LEGION BASEBALL: Northern Lakes opens league play with sweep

RATHDRUM — After watching his team up five runs in the top of the first inning of the second game on Monday, Northern Lakes coach Bryce Johnson had a little talk with the Mountaineers.

Then, “I told my assistants, ‘we’ll see what we’re made of.’”

The Mountaineers responded with six runs in the bottom of the first inning, and went on for a 10-9 victory to sweep the class A North Idaho League doubleheader at Lakeland High’s Gorton Field.

Northern Lakes (5-1, 2-0 NIL) won the first game 7-2.

“They showed me a lot,” Johnson said.

Cooper Lenz, the No. 9 hitter, hit a bases-clearing triple to cap the Mountaineers’ six-run first.

Kenny Wells hit a two-run single in the third-inning to break a 7-all tie. He also pitched the last three shutout innings of relief, striking out seven — including the final batter after Orofino had runners at first and second in the top of the seventh — and allowing one hit and walking one.

“Kenny Wells was huge,” Johnson said. “He stepped up in a major, major way.”

In the first game, Payden Wysong went 3 for 4 and singled in the first run of the game in the second inning for Northern Lakes. Sam Pemberton finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs, including a run-scoring double in the third and a two-run single in the fourth.

Caden Robinett pitched five scoreless innings, striking out four, walking four and allowing two hits.

Wysong finished the day 5 for 8 with an RBI and two runs scored.

“After kind of a ho-hum first game, to get smacked in the mouth and come back in the second game was awesome,” Johnson said. “We just fought and scratched and clawed our way to a league win.”

Northern Lakes travels to Lewiston today for a 4 p.m. doubleheader vs. the Lewis-Clark Cubs.

FIRST GAME

Orofino 000 002 0 — 2 7 0

N. Lakes 012 310 x — 7 9 0

Hanna, Altman (4), Olive (6) and Christopherson; Caden Robinett, Scott Pote (6), Andrew Horn (7) and Sam Pemberton.

HITS: Oro — Barlow 2, Guinard 2, Fabbi, Schlioper, Christopherson. NL — Wysong 3, Wells, Robinett, Pemberton 2, Borges 2. 2B — Pemberton.

SECOND GAME

Orofino 520 200 0 — 9 6 1

N. Lakes 613 000 x — 10 6 0

Altman, Bradbury (1) and Christopherson; Wyatt Kitchin, Andrew Horn (1), Payden Wysong (3), Kenny Wells 5 and Joseph Borges.

HITS: Oro — Schneider, Barlow, Fabbi, Guinard, Hanna, Christopherson. NL — Wysong 2, Wells, Robinett, Pote, Lenz. 2B — Wysong, Lenz.