The 2023 Lakeland Hawks baseball team finished the season with a 4-19 record and ended the season dead last in the 4A Inland Empire League once again. As of May 1, 2024, the new and improved Hawks had only two regular games remaining with a chance to win the league in head coach Al Bevacqua’s inaugural season.
“The environment is different. The energy is up,” Raiston Ellwood said. “Obviously, it’s not perfect, but Bevacqua makes us play with a little grit and try to come back. He’s not a negative coach; he keeps his mouth shut during the game and just lets us play.”
The Hawks (9-13, 4-4) hosted the Moscow Bears (15-7, 7-1) in a doubleheader to cap off the regular season. However, this was practically a postseason setting, given the Hawks’ opportunity to steal the league from Moscow with a sweep after splitting in Moscow.
Despite Lakeland’s favorable circumstances compared to last season, the Bears stood their ground and claimed the regular season title with a road sweep. They showed resilience after losing their only league game of the season against Lakeland just a few weeks prior. They won the first game 9-0 and the second game finished 21-5.
Tadhg Ellwood started the first game on the mound for the Hawks after striking out 10 Sandpoint Bulldogs in his most recent start. He pitched five innings, striking out three, walking four and allowing four runs. Jake Jovick relieved Ellwood and was unable to record an out, allowing all four batters he faced to reach base. All four of them came in to score.
Raiston Ellwood controlled the damage, allowing one run in two innings. However, the Hawks’ offense was unable to create any traction despite tallying just two fewer hits than the Bears.
Levi Anderson was dealing on the mound for the Bears, striking out 10 batters in six innings, allowing only two hits and two walks. Anderson carried his team on both offense and defense, reaching base in all four plate appearances and driving in three runs.
The Hawks’ offense was less dormant in the second game, tallying seven hits and five runs. However, seven errors in the field cost the Hawks 21 runs. Jace Taylor started on the mound, striking out five and allowing four earned runs in 2 ⅔ innings pitched.
Evan Shanley and Roan Reilly each allowed five earned runs, and the Bears’ offense overpowered the Hawks’ lack of depth on the mound. Raiston Ellwood was the lone bright spot for the Hawks in the second game, finishing with a double and four runs batted in.
“I felt like I kept my head in the game and didn’t give up. I felt like everyone let the game slip away,” Raiston Ellwood said. “Personally, I just focus on myself and make sure I’m not making any errors. I feel like our defensive energy was down, and our approach was off. Our pitchers have to produce more outs, and we need to have better at-bats even if we strike out. We watched so many first-pitch strikes in that last game. We just have to swing the bat.”
Butch Kiblen pitched four innings as the starter for Moscow, allowing zero earned runs and striking out three. Lakeland was unable to produce anything against either of Moscow’s starting pitchers, a much different story than the first time these two teams met.
Now what? Though the Hawks didn’t end the season as they would have hoped, they are still the clear favorite against Sandpoint. The Hawks and Bulldogs will meet in Moscow in a win-or-go-home game on May 6.
The Hawks are 3-1 against Sandpoint this season and Taylor’s pitching has been the kryptonite of the Bulldog offense. It is likely Taylor and Tadhg Ellwood will be tasked with shutting down the Bulldogs for the fourth time this season.
“We’re going to lock in and play our best baseball possible,” Taylor said. “We need to perform better on the mound and in the field. At the plate, we need to hunt the first pitch fastball.”
