Lewis-Clark Twins peaking at right time, headed to State

Jul. 20—The Lewis-Clark Twins and Asotin County Blues took similar paths en route to their respective American Legion baseball state tournaments.

Darren Trainor, the head man of the Lewiston High School baseball team, took over as the Twins' head coach to begin the summer. Through this, Trainor was able to inherit a squad made up mostly of his players, with a few exceptions.

Those couple of exceptions have played a big role in Trainor's first year as the Twins' skipper. The two non-Bengals who've made the biggest difference for L-C have been Grangeville's Sam Lindsley and Clarkston's Trace Green.

While the pair have cemented their spot in the Twins lineup, things didn't start off too hot for them — or the team, for that matter.

The new group took a while to get started, dropping eight of its first 10 games. But just like this past spring, the Trainor-led squad began to gel at the end of the season.

L-C won eight of its last 10 games to close out the regular season and will face the winner of Idaho Falls and Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday at Thorco Field in Coeur d'Alene in the second round of the state tournament.

"It's never perfect," Trainor said. "I think it's a combination of the coaches learning the personnel and the kids buying in and trusting the system."

As for its Washington counterparts, the Blues finished last season four games below .500 under first-year head coach Dalton Stamper.

Asotin returned 10 players from that team, and the group has vastly improved, upping its record to 20-8 overall.

"They were able to develop and play a lot together," Stamper said. "Out of the 15 kids, 12 of them are from Asotin High School, so they've been able to play year-round."

The Blues finished 3-3 at their district tournament, earning the sixth state berth out of the district. Asotin will open tournament play against Yakima Valley at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Mount Vernon, Wash.

Here's a deeper look at each team:

Unfamiliar faces come in clutch

The Twins' strength comes from the arms of their pitchers.

L-C has several hurlers that can go five innings or more who come from Trainor's system, such as Guy Krasselt, Carson Kolb and Toby Elliott. But several non-Lewiston residents have seen some quality time as well, such as Clarkston's Green and Hayden Line, as well as Grangeville's Lindsley.

Green and Line were the two most steady arms for the Bantams, who went 17-6 overall and reached the Washington Class 2A state baseball tournament.

Green's best outing of the summer came during L-C's 1-0 win over Portland Eastside on July 7. The Bantam pulled out a complete game performance where he allowed no runs on two hits and struck out 12.

Line is a player that Trainor gave a lot of praise to, saying he has to remind himself that he's only 16 years old sometimes.

"He's just continued to develop," Trainor said. "He's got a lot of potential to play in college and, if not college, professionally."

Trainor was at least a little familiar with the Clarkston pair prior to the team's tryouts in early May. The same can't be said for Lindsley.

The incoming senior was a steady arm for Grangeville, pitching 36 innings and striking out a team-high 87 batters in the spring.

"We just thought, holy smokes, this kid can help us out," Trainor said. "He's extremely gifted and has continued to get better throughout the summer. He's going to make a college baseball program really happy someday."

Lindsley has played multiple roles for L-C throughout the season, allowing one run on two hits while striking out seven in his last outing.

The method behind the madness

The Twins pitching staff continues to develop and see success, mostly in part due to the efforts of pitching coach Julian Washburn.

"He comes from a player development background at the University of San Francisco," Trainor said. "And he's a young guy, so he can relate to the kids."

Washburn, a 2017 Lewiston High School graduate, has also developed an arm activation program using bands that has helped strengthen the pitchers' shoulders.

"He just helps get the pitchers dialed in every day, and it doesn't take any time out of team practice," Trainor said. "They know the proper routine and what they need to do to have their best performance during their next outing."

Make it a routine

With more experience comes fewer errors, and the routine plays become more routine. That's been the biggest difference when it comes to the Asotin County Blues in 2023.

"I think the biggest thing at this level is to throw strikes and compete," Stamper said. "By no means are we playing elite college baseball. Just throw strikes and play solid defense, and we've done that."

With a reliable defense to back them up, Asotin's pitching staff hasn't had any problems throwing their best stuff.

The Blues' two best starters are do-it-all athletes from Asotin High School, AJ Olerich and Cody Ells.

Olerich has pitched in 25 innings and has given up 13 runs on 28 hits while striking out 25. He also brings a 0.52 ERA to the mound.

Ells has a 0.71 ERA on the season and has struck out a team-high 32.

The sophomore's signature moment came in a 5-4 win against the Coeur d'Alene Lumberman on June 30. The hurler allowed four runs on nine hits while striking out nine in five innings of work.

Zane Riley has also found his way into the Blues' pitching rotation, starting as recently as Saturday in a 5-4 win over Colville. He finished his five innings by allowing four runs on seven hits and striking out four.

Riley's best outing came in a 3-2 win over the NI Lakers on July 2 when he went seven innings and fanned seven.

Have to get the bats to work

Asotin's steady defense and solid pitching have carried them to 20 wins, but there have been some close calls.

The Blues have played in six games decided by one run in 2023, finishing 4-2. The close games could be avoided if Asotin finds a way to put the ball in play. The Blues have a team batting average of .318 and have registered 240 hits. They average seven hits a game and have finished with double-digit hits five times, notching a season-high 14 in a 12-1 win over Shadle Park on July 5.

"That's been where we've struggled the most," Stamper said. "We've relied heavily on our defense and pitching to get the job done this season. We're going to have to find a way to get some hits."

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks