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Badger girls earn hard-fought second place
trophy at State |
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May 25, 2018 |
(State Softball Tournament photographs are
found at the end of this article).
by Jed Bateman
BFHS Varsity Softball, Assistant Coach
The Bonners Ferry Badger Softball team made the
trip to Idaho Falls this past weekend to compete
in the 3A State Softball Tournament. If the
Badgers thought that the bus ride to Idaho Falls
was long and tiring, they had no idea what lay
ahead of them once the tournament started. In
just two days, the Badgers would play six games
on their way to bringing home the second place
trophy.
Game 1 -
Bonners Ferry vs Fruitland
Final Score: Bonners Ferry 3, Fruitland 1
The Badgers opened up the tournament by facing
the #2 Seed from District 3, the Fruitland
Grizzlies. It wasn't the hot start the Badgers
hoped for offensively, managing just 4 hits in
the game. The game was scoreless heading in to
the 5th inning, when the Badgers finally managed
to break through and score 3 runs on 3 hits.
Mackenzie Jackson, Jorryn Bennett, and Sydney
Watt all had hits in the inning to provide the
Badgers with all the runs they would need. On
the defensive side of the ball, Badger Pitcher
Kadi Bateman gave up just 3 hits while striking
out 16. The 3-1 victory advanced the Badgers to
a second round matchup with Filer, the District
4 champion.
Hits - 1B: M. Jackson, K. Bateman, Jo Bennett,
S. Watt
Game 2 -
Bonners Ferry vs Filer
Final Score: Bonners Ferry 2, Filer 4
With round 1 of the tournament going smoothly, a
very tough Filer team waited for the Badgers in
round 2. This is when things got interesting. In
a classic pitchers duel, the Badgers would
strike first. Kadi Bateman led off the third
inning with a walk, and was quickly driven home
by a Jadyn Bennett double. This would be the
only run scored through 4 1/2 innings, when the
game was suspended due to lightning. With the
Badgers up 1-0, both teams left the field to
seek shelter. The lightning and thunder was soon
joined by a downpour of rain and hail that made
the fields at Bonneville High School too muddy
to play on. After about a 2 hour delay, the game
was resumed at a city park in Idaho Falls. When
action resumed, the Badgers picked up one run in
the sixth inning when Kassy Skeen led off with a
single. Maecie Lierman moved Skeen to second
base on a sacrifice bunt, and Kelsey English
brough Skeen home with an RBI single.
Unfortunately, the Badger defense was unable to
hold, allowing 2 runs in the bottom of the
seventh inning. As Filer celebrated the walk-off
victory, the Badgers were now faced with the
possibility of being eliminated from the
tournament on the first day. On what had already
been a long day, the Badgers had to turn right
around and play their third game of the day, a
loser-out matchup versus Marsh Valley.
Hits - 1B: K. Bateman, K. Skeen, K. English (2)
2B: K. Bateman, Ja. Bennett,
Game 3 -
Bonners Ferry vs Marsh Valley
Final Score: Bonners Ferry 4, Marsh Valley 3
The Badgers struck first in the 3rd inning when
Bateman led off with a single and scored on an
RBI triple by Jadyn Bennett. Jorryn Bennett
followed with an RBI single. In the 4th inning,
Jackson reached first when she was hit by a
pitch and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt
by Tori Burt. Bateman then drove in Jackson with
an RBI single. The Badgers would hold this lead
until the sixth inning, when Marsh Valley would
score three runs to tie it up. The battle would
continue into the night as neither team was able
to score in the 8th or 9th innings. Just as the
Badgers were taking the field to begin the 10th
inning, the game was stopped when the field
lights turned off due to a 10:00 PM curfew. On a
day in which the team had been at the softball
fields for over 15 hours, the Badgers now
huddled in total darkness in the pitcher's
circle, hoping the city crews could get the
lights turned back on to finish the game.
Forty-five minutes later, the game was
postponed, to be finished the next morning at
9:00 AM. After a very short stay at the team
hotel, a very tired Badger team traveled to
Rigby High School to try and keep their
tournament hopes alive. Starting the game in the
10th inning, the Badgers took the field first
and held Marsh Valley scoreless. In the bottom
of the 10th inning, Sydney Watt scored the game
winning run as she advanced from second base on
a passed ball, and scored on an overthrow at
third base. It was exactly what the Badgers
needed, a quick victory that allowed them to
move on to their next opponent. Badger pitcher
Kadi Bateman gave up just 2 hits while walking 4
and striking out 19.
Hits - 1B: Bateman (2), Ja. Bennett, Jo. Bennett
(2), K. Skeen (2), 3B - Ja. Bennett
Game 4 -
Bonners Ferry vs South Fremont
Final Score: Bonners Ferry 8, South Fremont 3
While the Badgers struggled offensively to start
the tournament, this would not be the case
against South Fremont. In the first inning,
Bateman would lead off with a single, followed
by a Jadyn Bennett single. Jorryn Bennet would
come up next and crush a 3 run homer to give the
Badgers an early lead. Maecie Lierman would
score on a wild pitch in the 3rd inning. Singles
by English, Jackson and Bateman would lead to 4
more runs in the 6th inning. That would be more
than enough runs as the Badger defense held
South Fremont to 3 runs. Bateman allowed 5 hits
while striking out 12. The victory sent the
Badgers into a loser out rematch with Filer.
Hits - 1B: Bateman (2), Ja. Bennett, English,
Jackson HR: Jo. Bennett
Game 5 -
Bonners Ferry vs Filer
Final Score: Bonners Ferry 10, Filer 6
With the fatigue of the 4 previous games
beginning to show, the Badgers faced a daunting
task of playing a very tough Filer team that had
beaten them in a heartbreaker the night before.
When Filer jumped out to a 5-0 lead after 2
innings, it looked like the Badgers had just run
out of gas. In an incredible display of
determination and toughness, the Badgers began
to claw their way back into the game.
Consecutive singles by Skeen, Watt, Lierman, and
English led to 3 Badger runs. Bateman then came
up with English and Burt on base, and hit a
towering home run to left center field to give
the Badgers a 6-5 lead. The Badgers were not
done though, as doubles by Bateman and Jorryn
Bennett, and a single by Skeen would lead to 4
more runs and an eventual winning score of 10-6.
Hits - 1B: Ja. Bennett, Skeen, Watt, Lierman
(2), English, Jackson, Burt 2B: Bateman, Jo.
Bennett HR: Bateman
Game 6 -
Bonners Ferry vs Homedale
Final Score: Bonners Ferry 3, Homedale 8
For the championship game, the Badgers would
face a familiar foe in softball powerhouse
Homedale. Due to the double elimination format,
the Badgers would have to beat Homedale twice to
claim the championship. To their credit, the
girls on this team would not give up. However,
the well rested and very talented team from
Homedale proved too much for the battle-worn
Badgers. Homedale jumped out to a 7-0 lead after
3 innings. Even then, the Badgers would not
quit, and scored three runs in the 5th inning on
singles by English, Burt and Bateman. In the
end, there just wasn't enough gas left in the
tank for the Badgers to defeat an opponent as
strong as Homedale. At the games conclusion, not
a single Badger player or coach hung their head.
Every player, coach, fan and umpire that
witnessed this Badger team fight their way
through this tournament knew that this Second
Place trophy was one to be proud of.
The Badgers completed the tournament with a
record of 4-2. They played an amazing 6 games
(45 innings) in 2 days. The pitcher/catcher duo
of Kadi Bateman and Jorryn Bennett combined in
all 45 innings, just 3 innings short of the
state record. Bateman threw 673 pitches, and
struck out 67 batters, just 1 shy of the 3A
state record. This team did it through difficult
circumstances, with little rest. One thing that
kept them going was the incredible support of
the Badger fans that made the trip to cheer them
on. Thank you Badger Fans!
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