Pocatello and Bonneville split a doubleheader, but one team sure seemed happier than the other.
“I’m really competitive,” said senior Pocatello flame-thrower Alex Kordopatis. “I just feel like we should have played a lot harder through it all, and I think we could have had it.”
The Indians blanked the Bees 5-0 in the first game but Bonneville ground out a 3-2 victory in the second match Wednesday at O.K. Ward Park.
In the district opener for both squads, Pocatello — with Kordopatis slinging strikes — dominated.
Kordopatis struck out 15, allowed one hit — holding a no hitter into the sixth inning — and generally confounded Bee hitters with a variety of pitches.
And offensively, Indian batters smacked 10 hits and exploded for four runs in the second inning. Juniors Cierra Cooper and Kealee Hewatt both banged in RBI singles.
Three Bonneville errors were especially costly for the Bees, too.
Dacie Burrows rocketed a shot to center field that was dropped mid air and allowed Kordopatis and Kaylee Moser to round the bases for two runs.
And later, in the fifth, Dani Jorgenson sprinted in from third base after a Bonneville outfielder fumbled a ball.
With Kordopatis ringing strikeout after strikeout, Pocatello cruised through the seventh inning to its first district win of the season.
But the costly errors Bonneville could not avoid in game one evaporated in the nightcap. Plus, Kordopatis’ pitching dominance did not sustain itself.
“I think (the loss) is going to burn us,” said Pocatello head coach Anne Butler. “But I hope that this Bonneville team can go get some wins from some other teams. At the end of the year, tournament time, it’s who plays the best. I guess we’ll just see what happens by the time we get there.”
Butler, already concerned with postseason seeding, knows a home loss early in the season can haunt the squad later.
Down 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Burrows worked her way from first all the way to third, but Hewatt flew out to left field to end the game, continuing a trend that had lasted all afternoon.
The Indians stranded baserunners in five different innings.
“That was the deal breaker,” Butler said. “The other team’s going to get hits just like we do, but we’ve got to find a way to get that hit with two runs and score those runs.”
For the afternoon, Hewatt was 3-for-7 and Kordopatis connected for three hits. In total, Kordopatis struck out 20 batters and gave up six hits.
Pocatello is 5-3-1 overall and 1-1 in district action. The Indians host Blackfoot for a doubleheader Friday starting at 4 p.m.
Pocatello 5, Bonneville 0
Bonneville — 000 000 0 — 0 1 3
Pocatello — 040 010 x — 5 10 0
Bonneville — Sierra Trejo and Resendez. Pocatello — Alex Kordopatis and Kristen Stuki, Dani Jorgenson (4).
Bonneville 3, Pocatello 2
Bonneville — 001 002 0 — 3 5 0
Pocatello — 001 100 0 — 2 7 0
Bonneville — Hathaway and Phillips. Pocatello — Alex Kordopatis and Dani Jorgenson. 2B — Kordopatis (P), Phillips (B) 3B — K. Reseidoz (B).