Weiser advances to third round of District tourney play

The Wolverine varsity baseball team fell 5-1 in seven innings to the Trojans in Homedale on Monday, May 3.
 Koda Coers got the start on the mound for Weiser, allowing three runs on three hits, with four strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings.  
 Jarret Mink came in on relief for the Wolverines for one and a third innings, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out one Trojan batter.  
 On offense, the Wolverines started out with two base hits, one of them a fielder’s choice.  
 Willy Shirts got on with a walk and Weiser would leave the two runs stranded in the inning.  
 Homedale started out the inning with a pop out to Shirts in centerfield and a nice strikeout by Coers on the mound. The Trojans would follow up with a triple to right field and a base hit to score the runner to center field.
 The Wolverines got the final out with a fly out to Ray Calley in right field.  
 In the second inning, Weiser couldn’t get anything going with three batters up and three batters down, with Homedale following suit in the bottom of the inning.
 A bunt was well played by catcher Jack Burke who threw the batter out at first to Beau Shields.  
 Homedale also struck out and grounded out to Brett Spencer at third who had a nice throw to Shields at first.  
 There was some hope when Homedale dropped a ball hit by Ray Calley at the beginning of the third inning, but Weiser would hit into a double play with the next at bat and followed up with a pop up to end the inning.  
 In the bottom of the third, the Trojans would get on base with a single to Calley in right field.  
 The batter would reach second base on an error by the Wolverines and then reach third on a bunt that ended in an out by Burke to first base.
 The next batter would fly out to Payton Albertson in left field, but the runner on third would score on a pass ball. Coers put the inning to rest with a strikeout, with Homedale notching a 2-0 lead.  
 In the top of the fourth inning, Weiser had a shot at adding some runs with a single by Spencer and Shirts. Spencer would be thrown out trying to put the Wolverines on the board.  
 Weiser grounded out and then Beau Shields hit a nice single to center field that scored Shirts, closing Homedale’s lead to 2-1.
 Weiser couldn’t keep the momentum going, however, ending the inning with a strikeout.
 In the bottom of the fourth inning, Weiser would record a ground out to second and a nice throw from Mink to Shields to get the out.  
 A strikeout would follow and then a hard hit ball resulted in the batter getting on base due to an error.  
 The runner would try to push the steal to second base and ended up getting thrown out on the base paths.  
 Weiser couldn’t get their hitting going in the top of the fifth, either, going three up and three down.  
 In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Trojans would deepen their lead during a two-out rally and two errors committed by the Wolverines, bringing the score to 5-1 Homedale.  
 Weiser again went three up, three down in the top of the sixth. The Wolverines displayed some good defense on a couple of grounders to von Brethorst and Coers to keep the Trojans from scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning.  
 In the top of the seventh inning, Weiser had a final chance to score, but couldn’t muster the strength.  
 The game ended with the final 5-1 in favor of Homedale.   
 “We just couldn’t get the momentum going in this game,” said Weiser Head Coach Bowe von Brethorst. “We had errors that are not normal for us and our hitting was not up to expectations. We have work to do.”
 Only four batters hit the ball during the game.  
 Beau Shields went two for three at the plate for the Wolverines.  
 The loss left the Wolverines in third place after Fruitland and Homedale respectively.
Weiser 5, McCall 1
 Weiser opened up District play against McCall High School this weekend at Walter Johnson Memorial Field in Weiser. Wolverine batters had to take time to adjust to two Vandal pitchers with slower pitching styles.
 The Wolverines scored on an error in the second inning and left several base runners in position throughout the game.  
 McCall was able to tie the score at 1-1, lost momentum after a Weiser four-run barrage in the sixth inning resulting in a 5-1 Wolverine lead.
 Weiser had just four RBIs total for the game. Bright spots on the offense included Dillon Turrentine, a sophomore the Wolverines brought up for District play. Turrentine went one for one at the plate, recording a triple.  
 Willy Shirts went two for four while Ray Calley and Beau Shields both went one for two, adding to the Wolverine momentum.  
 On the defensive side of the ball, Willy Shirts took the mound for the Wolverines, first allowing two hits, no runs, and struck out four batters. He also had a heck of a double play with shortstop Kooper von Brethorst.  
 Next, freshman Brock Spencer threw one and two-thirds innings, recording two hits, one run, and striking out two.
 For the final one and one-third innings, Beau Shields stepped up on the mound and recorded no hits, no runs, and three strikeouts in relief for Weiser.  
 “McCall has greatly improved, but we had some success as well today with a sophomore stepping up to the varsity level and coming in clutch with a triple and a freshman getting some time in on the mound,” said Weiser Head Coach Bowe von Brethorst. “Our team is coming together and will hopefully be peaking at the right time.”