Lady Wolverines earn State 3A runner-up trophy

Weiser’s Lady Wolverine softball team played their way through five games over the weekend, bringing home the State 3A second place trophy and the satisfaction of having given their all in the journey.

 In a true double-elimination tournament, the final draw came down to a third game played between District 3’s two top teams and friendly rivals, Homedale and Weiser. 

Weiser 8-7 over Buhl

 On Friday, the Wolverines clinched an 8-7 win over Buhl’s Lady Indians in the bottom of the sixth inning when Tobie Noyer scored Ivy Morris on a single fly ball to left field. In the top of the seventh, three up, three down for the Indians put Weiser in the winners circle and sent Buhl to the long way around to the finals.

 The Wolverines led 6-1 going into the fifth inning, behind a sacrifice fly by Paisley Noyer and a two-run homer by Abi Wilkins in the first, Wilkins with two RBIs in the third, and Whitney Cordes scoring a run on a single in the bottom of the fourth.

 Buhl added three runs in the top of both the fifth and sixth to take a short-lived 7-6 lead. Cordes tied up the score on a single to center, and T. Noyer followed up with the score by Morris, sending the Wolverines to the second game against South Fremont.

 Wilkins went 2-for-4 at the plate, leading the team with four RBIs. T. Noyer pitched four and a-third innings, allowing three runs on four hits, and Paisley Noyer pitched two and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on four hits. The sisters threw nine strikeouts between them.

 On another field, Homedale defeated Kellogg 18-0 in their first game, setting up a meeting with Filer.

Weiser 8-1 over 

South Fremont

 While holding South Fremont’s Cougars scoreless through six innings, the Wolverines gradually pecked eight runs onto the board for a solid lead going into the seventh. 

 With two outs and batting third, South Fremont’s Natalie Robles homered on a line drive to left field, giving the Cougars a run. The next hitter sent a fly ball to Weiser’s Macy Maloney in right field to end the game.

 P. Noyer led the Wolverines in hits, going 3-for-3 at the plate. Cordes, T. Noyer, and Wilkins each went 2-for-4. 

 In the circle for Weiser, T. Noyer allowed one run on three hits, striking out six.

 Meanwhile, Homedale and Filer went into extra innings, with Homedale taking an 8-7 win, setting up a Saturday morning meeting with Weiser.

Weiser 12-5 over Homedale

 After trailing the Trojans through five innings, the Wolverines pulled into a 6-5 lead in the sixth, and added another six runs in the seventh for a 12-5 win. 

 The two southwest Idaho teams held each other scoreless through two full innings, but the Trojans were successful in adding two runs in each of the third and fourth innings. 

 Maloney started Weiser’s scoring in the top of the fifth inning with a homerun on a line drive to center field. With two outs and two on base, T. Noyer doubled on an 0-1 count to score Morris, and cut Weiser’s deficit to 2-4. Homedale scored one run on an error in the bottom half.

 The Wolverines took the 6-5 lead in the top of the sixth off of singles by Hannah Swank, Morris, and Cordes, and held the Trojans to zero runs in the bottom.

 With no outs and one on base in the top of the seventh, Wilkins homered on a 1-1 count to increase Weiser’s lead to 8-5. Morris scored two more on a single to right field, and Cordes and T. Noyer each scored a run on singles before Noyer was put out advancing to second base.

 In the bottom half, the Trojans first two batters were put out at first on dropped third strikes, and with one on base, a ground out to third baseman Cordes to first gave Weiser the 12-5 win, and Homedale’s first loss of the tournament.

 Homedale and Buhl took the field, after the Indians had made their way back into the championship hunt by defeating Marsh Valley, Filer, and South Fremont. The Trojans handed the Indians an 11-1 loss, setting up what would have been the championship game, BUT…

Weiser 10-20 loss to Homedale

 The Wolverines took an early 7-4 lead in the first two innings, but Homedale chipped away at it, catching up in the bottom of the fourth. 

 Weiser came back with three runs in the top of the fifth, holding a narrow 10-9 lead going into the sixth.

 A ground out, fly out, and line out ended the Wolverines scoring in the top of the inning, but Homedale wasn’t finished. 

 With one out and one on base, Zayne Hall hit a two-run homer to center field. After another out, Jocelynn Roseborough scored on a Weiser error. The Trojans added another two runs on a passed ball, a force on a walk, two on a single to center, one on  a single to right, and two on a single to center, with the game ending when they went 10 ahead.

 With Buhl already determined in third place, Weiser and Homedale would have one more go to see who would be the final team standing with just a single loss.

Weiser 6-16 loss to 

Homedale

 The Wolverines fell behind early, but didn’t quit, adding runs in the first, third, fourth, and fifth innings.

 Homedale took a 10-1 lead in the bottom of the second, sending seven across the plate. 

 The Wolverines collected seven hits for six runs, but the Trojans went 13 for 16, kicking in the 10-run automatic win in the bottom of the sixth.

 T. Noyer homered in the first inning to get Weiser’s scoring started. Maloney and G. Swank led at the plate going 2-for-3 and 2-for-2, respectively. P. Noyer led with two RBIs, and Cordes, T. Noyer, Maloney, and G. Swank with one each.

 T. Noyer pitched one inning, allowing six runs on one hit and striking out two. Cordes pitched one-third of an inning allowing four runs on four hits. P Noyer threw three and two-thirds innings, allowing eight runs on six hits.

 Congratulations, Lady Wolverines, on an outstanding and memorable 2022 softball season!