Badgers sweep Maniacs in three game series

March 23, 2016

by Tom Turpin BFHS Head Baseball Coach The Bonners Ferry Badger baseball team traveled to Orofino this past weekend for their annual three game series against the Maniacs, winning all three games for the first time in program history. The wins put the Badger baseball record at 3-1 in the early season. GAME 1 – Bonners Ferry 10 - Orofino 0 Senior Vince Bennett had a no hitter going in to the 6th inning and the Badger bats pounded 14 hits highlighted by Jesse Dunham’s first high school home run to beat the Maniacs 10-0. Bonners Ferry scored one in the 2nd and unleashed a seven run burst in the 6th inning to break the game open. The Badgers added two more runs in the top of the 7th inning to secure the 10-0 win. Dunham’s three run home run came in the 6th inning with two outs. Freshman Seth Bateman went 4 for 4 and Senior Caleb Gering and Bennett each got two hits in the game. Bennett finished with a two hitter, striking out eight and walking only three batters. Kevin Gray came in for one inning of relief. Bonners Ferry 0 1 0 0 0 7 2 10 14 0 Orofino           0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0   2 3 Bonners Ferry hits – B. Bateman, Bennett 2, Dunham (HR), Gering 2, N. Sabin (2B), Blackmore, Rodriguez, Stockton (2B), C. Sabin, S. Bateman 4 (2B) GAME 2 – Bonners Ferry 17 - Orofino 7 The Badger bats continued to be hot with 17 hits in the game including four doubles as they routed the Maniacs 17-7 in game 2. Jesse Dunham recorded the win with five strong innings of work. Vince Bennett got four hits and scored four times while Brady Bateman and Dunham both got three hits in the game. Dunham had two doubles with four RBI to lead the Badgers. Seth Bateman hit a two-run double in the 3rd and went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. Bonners Ferry 1 1 3 2 7 0 3 17 17 0 Orofino           0 1 1 2 1 0 2   7 10 2 Bonners Ferry hits – B. Bateman 3, Bennett 4, Dunham 3 (2-2B), Gering 2 (2B), N. Sabin 2, S. Bateman 2 (2B), Gray, Stockton, C. Sabin 2. GAME 3 – Bonners Ferry 11 - Orofino 10 In the final game of the series, the Badgers edged the Maniacs 11-10 in a tight game that included 23 total hits. Junior Nick Sabin came in relief in the 5th inning to hold Orofino scoreless in the final three innings to secure the save. Junior Kevin Gray recorded the win. In the first inning, Vince Bennett reached on a single with one out and later scored on a wild pitch. The Maniacs scored a run in the bottom of the first to make the score 1-1 after the first inning. The Badgers scored 2 runs in the top of the second when Brady Bateman hit a two-run single to score Nick Sabin and Chris Sabin. The Maniacs took the lead in their half of the 2nd after scoring three runs to make the score 4-3. The Badgers added five runs in the 3rd inning with only two hits including a three run home run by sophomore Brady Bateman’s first high school home run. The Maniacs wouldn’t go away and ended up scoring six runs of their own to maintain a lead 10-8 heading into the 4th inning. In the 4th inning, Bonners Ferry added three more runs starting off with Caleb Gering’s single. Caleb Blackmore reached on a single to score Gering and Junior Nick Sabin hit a two-run home run over the left field fence to record his first high school home run. That blast was the difference as Sabin came in relief in the 5th inning to save the game 11-10. Bonners Ferry 1 2 5 3 0 0 0 11 10 1 Orofino           1 3 6 0 0 0 0 10 13 4 Bonners Ferry hits – B. Bateman 2 (HR), Bennett, Dunham, Gering 2, Blackmore, N. Sabin (HR), C. Sabin 2 Overall for the series, the Badgers had 41 hits in 102 at bats including three home runs and seven doubles. The Badgers take on the Sandpoint Bulldogs at home this Friday at 4:00 p.m., then travel to Sandpoint on Saturday to face them in a doubleheader.