The Lakeland Hawks(4-16) traveled an hour up to Sandpoint, Idaho to play the Moscow Bears(10-12) for a berth in the championship series against the Sandpoint Bulldogs(9-12). The Hawks lost 8-3 to the Bears as their season was ended, and the Bulldogs beat the Bears shortly thereafter, 12-2. 

The Hawks started off the district game against the Bears very strong, scoring three runs in the first inning. They did not trail until the fifth inning although they still lost by a handful of runs in the end. 

“We played probably our best inning of the season in the first inning pulling in front, 3-0. Payden and Sean pitched well and Sean, Payden, and Cameron both hit the ball really well,” said Hawks outfielder, Blaze Day. 

Day had one hit in the game and Wysong had two hits. Tierney played extremely well and went three for four including a warning track flyout. 

“Payden pitched a really good game and we just lost our grip on the lead. All of our seniors hit really well and we started off with some momentum. Cameron was tracking down a lot of fly balls in the outfield and we were really fighting hard. It is unfortunate what happened, but we played a strong game and I think we are looking pretty good going into next season,” said Jace Cooksey, Hawks catcher. 

The Hawks roster was filled with seniors and while it is great to have a lot of players who can fill leader roles on the team, the team carried a lot of emotions off the field with them, understandably so. The Hawks will be a much younger team next season and will have to fight hard to compete for a district title. 

Hawks senior superstar, Sean Tierney said, “We put together good offensive production and we played good defense until the fifth inning. Payden and I pitched pretty well but they strung some runs together. It’s very emotional as a senior but I am happy with how I ended the year.”

Wysong pitched five innings and struck out six batters. 

The Bears and Bulldogs play on Thursday, May 11 in Sandpoint with a state berth on the line.