BOISE — Skyview has been on a roll this season.
Since losing to Middleton — one of the top teams in 5A — on March 15, the Hawks have won each game they’ve played.
Skyview extended its win streak to 14 games with a 3-1 win over Bishop Kelly Wednesday night. It was a game where strong pitching and defense was highlighted.
Senior Grayden Lucas got the start on the mound for Skyview and pitched a gem. Completing all seven innings, Lucas allowed three hits and struck out 13 batters in his best performance of the season. On the year, he has 50 strikeouts with a 2.12 ERA.
The one run that Bishop Kelly (9-7, 3-3 SIC) scored wasn’t an earned run, but it did come at Lucas’ expense. He missed on a pickoff throw to first base in the first inning when first baseman Grady Daniels wasn’t holding the runner on the bag. When Lucas threw the ball over, no one was there to make a play and it went into foul territory. Jacob Ricks was able to round the bases and scored for the Knights.
Outside of that one mistake, it was a near flawless performance from Lucas.
“That’s what we expect out of him,” Skyview head coach Ryan Bobo said of Lucas. “Challenge hitters and give our defense a chance when they put it in play. That’s what we expect out of him. He does that routinely.”
Lucas used his four-pitch mix of fastball, curveball, cutter and changeup to keep Bishop Kelly’s batters uneasy at the plate.
As he kept the Knights’ bats quiet, the Hawks offense only needed one strong inning at the plate.
That strong inning came in the top of the fourth. Caden Yesford hit a towering fly ball to left-center field. The ball was just short of going out for a home run, but he still sent Daniels home, who hit a single right before Yesford’s at-bat. Yesford himself reached third for an RBI-triple.
After Mason Krahn walked, Ledger Downs reached on an error which allowed Yesford to score. Henry Downey shortly followed with an RBI-single. It was 3-1 to Skyview after the inning.
“We self-inflicted to give them their first run and only run,” Bobo said. “It was a long game so we have confidence we can come back. Yesford stepped up and missed a home run by about one foot.”
There was only one more moment in the game where either team threatened to score. In the bottom of the fifth, Bishop Kelly loaded the bases with one out. Lucas issued two walks and hit another batter.
Ricks, the No. 3 batter in the Knights’ order, came to the plate in a big spot. The Hawks’ defense spoiled their best chance of the night to tie or take the lead. Ricks grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Downs, the freshman shortstop, made a great play to flip it to second baseman Tyler Russell, who fired it to Daniels to beat Ricks by half a step.
“That was huge. He (Lucas) worked himself into trouble with walks and hit batters,” Bobo said. “For us to turn that double play, that was a huge backbreaker for them.”
It was a frustrating end to the inning for Bishop Kelly, who struggled all night to put runners on base. They were held hitless after the third inning. Noah Palomares had three hits for Skyview in the leadoff position.
The Hawks (16-1, 8-0 SIC) have taken command of the 4A Southern Idaho Conference, now leading the league by three games. Before Wednesday night, Skyview scored at least eight runs in their last four, including an 8-4 win over Middleton April 12.
“For everyone, it’s a good team experience right now,” Lucas said. “It’s coming together at the right time. I think we’re going up in trajectory. Hopefully we can do well in district and state championships.”
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