Bonners Ferry sweeps Timberlake for IML title

SPIRIT LAKE —The Bonners Ferry Badgers came out strong and took the Intermountain League Title, despite late-game rallies by Timberlake Tigers on Friday.

Bonners Ferry lead 6-2 and 10-5 in the opener, and 6-0 and 9-2 in the nightcap before defeating the Timberlake Tigers 10-7 and 10-8 in Intermountain League baseball Friday.

With the sweep, Bonners Ferry (6-6, 3-1 IEL) won the season series from Timberlake (7-6, 1-3) 3-1, and will be the No. 1 seed and have home-field advantage when the Badgers face the Tigers in early May in a best-of-3 series for the 3A District 1 title. With Kellogg and Priest River dropping to 2A this year, Bonners and Timberlake are the only two remaining baseball-playing members of the IML.

In the opener, Timberlake brought the tying run to the plate in the sixth and seventh innings. Caden Robinett had two hits and drove in two runs for the Tigers.

Blake Rice homered leading off the game for Bonners Ferry, and Thomas Bateman was 4 for 5 with two RBIs.

The second game was scoreless until the fourth inning. The Badgers had runners on second and third with one out when Trey Bateman, who was on third base, got caught in a rundown on a comebacker to the mound. But he took off for home and scored when the Tigers couldn’t handle the throw.

Teigan Banning followed with a two-run single, and Bonners went on to score six in the inning.

Timberlake tallied six in the bottom of the fifth, keyed by Grant Allaway’s two-run double, to pull within 9-8.

The first two Timberlake batters walked in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Robinett lined to first for a double play to end the game.

Bonners Ferry pitchers walked 16 in the second game.

FIRST GAME

Bonners Ferry 112 240 0 — 10 16 4

Timberlake 002 301 1 — 7 11 1

Trey Bateman, David Hammons (6) and Teigan Banning; Caden Robinett, Grant Allaway (5) and Jesse O’Connor.

HITS: BF — Bl. Rice 2, Tr. Bateman 3, Th. Bateman 4, Hammons 2, Banning, Br. Rice, Dahl 3. TL — Lenz, Wells, Robinett 2, Allaway, O’Connor 2, Olivieri 2, Gallimore 2. 2B — Banning, Tr. Bateman, Dahl, Lenz, Gallimore, Robinett. HR — Bl. Rice.

SECOND GAME

Bonners Ferry 000 630 1 — 10 7 1

Timberlake 000 260 0 — 8 7 4

Teigan Banning, Roger Naylor (5), Brody Rice (5), Jesse Fess (7) and Trey Bateman, Banning (5).

HITS: BF — Bl. Rice, Hammons 2, Banning, Naylor, Br. Rice, Schulte. TL — Lenz, Wells, Allaway, Armes, Olivieri, Gallimore 2. 2B — Allaway.