Cubs drop opener at Districts

The Lewis-Clark Cubs battled through a bus fire and game delay to reach the opener of the Idaho Area A Tournament.

In the end, an infield error proved to be the team's downfall in an 8-7 loss to the Orofino Merchants.

"When you walk seven guys and have five errors, it's tough to win any ball game," Cubs coach Ramon Royce said. "It was disappointing considering that we've been playing well and challenging guys from a defensive side of things."

The trouble began when the team bus caught fire during the drive to Coeur d'Alene.

"It started smoking like crazy, so we had to pull over to the side of the road," Royce said. "That kind of took us out of our pregame routine."

The incident delayed the first pitch by more than an hour. With no time to warmup, the Cubs immediately jumped into play and had trouble establishing an offensive groove.

"We were just way out front as a whole team," Royce said. "Guys were just anxious and reverting back to how we swung it earlier in the season."

After surrendering a six-run lead, the Cubs battled back with a scoring outburst in the bottom of the fourth, fueled by a two-run homer from Coy Stout.

"He hit a bomb, he got a fastball right down the middle and turned on it and absolutely drove it," Royce said. "That was a positive and good to see. He's been swinging the bat pretty well for us."

The Merchants were able to escape the frame with some nifty defense by the pitching staff.

"We were fortunate enough to pick (Garrett) Beckman off at second base with the bases loaded and one out, or it would have been a much bigger inning for the Cubs," Orofino coach Jeff Wilson said.

The two teams entered extra innings locked in a 7-7 battle. With two outs and runners on first and third, Hayden Wilson smacked a ground ball that went through the second baseman's leg, giving the Merchants the go-ahead run.

Hayden Wilson finished with a 3-for-5 showing at the plate and 3 RBI.

The Cubs continue tournament play with a 4:30 p.m. game today against Sandpoint. Orofino advances to a 9 a.m. meeting with No. 1 seed Northern Lakes.

Orofino 150 001 01-8 8 0

Lewis-Clark 000 601 00-7 7 5

J. Sparano, J. Barajas (4), Brayden Turcott (6) and Brayden Turcott, Taran Burke (6). Tyson Wallace, Garrett Beckman (4), George Lopez (7) and Jason Hanchett.

Orofino hits - Taran Burke, Howard, Turcott, Kolby Brink, Hayden Wilson 2, Walls, Chris Olive.

Lewis-Clark hits - Tyson Wallace, George Lopez 2, Coy Stout (HR), Garrett Beckman (2B), Hayden Woods 2 (2B).