Pirates
win state championship
The team poses with the state championship trophy. Front from left are David Sigler, Conner Rieman, Joe Schumacher Kyle Holthaus and Mike Karel. Back from left are head coach Pat Holthaus, Marcus Higgins, Robert Nau, Beau Schlader, Josh Roeper, Silas Whitley, Troy Lorentz, Justin Schmidt, Garrett Schmidt, Seth Guyer, Devin Schmidt, Cody Schumacher and assistant coach Dustin Behler. 
Celebration ensued after the final out. We believe that's head coach Pat Holthaus hoisting catcher Conner Rieman. It was the third time they had played Potlatch on the day and the second time they had beaten them. 
With Prairie running out of pitching, Devin Schmidt, who had experienced arm problems causing him to sit out most of one of the league games against Potlatch a couple weeks earlier, stepped up and pitched a complete game. He managed to pitch well enough to keep his team in the game and the offense was able to come through when needed. For the first time in the tournament Prairie won the coin flip and was the home team. Potlatch got to Schmidt for 4 hits and 3 runs in the first inning but Prairie answered with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Kyle Holthaus got things started with a 1-out single and Conner Rieman followed with a double to right center. Holthaus had to stop at third as he had to make sure the ball wasn’t caught. After a second out Seth Guyer doubled off the fence in left to score both runners. After Joe Schumacher walked, Silas Whitley hit the ball as hard as he has all year as he pounded the ball off the fence down the left field line to scored Guyer. Potlatch got 2 more hits in the second inning to bring in the go ahead run and added 2 more in the third to take a 3-6 lead on 2 hits, a walk and an error. Prairie came back with 2 runs in the bottom of the third to close the gap. David Sigler led off by reaching after swinging at strike 3 in the dirt. Seth Guyer then grounded to short and Sigler was forced at second. Guyer was then called out when the umpire didn’t like the way Sigler tried to break up the double play. It appeared to be a clean but aggressive slide right into the second baseman, who was on the bag, but the umpire didn’t see it that way. With 2 outs, Schumacher walked again and Whitley followed with a single to left that was misplayed for an error with the runners moving to second and third. Troy Lorentz then hit a 2-run single up the middle to score both runners.  Potlatch
scored again in the fourth with a walk and 2 singles after there were 2
outs.
Prairie again cut the lead to 1 with a run. Kyle Holthaus hit a 1-out double over the centerfielder’s head. After a second out Sigler doubled to left to score Holthaus. In the fifth Potlatch got a single to start the inning but catcher Conner Rieman threw out the runner trying to steal. Schmidt then got the next two hitters for his first scoreless inning. In the bottom of the inning Potlatch had to change pitchers as starter Levi Dawes ran out of innings. Bo Todish, who had started the previous game, came in and promptly hit leadoff hitter Schumacher with his first pitch. Garrett Schmidt went in as a pinchrunner. After an out, Lorentz reached on an error. After a second out Devin Schmidt singled to left with Garrett Schmidt scoring the tying run. Holthaus then singled up the middle to score Lorentz with the go-ahead run. Rieman then tripled to the right field corner to give Prairie a 10-7 lead. Potlatch then changed pitchers again, going to Dustin Shepherd, who had started the morning game. Shepherd got the final out to end the inning. Potlatch answered back in the sixth with an error and a single putting 2 runners on. A couple of groundouts led to a run scoring. Potlatch’s Brandon Woodin then crushed the ball down the line in left scoring one runner. Lorentz retrieved the ball and threw to Sigler who threw to Rieman at the plate where they got Woodin trying to stretch a triple into a homer and score the tying run. Woodin was out by 10 feet. He tried to knock the ball loose from Rieman but would have been out anyway according to high school rules. Prairie got an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as Guyer led off with a walk and moved to second and then to third on wild pitches. He scored on Whitley’s single up the middle to make it 11-9. In the top of the seventh Schmidt got the leadoff hitter to pop up to Guyer at second. He struck out the next hitter on the 9th pitch of the at bat then got the championship winning out on a comebacker to the mound. Prairie pounded out 13 hits in the game with Holthaus and Whitley each having a double and 2 singles. Whitley had 2 RBI while Holthaus had 1. Rieman had a double and a triple and 2 RBI. Guyer had a double and 2 RBI while Sigler had a double and 1 RBI. Lorentz had a single and 2 RBI while Devin Schmidt had a single and 1 RBI. Justin Schmidt also had a single. Schumacher didn’t have any hits but was on base three times leading to 2 runs. Schmidt gave up 13 hits while walk 3 and striking out 2. Prairie ends their season with a 16-5 record. Potlatch ended their season with 4 losses with 3 of those coming to Prairie. Potlatch 3 1 2 1 0 2 0— 9 13 4 Prairie 3 0 2 1 4 1 x—11 13 3 Pirates win state opener The Prairie baseball team opened the state tournament with a 16-6 win over Rimrock of Bruneau Friday, May 21 at Lewiston. Prairie led 8-0 after the top of the fourth as Prairie starter Seth Guyer pitched into and out of trouble stranding 7 Rimrock baserunners in the first 3 innings including leaving the bases loaded in both the first and second innings. Prairie went out in order in the first inning and got a run after there were 2 outs in the second. Joe Schumacher hit a 2-out single to left and went to second as the leftfielder misplayed the ball. Silas Whitley walked then Troy Lorentz singled to right to score Schumacher. Prairie added 3 more run sin the third. Kyle Holthaus singled to left with 1 out and stole second. Conner Rieman then singled up the middle to score Holthaus and went to second on the throw home. He then stole third and scored on a wild pitch. After a second out, Guyer walked and stole second. A wild pitch moved him to third and he scored on Schumacher’s single to right. With the Rimrock pitcher still pitching from the windup despite a runner being on, Schumacher stole second and then third on successive pitches but would up stranded at third. Rimrock changed pitchers for the fourth inning and Lorentz worked him for a walk. He then stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. After an out, Devin Schmidt was hit by a pitch and stole second. After a second out, Rieman walked to load the bases. David Sigler then reached on an error with 2 runs scoring. He then stole second. Rieman then scored on a wild pitch with Sigler advancing to third and Sigler scored when a balk was called on the pitcher to make it 8-0. In the bottom of the fourth Guyer ran into trouble on the mound. He gave up a single and then walked 3 straight hitters. At that point coach Pat Holthaus lifted Guyer and put in Rieman to pitch, even though it counted as an inning pitched for both when an extra inning of pitching might be needed on Saturday. Rieman walked the first batter he faced to force in another run. He then got a pair of strikeouts but gave up 2 straight hits and then an error allowed 4 more runs to score and cut the lead to 8-6. He then got out of the inning with another strikeout. Prairie answered back in the fifth with 5 runs on just 3 hits. Schumacher was hit by a pitch leading off the inning and Whitley walked. Troy Lorentz singled up the middle to score Schumacher then was forced out at second by Justin Schmidt with Whitley going to third. Justin stole second then a wild pitch scored Whitley with Justin advancing to third. Devin Schmidt then crushed the ball to the fence in center, scoring his brother, but wound up with only a single as he stumbled on the bag as he went to round first for what should’ve been at least a double if not a triple. Garrett Schmidt went in to run while Devin got his ankle retaped. Holthaus walked and Rieman reached on an error to load the bases. Sigler then singled to center to score 2 more runs and make it 13-6. Rimrock didn’t score in the fifth and Prairie tacked on 3 more in the sixth to make it a 10-run margin. Schumacher and Whitley both drew walks but Schumacher was forced out at third by Justin Schmidt. Whitley then scored on a wild pitch and when the catcher’s throw back to the plate got away, Schmidt came in to score as well. Devin Schmidt, back in the game, got hit by a pitch and scored on Holthaus’ triple to the right field corner. Rieman then got through the bottom of the inning with just one baserunner and the game ended on the 10-run mercy rule. Prairie had 9 hits in the game with Holthaus having a triple and a single and an RBI while Lorentz had 2 singles and 2 RBI. Schumacher had 2 singles and reached base all 4 times he came to bat, scoring 2 runs. Sigler had a single and 2 RBI while Devin Schmidt and Rieman each had a single and an RBI. Guyer allowed 4 runs in 3 plus innings on 7 hits with 5 walks and 2 strikeouts. Rieman allowed 2 runs in 3 innings on 4 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. Prairie 0 1 3 4 5 3—16 9 2 Rimrock 0 0 0 6 0 0— 6 9 4 Pirates come back for pivotal win The Prairie baseball team came back from a 4-run deficit after 3 innings to take control of the 1-A state baseball tournament with a 6-5 win over Potlatch Saturday morning May 22, at Lewiston. 
In a duel of ace pitchers Potlatch’s Dustin Shepherd and Prairie’s David Sigler locked up in the first winner’s bracket game of the State Tournament. A win in this game was important as the loser would have to play 3 more games on the day to win state while the winner would play no more than 2 more games and see less strain on their pitching staff. Neither team scored in the first inning but Prairie took the initial lead with a run in the second. Sigler led off with an infield single. After an out Joe Schumacher singled to left and Silas Whitley walked to load the bases. Troy Lorentz then singled to right to score Sigler but that was all as the next two hitters were put out. A walk and an error started the second inning for Potlatch. After an out, Potlatch executed a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up. They both scored on a single to left as the Loggers took a 1-2 lead. In the third inning Prairie got the first two batters on with a single and walk but they weren’t able to advance. In the bottom of the third Sigler walked the leadoff hitter then came within an eyelash of a double play as the next batter hit a grounder to Devin Schmidt at third. He got the force at second but the batter was called safe at first on the relay. Potlatch then executed a perfect hit and run to put runners on the corners. The Loggers’ Bo Todish then hit the first pitch from Sigler over the fence in right center for a 3-run homer and a 1-5 lead. Sigler came back from that to strike out the next two hitters to get out of the inning. After the homer Prairie coach Pat Holthaus had Devin Schmidt warming up to get ready to pitch so that he might be able to save some of Sigler’s innings for later in the day. That wasn’t necessary though as Prairie bounced back in the fourth inning with a rally. Whitley walked to lead off the inning and went to second on a wild pitch. After a popup for an out, Justin Schmidt singled to left with Whitley going to third. Devin Schmidt reached on an error by the Potlatch shortstop who dropped the ball trying to get it to second for a forceout. Whitley scored on the play. Holthaus then grounded to short but the shortstop made his second consecutive error as his throw pulled the first baseman off the bag allowing Holthaus to reach. After another popup for an out, Sigler helped keep himself on the mound with a 3-run double to right center that tied the score. He went to third on the throw home and might’ve been able to score if he’d been alert as the catcher’s throw back to the pitcher went all the way to second base. As it was he wound up stranded at third but the score was tied at 5-5. Potlatch tried to take back the lead in the bottom of the inning as they got a 1-out single and a stolen base. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to third but Sigler got out of the inning with a strikeout. Potlatch changed pitchers in the fifth, bringing in Blake Andres. Schumacher greeted him by drawing a leadoff walk and Whitley followed with another walk. Lorentz singled to right to load the bases. After an out, Devin Schmidt singled to left to score Schumacher with the go-ahead run. A double play kept Prairie form scoring any more runs. In the bottom of the fifth an error allowed the leadoff hitter to reach. He stole second while Sigler was in the process of striking out the next batter. That brought Stodish back to the plate. Sigler was able to strike him out but the runner tried to take third on the strikeout. Catcher Rieman fired the ball down to third. The throw came in high but third baseman Devin Schmidt leapt to make the grab and then swept his arm down to tag the runner coming in for an inning ending strike ‘em out throw ‘em out double play. Sigler gave up a hit in the sixth but the runner was caught stealing to end that threat. In the seventh things got dicy. Prairie had been unable to add on in the sixth and seventh and had just a 1-run lead going into the bottom of the seventh. After an out, Potlatch got a single. After a second out they got another single and a walk to load the bases and put the winning run in scoring position at second. That brought up Stodish but he wound up grounding out to second base to end the game. Sigler gave up 5 runs, 3 of them earned, on 8 hits with 3 walks and 10 strikeouts. Prairie also had 8 hits with Sigler having a double and a single and 3 RBI. Lorentz had 2 singles and an RBI. Devin Schmidt had a single and an RBI. Holthaus, Schumacher and Justin Schmidt each had a single. Prairie 0 1 0 4 1 0 0—6 8 3 Potlatch 0 2 3 0 0 0 0—5 8 2 Potlatch forces extra title game The Potlatch Loggers forced Prairie to play an extra game for the state championship as they rallied for a 5-7 win Saturday afternoon, May 22, at Lewiston. Prairie starter Kyle Holthaus had pitched a strong game through 5 innings as he took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth. An umpire’s call of a trap on what Prairie  fans
thought was a great catch in center field by Justin Schmidt turned the
game.
Schmidt had made a great running effort as he dove and appeared to get his glove under the ball, fingers up, for the catch. He came right up with the ball in his mitt but it was called no catch. The hit came with the bases loaded and Potlatch scored two runs on the play to take the lead. If the catch had been called, Prairie had an easy double play at any base they wanted to get out of the inning. Instead Potlatch wound up scoring 4 runs in the inning to take a 4-7 lead. Prairie came back with a run in the seventh on a double by David Sigler and a single by Joe Schumacher but that only cut the lead to 2. Potlatch took the early lead in the game on a 2-run homer in the first inning. Prairie came back with a run in the top of the second. Schumacher was hit by a pitch and move to second on a balk. After an out Troy Lorentz singled to right and an error on the relay to the infield allowed Schumacher to score and Lorentz to move to second. Prairie took the lead in the third when Devin Schmidt led off with a single. After a groundout moved him up a base, Conner Rieman reached on an error. Sigler was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After another out, Schumacher singled to right to bring home 2 runs and make it 3-2. Potlatch tied it in the bottom of the third with an unearned run. After getting two outs, an error extended the inning. The next batter hit a triple to the fence in left center to score a run. Holthaus walked two hitters to load the bases before getting out of the inning on a forceout. In the fourth Prairie took back the lead. Lorentz led off with a walk and then advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw. Justin Schmidt beat out an infield single and then Potlatch lifted starter Bo Stodish in favor of Blake Andres, who had finished out the game in the morning. Andres got an out but then gave up an RBI groundout to Holthaus before getting out of the inning. That gave Prairie their 4-3 lead. Holthaus gave up a single each in the fourth and fifth but neither runner got past second base. Holthaus gave up 9 hits in 6 innings of work and 7 runs, 6 earned. He had 7 walks, 1 hit batsman and no strikeouts. Prairie also had 9 hits as Sigler had a double and a single. Schumacher had 2 singles and 3 RBI. Devin Schmidt, Holthaus, Seth Guyer, Lorentz and Justin Schmidt each had a single. Holthaus also had an RBI. Prairie 0 1 2 1 0 0 1—5 9 2 Potlatch 2 0 1 0 0 4 x—7 9 3
PRAIRIE BASEBALL 2010 March 19-at Kendrick 4 p.m., won 18-7 22-at C.V., 4 p.m., won 13-7 25-at Orofino, 4:30 p.m., lost 7-11 13-Kamiah, here, 4 p.m., postponed, wet field 15-at Lewis County, 4 p.m., won 15-0 17-Troy, here, 2 league, 11 a.m., postponed wet field 19-Troy here, 4 p.m., makeup of one of Saturday's postponed games, won 25-0 23-Kendrick, here, 4 p.m., won 19-9 24-Genesee, here, 11 a.m., won 5-2 27-Lewis County, there, 4 p.m., postponed, rain 29-Timberline, here, 2 league, 3:30 p.m., cancelled 30-Orofino, here, 4 p.m., lost 5-16 6-C.V., here, 4 p.m., lost 6-9 7-at Potlatch, 2 league at LCSC, 4 p.m., lost 5-6, won 5-1 1-15-District at Lewiston lost to Genesee 10-13, beat C.V. 10-0, beat Genesee 12-2, 2nd at District 21-22-State at Lewiston beat Rimrock 16-6, beat Potlatch 6-5, lost to Potlatch 5-7, beat Potlatch 11-9 for state championship |
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