The Camas Prairie Zephyrs won 3 of 4 games at Cottonwood to open their American Legion baseball season.
On Saturday, June 8 they swept the Moscow Blue Devils 13-0 and 13-9. On Sunday, June 9, they split a doubleheader with the Lewis Clark Cubs. They lost the first game 9-13 but came back to win the second 11-6.
Cottonwood’s Noah Behler tossed a five-inning 3-hit shutout in the opening game. He had 8 strikeouts and allowed 2 walks.
Behler gave up a leadoff single in the first inning then the next batter lined out to Behler who doubled off the runner at first base. A strikeout ended the inning.
The Zephyrs got on the board in the first inning when Cody Klement reached on a 2-out error. Former Prairie player Eli Hinds followed with a 2-run homer to right field.
Behler struck out the side in the second inning.
The Zephyrs added 6 more runs in the bottom of the second inning. Talum  Brown led off with a single to center. Hayden Davidson was hit by a pitch. Cottonwood’s Collin Ray hit a sacrifice bunt that advanced both runners to second and third. Ray Holes then doubled to left to score both runners. Holes advanced to third on an error. Cottonwood’s Cody Kaschmitter then reached on a dropped fly ball by the center fielder, scoring Holes from third. Kaschmitter advanced to second on an error and then advanced to third as Klement flew out to right. Hinds was hit by a pitch. The Zephyrs then executed a double steal as Hinds stole second and Kaschmitter stole home. Behler then doubled to left to score Hinds and make it 7-0. Cater Shears then singled to left to score Behler and make it 8-0.
In the third and error and walk put 2 runners on. After a fly out and a strikeout a single loaded the bases. Behler then got out of the inning with a strikeout on 3 pitches.
In the bottom of the third Ray singled with 1 out.  Holes followed with a a 2 run homer to left to make it 10-0.
Behler gave up a leadoff single in the fourth then got out of the inning with a strikeout and a pitcher to shortstop to first base double play.
Hinds led off the bottom of the fourth with a double to center. Behler then reached on an error with Hinds scoring. Behler wound up at second on the play.
Behler then advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single to center by Shears. Shears advanced to second on an error on the play.
Shears advanced to third on a groundout by Brown and then scored on a single to left by Davidson to make it 13-0.
In the top of the fifth Behler gave up a 1-out walk then finished off the game with 2 strikeouts as the game ended on the 10-run mercy rule.
The Zephyrs had 13 hits led by Holes who had a double and a homer and 4 RBI and Hinds who had a double and a homer and 2 RBI. Shears had a pair of singles and 2 RBI. Behler had a single and an RBI. Brown, Davidson and Ray each had a single.
In the second game a 12-run fifth inning gave the Zephyrs the win.
Hinds started on the mound for the Zephyrs and gave up 3 runs in the first inning on 4 walks and 2 singles, All 3 outs were strikeouts.
In the bottom of the first Holes led off with an infield single toward shortstop. Kaschmitter and Klement both walked to load the bases. After an out, Behler grounded to third, forcing Kaschmitter at third while Holes scored. Shears followed with a single to reload the bases. However the inning ended on a fly ball to center by Brown.
Hinds got through the second inning on 3 infield groundouts.
In the bottom of the second Holes reached on a 2-out hit by pitch but was then picked off first.
In the third Hinds walked the bases loaded then gave up a run scoring single. After a strikeout, he hit the next batter to score another run. Devon Poxleitner then came on to pitch. An error allowed Moscow to make it 1-6. Poxleitner then got out of the inning with a popup to third and a strikeout.
The Zephyrs went down in order in the bottom of the third.
In the fourth Moscow got a leadoff single. A stolen base and then a groundout moved the runner to third. Another groundout scored him. An error, a walk and a single led to another run as Moscow took a 1-8 lead.
The Zephyrs put the first two runners on in the bottom of the fourth as Behler walked and Shears reached on an error. 3 straight outs got Moscow out of the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth Holes led off with a single to left. Holes wound up advancing to third on a groundout by Kaschmitter. Klement then singled to left to score Holes. Hinds walked and then stole second. An error on the play allowed Klement to score and Hinds to move to third. Behler then singled to left to score Hinds. Shears forced Behler at second. Brown then walked. Davidson came in to pinch hit for Poxleitner and walked to load the bases. Ray walked to force in a run. Holes hit a bloop single behind first to score Brown. A balk scored Davidson with Ray and Holes advancing to third and second. Kaschmitter then singled to left to score Ray and tie the game at 8-8. Klement reached on a dropped third strike. Holes scored to give the Zephyrs their first lead of the game. Hinds then singled to score Kaschmitter. Behler double to left to score Klement and Hinds. Shears single to center to score Behler and make it 13-8.
In the sixth Davidson walked the bases loaded and Brown was then brought in to pitch. He induced a lineout to second with the runner on first being doubled off. A groundout then ended the threat.
Holes and Kaschmitter both singled with 2 outs in the sixth but no runs were scored.
In the top of the seventh Brown walked the first 2 batters then got a strikeout, forceout and line out to end the game.
Hinds pitched 2 1/3 innings allowing 6 runs on 3 his with 4 strikeouts and 7 walks. Poxleitner pitched 2 2/3 innings allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. Davidson walked all 3 batters he faced but allowed no runs. Brown was awarded the win while pitched 2 innings allowed no runs on no hits with 1 strikeout and 2 walks.
The Zaphyrs had 12 hits led by Holes who had 4 hits and an RBI. Behler had a double and a single and 4 RBI. Kaschmitter and Shears each had 2 singles and an RBI. Klement had a single and 2 RBI. Hinds had a single and an RBI.
Game 1
Moscow 0 0 0 0 0—  0   3 7
Zephyrs  2 6 2 3 x—13 10 1
Game 2
Moscow 3 0 3 2   0 0 0—  8   6 3
Zephyrs  1 0 0 0 12 0 x—13 12 2
In the first game against the Cubs the lead changed hands a couple of times with a 4-run seventh inning by the Cubs giving them the win.
The Cubs jumped out to a 0-4 lead in the first inning as they got to starter Klement with a 2-out rally. The Cubs started off with a 1-out single. After a second out, an error seemed to open the floodgates. The runner that was on first stole second and then a 2-base error on a fly ball to right led to the game’s first run. A walk and a single led to another run. Another walk followed by another single made it 0-4.
The Zephyrs started the bottom of the first with a single by Holes and a walk to Kaschmitter. A line drive to shortstop was turned into a double play and the inning ended on a fly ball to center.
Klement put the side out in order in the second inning.
In the bottom of the second Behler led off with a double to center. Shears singled up the middle to score Behler.
Klement was able to pitch around a 2-base error and a walk in the third inning and not allow any runs.
The Zephyrs then took their first lead in the bottom of the third. Holes led off with a single and Kaschmitter was walked. Klement then doubled to center to score both runners. Hinds then singled to left to score Klement and tie the game at 4-4. After an out, Hinds stole second. Shears then singled to center and Hinds was able to score and give the Zephyrs the lead.
The Cubs took back the lead in the fourth with a pair of runs. 2 walks and a single tied the game. After a caught stealing for the second out of the inning a passed ball on strike 3 led to the go-ahead run for the Cubs.
In the bottom of the fourth the Cubs sent a new pitcher to the mound. Holes led off by reaching on an error by the third baseman. After a strikeout, Klement was hit by a pitch. Holes then scored to tie the game on a sacrifice fly to left by Hinds.
The Cubs again took the lead in the fifth. Brown was put in as pitcher and gave up a leadoff walk. After an out, he hit a batter. After a second out, he gave up a singled to center that gave the Cubs a 6-7 lead.
The Zephyrs were able to tie it again in the bottom of the fifth. After an out, Davidson reached on an error. Ray walked and Holes singled to load the bases. Kaschmitter was hit by a pitch to score Davidson and tie the score. A double play ground ball to short ended the threat.
In the sixth the Cubs again took the lead. A leadoff double followed by an error put runners on first and third. A ground out to shot scored the runner from third to give the Cubs the lead. After a strikeout, a walk and a single led to another run and a 7-9 lead for the Cubs.
Hinds led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to center and Behler walked. The Cubs changed pitchers and a passed ball on strike 3 led to Hinds scoring and Behler advancing to third. Shears was put out trying to reach first.
A groundout to short scored Behler to again tie the score at 9-9. Davidson then doubled to center but was put out trying to stretch it into a triple.
In the seventh the Cubs drew a leadoff walk. After a groundout the Cubs put together a 4-run rally. 2 singles, an error and another single led to 4 runs before Brown was able to get out of the inning with a strikeout.
In the bottom of the seventh Holes drew a 1-out walk but 2 strikeouts then ended the game.
Klement pitched 4 innings allowing 6 runs, only 1 earned, on 4 hits with 8 strikeouts and 5 walks in 4 innings. Brown pitched 3 innings and allowed 7 runs, only 3 earned, on 6 hits with 3 strikeouts and 4 walks.
The Zephyrs had 10 hits led by Holes who had 3 singles and scored 2 runs. Shears and 2 hits and 3 RBI. Hinds had a single and a double and 2 RBI. Klement had a double and 2 RBI. Behler and Davidson each had a double.
Kaschmitter started the second game on the mound. He gave up a walk and 2 singles and 2 runs in the first inning.
The Zephyrs responded with 4 runs in the bottom of the first. Holes walked to lead off the game. Kaschmitter also walked and Kelement singled up the middle to score Holes with Kaschmitter going to third. Kaschmitter scored on a passed ball to tie the game. Hinds walked. Klement scored on a wild pitch with Hinds going to second. Behler flew out to center with Hinds tagging and moving to third. After a strikeout, Brown drew a walk. With runners on first and third the Cubs pitcher was called for a balk scoring Hinds to make it 4-2.
Kaschmitter set the side down in order in the second inning on a strikeout, ground out and fly out.
The Zephyrs put up another 4-spot in the bottom of the second. Ray walked to lead off the inning. Holes singled and Kaschmitter walked to load the bases. Klement then stepped to the plate and hit the second pitch he saw for a grand slam homer over the left field fence. That made it 8-2.
The Cubs got a 3 runs in the third inning. A double, single and sacrifice fly scored the first run. 2 walks to load the bases and then an error scored 2 more runs to cut the lead to 8-5.
The Zephyrs went down in order in their half of the third.
The Cubs got 2 singles off of Kaschmitter in the fourth inning but a strikeout, fly out and caught stealing got the Zephyrs out of the inning.
The Zephyrs added on in the bottom of the fourth. Klement had a 1-out single to center then stole second. He went to third on Hinds’ groundout to the pitcher. A balk then scored Klement. Behler singled but then the inning ended on a groundout.
Holes went to the mound to pitch in the fifth inning. He loaded the bases with nobody out on 2 hit batsmen and a single. After a popup to Holes for an out, a single scored the runner from third. Holes then got out of the inning with a forceout.
Brown walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth but the next 3 batters were all put out to end the inning.
Holes gave up a single and a double  to start the sixth inning but a caught stealing and 2 groundouts kept the Cubs off the scoreboard.
In the bottom of the sixth Kaschmitter and Klement both singled to start the inning. Hinds then singled to score Kaschmitter. Behler then grounded into a double play but Klement was able to score to make it 11-6. Shears singled but the inning then ended on a strikeout.
In the top of the seventh Holes struck out the first hitter then gave up a single. After another strikeout he gave up another single. He was then able to end the game with a fly ball out to right.
Kaschmitter pitched 4 innings and gave up 5 runs, 4 earned, on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks. Holes gave up 1 run on 4 hits with 2 strikeouts in 3 innings.
The Zephyrs had 9 hits led by Klement who was 4 for 4 with 5 RBI including a grand slam homer. Hinds had a single and an RBI. Holes, Behler and Shears each had a single.
The Zephyrs are now 3-1 on the season. They were to play at Orofino on Tuesday.  This Thursday through Sunday they will be at a tournament at Nampa for 5 games. On Thursday they will play the SC Snowcocks at 1:30 p.m. MDT. On Friday they will play the Fruitland Grizzlies at 12:30 p.m. On Saturday they will play the Phantoms at 8 a.m. and the Boise Storm at 10:15 a.m. They will play again on Sunday with the opponent to be determined.
Coach David Shears said they were missing several players due to family vacations and football camp the first weekend. They should be back to full strength this week.
Game 1
LC        4 0 0 2 1 2 4—13 10 4
Zephyrs 0 1 4 1 1 2 0—  9 10 4
Game 2
LC        2 0 3 0 1 0 0—  6 12 0
Zephyrs 4 4 0 1 0 2 x—11   9 3

Thursday, June 13---Zephyrs vs. SC Snowcocks at Nampa, 1:30 p.m. MDT
Friday, June 14---Zephyrs vs. Fruitland Grizzlies at Nampa, 12:30 p.m. MDT
Saturday, June 15---Zephyrs vs. Phantoms, at Nampa, 8 a.m. MDT
Saturday, June 15---Zephyrs vs. Boise Storm at Nampa, 10:15 a.m. MDT
Sunday, June 16---Zephyrs at Nampa, TBD , 12 noon
Thursday, June 20---Zephyrs at Northern Lakes, 1:00
Saturday, June 22---St. Maries in Cottonwood, 12:00 and 2:00
Sunday, June 23---Northern lakes in Cottonwood, 11:00 and 1:00
Tuesday, July 2---Zephyrs at Moscow, 4:00 and 6:00
Thursday, July 4---Zephyrs vs. Orofino at Clancy Ellis Tournament, Lewiston, 12:00
Friday, July 5---Zephyrs vs. Moscow at Clancy Ellis Tournament, Lewiston, 1:00
Friday, July 5---Zephyrs vs. Nampa Braces at Clancy Ellis Tournament, Lewiston, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 6---Zephyrs vs. Tribe at Clancy Ellis Tournament, Lewiston, 12:00
Sunday, July 7---Zephyrs at Clancy Ellis Lewiston, TBD
Tuesday, July 9---Orofino at Cottonwood, 3:00 and 5:00
Friday, July 12---Zephyrs at Lewis Clark Cubs, 5:00 and 7:00
Saturday, July 13---Zephyrs vs. North Idaho Lakers at Sand Point, 4:00 and 6:00
Sunday, July 14---Zephyrs at Coeur D’Alene, 12:00 and 2:00
Thursday, July 18-Sunday, July 21 --- Area “A” Tournament in Lewiston
Wednesday, July 24-Sunday, July 28---State Tournament