The State Tournament is Finally Here

The first matchup of the day is a rematch of what we saw in last year's State Tournament as Eagle will go up against Highland.  The scouting report on the Rams is that they are very athletic and really strive themselves on offense to win ball games.  With a record of 14-6, they are sure to pose up quite the threat against Eagle.  The defending State Champion Eagle Mustangs can draw a lot of similarities from last year's title run to the way this year is setting up.  For instance, they have taken third in the last two District Tournaments and are opening up with Highland for the 2nd consecutive year.  Furthermore, the Mustangs have pitching and plenty of it.  Coach Frank Wright will go with Brandon Brown tomorrow to try and set the tone for Eagle and then there are plenty of options after that.  Look for the Mustangs to sneak into the State Championship game as the bracket is setting up nicely for them.

The second game of the day features two of the best baseball programs in the State.  The Timberline Wolves have exceeded expectations this year with 17 wins, eight of which have been recorded on the mound by Junior Cody Price.  Price will most likely be on the hill tomorrow against a Lewiston team that is down compared to the last few years, but still will have a chance to win the whole thing.

The night session kicks off with the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies facing Idaho Falls.  We all know the Grizzlies have been gearing up for the State Tournament all year long and with a record of 24-1, they are in prime position to cap off a magical year with the school's first State Championship.  In their way wil be Idaho Falls, a team that needed two runs in the 8th inning to beat Borah in the play-in game to make it into the State Tournament bracket.  Although it seems Idaho Falls could be a minor bump in the road for Rocky, with ace Richie Kyro on the mound, the Grizzlies should cruise into the semifinals.

The final matchup is another 1st round rematch of last years 1st round game between Coeur D'Alene and Mountain View.  The Vikings come in with a 22 game winning streak after losing their first two games of the season to Rocky Mountain.  Even more impressively they average 12 runs per game offensively and might be the only team that can stack up to Rocky if they were to meet in the semifinals.  As for Mountain View, they are a young squad who's offense is starting to turn it around and with senior Colton Sale on the mound, the Mavericks have a good chance to pull off the upset for the 2nd year in a row.

As for the 4A and 3A brackets, Bishop Kelly and Fruitland look to be the favorites with stellar records all year long.  Tune into 630 The Fan as we will be broadcasting every game from the 5A State Tournament.