POCATELLO — The past success by the Pocatello Razorbacks is in the rearview and all they are thinking about now is winning their district.
They got off to a good start in their attempt to reach the goal Saturday, winning their first two league games of the season in a doubleheader against the Idaho Falls Bees at Halliwell Park. Pocatello closed the day with a 13-3 win in five innings after beating the Bees 11-1 in six innings in the opener.
“We’re not here to compete with last year,” said Razorbacks coach Russ Davie. “We’re worried about playing as a team, gelling as a team and putting the wins together and getting out of districts.”
Pocatello, which won a Single-A state title last year, put together a balanced effort by finding success at the plate and on defense.
The Razorbacks scored runs in each of the five innings against the Bees in the second game. They tallied a game-high five runs in the fifth to clinch a mercy-rule defeat.
Davie was most impressed with Jace McClowskey, who had two big hits in his team’s 13-3 victory. The first came in the Razorbacks’ three-run first inning when his single drove in a run. He also lengthened Pocatello’s lead to six after starting his journey to home by hitting a ball to the left-center wall for a triple. Jake Sorensen highlighted the first game, going 4 of 5 at the plate.
“We’re looking for good pitches and making them throw a lot of pitches and getting a lot of walks and a lot of runners on base and timely hitting,” Davie said. “I was happy with what I saw.”
While Davie knew success would come at the plate, he was unaware the defense would flourish at nearly the same level.
Pocatello pitchers Trent Cooper and Hunter Roubidoux combined to allow four earned runs in their starts. Cooper started the day off by allowing four hits, one earned run and striking out five in five innings. Roubidoux struck out seven batters, walked two and allowed eight hits in a complete game.
Roubidoux, the junior-to-be, who pitched for the Pocatello Indians during the high school season, said he is continuing to strive to improve. About every day since the start of the Indians’ season, he said he has played long toss, which requires him to try to hurl a ball to someone as far away as 100 yards to strengthen his arm.
The adherence to working on his game seemed to pay off most in the second inning when he compiled three strikeouts against the four batters he faced. The lone runs he allowed came in the first when he gave up one, and the fifth when the Bees tallied two.
POCATELLO RAZORBACKS 11, IDAHO FALLS BEES 1 (5) (6)
Idaho Falls 000 010 — 1 2 4
Pocatello 270 002 — 11 10 3
Idaho Falls — Pitchers: Eldridge 1.5IP, 4 ER, 4BB,3K; Hartwell 4IP, 1ER,2Ks, 5BB; Trejo 1.5IP, 2ER, 1K, 1BB. Leading hitters: Connor Witbick 1-3, 3B, Carroll 1-1.
Pocatello — Pitchers: Trent Cooper 5IP,1ER, 1R, 5K, 4H, 1BB; Junior Davie 1IP, OER, 0R, 0H, 0BB, 0K. Leading hitters: Jake Sorensen 4-5, Jake Oblea 2-4.
Game 2
POCATELLO RAZORBACKS 13, IDAHO FALLS BEES 3 (5)
Idaho Falls 100 02 — 3 8 10
Pocatello 321 25 — 13 7 0
Idaho Falls — Pitchers: Ryan Lopez 3.1IP, 8R, 4ER, 4H, 4K, 7BB; Tommy Alexander .2IP, 5R, 3ER, 3H, 2K, 0BB. Leading hitters: Conner Witbick 3-3, 2R; Alexander 2-4, R.
Pocatello — Pitchers: Hunter Roubidoux 5IP, 3R, 3ER, 8H, 7K, 2BB. Leading hitters: Jake Oblea 2-2, 2RBI, 3R; Jace McClowskey 2-3, 3B, R, RBI.