the Jacks an early 6-0 lead after the first inning.
After the Badgers responded with two runs in the top of the second, St. Maries added seven more runs to control the game 13-2 after two innings.
The Badgers had five total errors in the game and seven hits. Owinyo had three hits and Awbrey collected two in the loss. Owinyo (0-1) took the loss on the mound for Bonners Ferry.
In the second game, errors continued to plague the Badgers as they committed six to give the Lumberjacks a sweep of the doubleheader. Junior Jesse Woods collected two hits for the Badgers and Owinyo (0-2) took the loss.
Badgers travel to Sandpoint before before heading to Timberlake on Saturday, April 14.