Lewiston gradually finds stroke, collects pair of wins over Bears

When Nicole Redd stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh on Tuesday evening, her Lewiston Bengals were looking every bit like a team coming off its spring break.

Lewiston was struggling to string together hits, failing to hold leads and making a few mistakes in the field - including one by Redd in the top of the seventh that almost allowed Moscow to take the lead.

So with the score tied at 4-all, Redd changed things around with one swing of the bat.

She laced a slicing line drive into the right-center field gap for a leadoff triple to set up Kellsi Parson's walk-off hit just moments later, and with that the Bengal bats came alive, as they put up 12 hits in the second game of the doubleheader to sweep the Bears by scores of 5-4 and 14-4.

The league implications of the matchup (with both teams in the Inland Empire League but occupying different classifications) weren't immediately known.

"We definitely weren't ourselves, I don't think," Redd said.

"... Our bats didn't come, and we didn't help out our pitchers, I don't think, as far as hitting-wise. But the second game I think we woke up a little bit, and put some runs up."

With gusty winds and plenty of clouds turning Airport Park into an Arctic experience, Moscow stuck around in the first game and gave the Bengals (8-4) everything they could handle.

Lewiston put up three runs in the third, but the Bears climbed back to tie it in the top of the fourth and did the same in the top of the fifth after the Bengals poked across another run.

Sophomore Chelsey Thomason, who has seen plenty of action this year after being called up from the Bengal JV squad early on, managed to hang steady on the mound and keep the Bears from scoring in the final two innings to keep the game tied.

That included a tense situation in the top of the seventh when Redd's error put Bears on first and third with one out. The underclassman induced an infield pop-up for the second out to hold the runners, and then struck out Kaitlyn Krasselt to give the Bengals an opportunity to win the game with one run.

"A lot of poise," Lewiston coach Dave Garrett said of his young pitcher. "No emotion, just throws the ball where the catcher wants it at."

Redd quickly atoned for her fielding miscue by blasting the ball into the gap and scooting into third base to put the winning run in prime scoring position.

"It was just perfect right down the middle - my favorite pitch, and I love it and I just drilled it," she said.

Parson then slapped a single into left field to end the game and give Lewiston some offensive momentum heading into the second game.

The Bengals wasted little time in that contest, scoring four runs in the second, six in the third and three in the fourth. Redd, who had two hits in each game, unloaded another triple to right-center to score two in the fourth as Lewiston quickly distanced itself from the Bears.

"She just drives the ball away very well," Garrett said.

Kaci Baldwin and Taylor Johnson also had two hits apiece for the Bengals (8-4) in the second game, while Lyndsi Feucht had a combined three hits for the day. Moscow sophomore Dezerae Maxey also three hits during the two games.

Junior Lunden Young went four innings on the mound in the second game for the Bengals, striking out seven during that time and holding Moscow scoreless for the first three frames before some wildness led to four runs by the Bears in the fourth.

That didn't matter for long, though, as the Bengals put up a run in the bottom of the fifth to invoke the 10-run mercy rule.

"We definitely were rusty with the bats - didn't hit as well as I would have liked," Garrett said. "But, first games back after a week off."

With these games out of the way, Lewiston can now focus on a big IEL doubleheader with Post Falls on Thursday at home - the Bengals' first 5A IEL showdown since getting swept by Lake City in their season-opening doubleheader.

Redd highlighted fielding errors as a necessary correction, and the matchup should give the Bengals' pitching staff a tough challenge.

"They're improving," Garrett said of his hurlers. "Our big test will be, we've got a league game against Post Falls ... and we'll have to see how we do there. That'll be our big test for our pitching staff."

FIRST GAME

Moscow 001 210 0-4 8 3

Lewiston 003 100 1-5 6 3

Raelynn Gosse, Kaitlyn Krasselt (4), Gosse (6) and Amy Westberg, Dezerae Maxey (4), Westberg. Chelsey Thomason and Shaundee Garrett.

Moscow hits - Becca Papineau 2 (2B), Maxey 2, Hicks, Krasselt, Jayme Wallace, Gosse (2B).

Lewiston hits - Nicole Redd 2 (3B), Kellsi Parson, Lyndsi Feucht 2, Jessica Kramer.

SECOND GAME

Moscow 000 40 -4 4 3

Lewiston 046 31-14 12 1

Gosse, Nicolette Redinger (4) and Westberg. Lunden Young, Dru Zolman (5) and Garrett.

Moscow hits - Maxey (2B), Westberg, Krasselt, Gosse.

Lewiston hits - Redd 2 (3B), Parson, Garrett, Kaci Baldwin 2, Taylor Johnson 2, Erin Hanthorn, Feucht, Zolman, Karlee Wilson.

---

Baumgartner may be contacted at jbaumgartner@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2277.