Christian Colonel put one drought behind him at least.
The Highland High School head baseball coach cracked a smile as his team cruised to a 9-2 win over Middleton in the Class 5A state consolation championship game Saturday at the College of Idaho’s Wolfe Field in Caldwell.
It gave the Rams (23-7) their first state trophy in exactly a decade.
“Man it feels good,” Colonel said. “Obviously, it’s not the trophy that we want, but it’s a good start. This crew that I have this year, starting with the seniors, they really put in the work and bought in. My assistant coaches are the best in the business and I couldn’t do it without any of those guys. I really appreciate all their efforts.
“But these seniors, they played their hearts out this weekend and it showed.”
Especially at a place that had been historically unkind to them.
They had gone just 2-14 at state since that 2014 consolation championship. Highland also hadn’t gotten out of the first round in eight years.
Those unfortunate trends continued Thursday with a 7-4 loss to eventual state champion Owyhee. The Rams had the Storm, who three-peated, on the ropes early on. They jumped out to a 3-1 lead with runners on second and third base in the top of the third inning.
But Highland was unable to extend the lead and gave up a total of six runs over the next two innings. It put the Rams on the verge of going two-and-out for the sixth time in nine seasons.
“I just don’t think people realize how tough it is to win at a state tournament, especially at the 5A level,” Colonel said. “You just have to play really, really well and reduce the amount of mistakes you make and capitalize on your opponent’s mistakes. In the last six years, we’ve lost numerous games by one run in the state tournament.”
Not this time around, though.
It started Friday by 10-running a Coeur d’Alene team that had done the same thing to them earlier in the season. They then carried that newfound momentum forward against a Middleton (22-8) team that has played in the last two District III championship games and has the second-most wins (45) in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference behind only Owyhee (46) during that same timespan.
Highland did find itself trailing 2-0 going into the top of the fifth inning. The Vikings had scored on an error in the first and a fielder’s choice in the fourth.
However, things quickly changed when the Rams exploded in that fifth inning.
They plated seven runs on six hits. Hudson John gave them the lead for good on a two-run double on a line drive to left field. But Preston Foltz, Cannon Edie and Taylor Stringfellow all also drove in runs before the inning was finally over.
Highland then added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth via a Mason Payne single and on a sacrifice fly from Kannon Kunz in the seventh. All but two batters either provided a hit or an RBI and five logged multiple-hit games in the 12-hit offensive showing.
The Rams also got good pitching on the bump from the trio of Nick Ourada, Hunter Hansen and Colton Durham. They combined to allow just two hits − none past the second inning − one earned run and fan eight batters. Durham tallied five of those strikeouts.
Payne notched a game-high three hits and a pair of RBIs. John also drove in two runs on a double and a triple.
“So proud of my team,” Colonel said. “A lot of teams would pack it in. But we’re hungry every day. I tell the boys whatever game we’re playing that night is the most important game of the season. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing game two of the season against Thunder Ridge or game 30 against Middleton.
“They took it to heart.”
BLACKFOOT 6, BONNEVILLE 3
Dax Whitney had done just about everything.
But during his storied career, Blackfoot’s senior ace hadn’t won a state trophy.
He wrote that wrong Saturday.
The Oregon State signee and MLB prospect gave up just two hits, one earned run and fanned 11 batters in his final high school game. It all allowed him to pick up one last win on the bump in a 6-3 victory over league rival Bonneville in the Class 4A State Tournament third-place game at Vallivue High School in Caldwell.
“He’s been huge for this program,” Blackfoot head coach Zach Reay said. “He started his freshman year for us at the varsity level. He’s one of those once in a coaching career kind of kids. He’ll be missed.
“We’ll never replace a kid like that.”
Whitney had only thrown 16 pitches at this year’s state tournament prior to Saturday. Reay made the decision to not have him start the Broncos’ (24-6) quarterfinal and semifinal games. Whitney came in for relief in the 2-1 opening-round win Thursday over Pocatello. But even when they fell behind 6-1 to eventual state champion Moscow Friday, Reay elected to leave him in the bullpen.
So after the 8-1 loss, Saturday was all his. Whitney made the most of it, too.
The Bees (15-17) didn’t register a hit against him after the second inning. He retired them in order in both the fourth and fifth innings. His final high school pitch was fittingly, a strikeout with two outs left in the top of the sixth inning.
Whitney ends the year with a perfect 11-0 record, 130 strikeouts and a .266 ERA. The likely shoe-in Class 4A Player and Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year only allowed two earned and five total runs on the season.
He also had a good day from the plate with his three-run double in the bottom of the second inning, breaking open the game at 5-1.
“It was huge to get the momentum on our side,” Reay said. “Be in the driver’s seat and control the game rather than try and play catch up like we did in our last game.
“I think getting a lead early in a game like this was really big.”
Cole Robinson and Jace Cooper both drove in runs as well for the Broncos, who walked away with a state trophy for the first time since winning it all back in 2015.
SKYVIEW 10, POCATELLO 0, 5 INNINGS
It wasn’t the way the Thunder (17-12) wanted to end their season.
Last year’s state champions were not only 10-runned, but no-hit for the second time this season in the Class 4A state consolation championship game Saturday at Vallivue High School in Caldwell. Highland’s Taylor Stringfellow threw a no-hitter against them on March 27.
This time it was Caden Yesford for the Hawks (26-4). Outside of a pair of walks, he had little trouble against Pocatello with six strikeouts.
About the only highlights for the Thunder were a strikeout apiece from Kache Stucki and Alex Winn on the bump.
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