GARDEN CITY — Oh the breaks of baseball.

    Sometimes, the ball bounces one way — inherently the “right way” for somebody and the “wrong way” for the other — but just wait because it might break the other direction 24 hours later.

    In the 5A state semifinals, Timberline made just enough plays to bury the Highland Rams 5-3 at Boise Hawks Memorial Stadium Friday afternoon.

    Beating Rocky Mountain Thursday felt like a turning point, reversing Highland’s recent opening-round woes at the state tournament. But the bid to play for a baseball championship stopped short.

    “It’s disappointing, we’re not playing tomorrow night,” said Highland head coach Mike Green.

    Timberline (16-11) finished fifth during the season in the Third District. But the Wolves have been hot lately, winning their postseason tournament and they are the only remaining Boise-area ball club still competing for a state title.

    Highland (23-4) had not lost since March. But where a quick 3-0 lead Thursday boosted the Rams’ confidence and belief, a three-run deficit Friday dampened the faith.

    Timberline’s first three batters popped singles off Highland’s starting pitcher Aaron Pope, promptly loading the bases. Tommy Barker — the Wolves’ pitcher, too — whacked a two-RBI double to deep center to strike the first blow.

    “Jitters are part of the game, but (Pope) threw well,” Green said. “We just didn’t play our best game, and credit to Timberline. They did everything they needed to do to beat us.”

    Timberline had the early advantage, but Highland stayed around. Pope settled in, eventually, striking out five, walking two and giving up seven hits in five innings.     And Highland narrowed the lead, scoring two runs — one in the second off a Matt Murphy RBI single, and another in the fifth after a Timberline line error — but the bottom of the fifth inning was the Rams’ undoing.

    Pope recorded two outs quickly, but threw four-straight balls to walk his first batter of the game. Then the Wolves’ Michael Stefanic slapped a single to left field.

    Nic Klena grounded to third next and Greg Casper’s throw to first missed its mark as the ball careened off into the backstop. Two runs scored and the lead swelled back to three runs.

    “We made a couple mistakes that led us to defeat,” Pope said.

    “One ground ball doesn’t make or break a game,” Green said. “We’re never going to put that on one kid with Greg. He made that play all year long for us.”

    In the seventh inning, Highland put on rally caps. Gregg Gwinn’s sacrifice fly scored Christian Atkinson, but Timberline turned a double play to stymie the comeback.

    Green and his players consistently stated one explicit goal for their season: Win state. That will not happen. But Green does not view the year as anything other than successful.

    “It’s kind of the old adage of life, it doesn’t always go your way,” Green said. “How are you going to handle it? It’s not the worst thing that’s going to happen to these kids.”

    The Rams plays Madison, who lost to Coeur d’Alene 20-13 in the other semifinal, today at 1 p.m. for third place.

Timberline 5, Highland 3

Highland    010    010    1 — 3 7 1

Timberline    300    020    x — 5 7 1

Highland — Aaron Pope, Greg Casper (6) and Kade Hall. Timberline — Tommy Baker. 2B — Tommy Baker (T), Christian Atkinson (H).