Washburn, Twins handcuff Prairie

POST FALLS - Baseball is a game with many imperfections, but the Lewis-Clark Twins were nearly perfect Thursday night.

Julian Washburn tossed a one-hitter and the Twins pounded Prairie for 20 runs for a shutout victory during the team's opening game of the Legion AA district tournament.

"When you get to this point of the season you have to be the most focused you are all year," Lewis-Clark coach Kevin Maurer said. "You have to be ready for these games because every pitch matters. We knew how important it would be, and we were able to play our best baseball today in all phases."

Washburn surrendered Prairie's lone hit in the opening frame, a bloop single that landed just outside the reach of the right fielder. The senior responded by striking out the next 10 batters.

The Lewis-Clark offense also found a rhythm, scoring in every inning.

"You can't ask much more of an offense than that," Maurer said. "To put runs on the board and just stay focused all day. Jared Porter is probably one of the best pitchers in our league that we'll face, so to hit him the way we did says a lot about our guys and their mindset going forward."

Lewis-Clark advances in the three-team tournament to take on the winner of Prairie and Coeur d'Alene today at 5 p.m. A win would mark a district title for the Twins in the double-elimination competition.

"Our guys know what is expected of them," Maurer said. "It's just about us coming here to do what we planned on doing all along, and that's leaving no doubt about who the best team at state is. The district tournament is where we start proving that."

Prairie 000 000 0- 0 1 4

Lewis-Clark 323 327 x-20 20 0

Jared Porter, Brock Zeller (5) and Seth Villaponado. Julian Washburn and Chase Adkison.

Prairie hits - Seth Villaponado.

Lewis-Clark hits - Riley Way 2, Alex Light 2 (2B), AJ Davis (2B), Luke White 2 (2B), Jaden Phillips, Chase Adkison 4 (2B), Danny Robinson 4 (2B, 3B), Colt Olson 2.