Badgers make history

BUHL — Following a second place finish in the Intermountain League, the Badger softball team had a feeling that the best was yet to come. The early season was highlighted by rain, mud and canceled games. The end of the season was highlighted by sunshine and championship games.

Following a convincing win over league rival Timberlake in the district championship game, the Badgers were off to state as the top seed from District 1. It appeared the Badgers had drawn a tough first round game, playing the Buhl Indians, last year’s state runner up and this year’s host.

Bonners Ferry 14, Buhl 3

In the top of the first inning, the Indians’ cleanup hitter connected for a 2-run homer, putting the Badgers in a hole early. Determined and undeterred, the Badgers would respond. In the bottom of the first inning, Kassy Skeen led off the inning with a walk, followed by a Jorryn Bennet double. Kadi Bateman then deposited the second pitch she saw well beyond the left field fence for a 3-run home run. The Badgers would not trail again in the State Tournament.

The Badgers rolled from that point, outscoring the Indians 14-3 over six innings. With a 10-3 lead in the bottom of the 6th inning, sophomore Sydney Watt crushed a grand slam to end the game due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Collecting hits for the Badgers were K. Skeen-1, Jo. Bennett-2, K. Bateman-2, Ja. Bennett-2, S. Watt -1. Junior pitcher Kadi Bateman went the distance for the Badgers, pitching 6 innings, giving up just 2 hits while striking out 11.

Bonners Ferry 4, Homedale 0

This was the matchup the Badgers had been waiting for. Last year’s State Champion, Homedale, had taken home the championship trophy in 3 of the last 4 years. The Badgers had suffered a 9-4 loss to Homedale in the first round of last year’s tournament. It was clear that the road to a championship went directly through the Trojans. With pitching ace Dakota Kelly in the circle, it was obvious that runs would be harder to come by in the second game of the day.

In the top of the first inning, with 2 outs, Kadi Bateman connected on the first pitch she saw from Kelly, driving it over the left field fence for a 1-0 lead. This would be followed by 4 scoreless innings, with Bateman and Kelly matching each other pitch for pitch. With the score still at 1-0 in the top of the sixth inning, the Badgers broke through and picked up 3 more runs. A series of errors by the Homedale defense allowed the Badgers to reach base. A sacrifice bunt by senior Avery Lane, and a sacrifice fly by Watt brought the score to 4-0. That was more than enough for Bateman, who picked up the win with a complete game 1-hitter, striking out 13 Trojan batters while walking just two.

Bonners Ferry 11, Timberlake 0

When the sun came up on day 2 of the tournament, there were only two undefeated teams left. Waiting for the Badgers in the semi-finals was a familiar foe, league rival Timberlake. Brimming with confidence from the previous day’s victories, the Badgers were determined to advance to the championship game.

Kassy Skeen got the offense rolling early with a lead-off single, followed by a Jorryn Bennet walk. Kadi Bateman came through with an RBI double to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead. In the second inning, Mackenzie Jackson led off with a walk, and later scored on an RBI single by Skeen to put the Badgers up 2-0. Bateman led off the 3rd inning with a double, and later scored on a Jadyn Bennett triple. Consecutive singles by Jackson, Burt and Liermann finished the inning with a score of 5-0.

The Badger offense would continue to roll, highlighted by Sydney Watt’s second home run of the day, finishing the game with a final score of 11-0. All nine Badgers collected at least 1 hit in the game: Skeen-2, Jo. Bennett-1, K. Bateman-2, Ja. Bennett-2, A. Lane-1, S. Watt-1, M. Jackson-1, Burt-1, Liermann-1. Bateman again picked up the win for the Badgers, allowing 3 hits while striking out 3 and walking none.

Bonners Ferry 7, Timberlake 3

With three victories in hand, the Badgers were able to relax a little bit and watch Timberlake and Filer play for a spot in the championship game. Timberlake showed impressive resilience, defeating a good Filer team for the second time in the tournament. This created an all-North Idaho championship game between two teams that had already faced each other five times on the season. With a double elimination bracket, Timberlake would have to beat Bonners Ferry twice to win the title. The Badgers were determined to play just once.

Scoreless through two innings, the Badgers finally broke through in the 3rd inning. Burt reached base on an error, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Liermann. Following a walk by Jo. Bennett, singles by Bateman and Ja. Bennett brought in 2 runs to finally get the Badgers on the board. The third inning began with what was becoming a familiar site, a Sydney Watt home run. Watt’s blast gave the Badgers a 3-0 lead. The Tigers would answer with a 2-run homerun or their own, bring the score to 3-2.

With the fatigue of pitching in her 5th game of the tournament setting in, Timberlake’s pitcher began to struggle with control. A series of walks allowed the Badgers to pad their lead with 4 additional runs.

In the final inning, sitting on a 7-3 lead, the tension and excitement was building in the Badger dugout. The final Timberlake batter hit a ground ball to shortstop Kassy Skeen. Skeen fielded the ball cleanly and fired it across the diamond to senior first baseman Avery Lane. As Lane secured the throw for the final out, Badger players, coaches and fans stormed the field in celebration. For the first time in school history, the Badger softball team had won a State Championship.

This championship was a total team effort. The combination of pitcher Kadi Bateman and catcher Jorryn Bennett was dominant. The defense was solid. 3rd baseman Jadyn Bennett and 1st baseman Avery Lane played flawlessly on the corners, with shortstop Kassy Skeen and 2nd baseman Sydney Watt played tough up the middle. A young outfield of Mackenzie Jackson, Maecie Liermann and Tori Burt played great under the pressure of their first state tournament action. Sophomore Sydney Watt, playing in her first state tournament, hit 3 home runs, just 1 shy of the tournament record. The players in the dugout were easily the loudest, happiest, and most supportive dugout in the tournament.

The 2017 season is now in the record books. The Bonners Ferry Badgers are softball State Champions!