Fruitland Grizzlies (23-0) edge out Homedale Trojans 3-1 in a classic pitcher’s duel!

The Grizzlies punched their ticket to the 4A SRV District Championship with a hard-fought victory in Tuesday’s semifinal matchup. With this win, Fruitland advances directly to Thursday’s title game while Homedale drops to face Payette (who upset Cole Valley 6-2) in Wednesday’s elimination game.

𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍:

In a defensive showcase, both teams’ pitchers dominated early until Fruitland broke through in the third inning when:

• Max Vidlak crushed a home run to right field
• Titus Vidlak followed with an RBI single to center

Quinn Hood added an insurance run for the Grizzlies, while Homedale managed to push across one run but couldn’t overcome Fruitland’s stellar pitching and errorless defense.

𝐅𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒:

• Titus Vidlak: Led team with 2-for-3 performance from the leadoff spot, 1 RBI
• Max Vidlak: Home run, 1 RBI
• Quinn Hood: 1 RBI, handled 9 chances flawlessly in the field
• Errorless defense throughout the game

𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒:

• Boston Ivie, Carson Fine, and Lukas Hall each collected one hit
• Chance Martell: 2 stolen bases
• Turned one double play

𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆:

• Owen Baker (Fruitland): Win, 5 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts, 3 walks
• William Dunne (Homedale): 5 strong innings, 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 strikeouts, 0 walks

𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄:

Fruitland (23-0) advances directly to Thursday’s championship game, needing just one more win to claim the district title and a spot in the Regional tournament. Meanwhile, Homedale will face Payette (who pulled off a 6-2 upset over Cole Valley) in an elimination game on Wednesday.

The path to the state tournament runs through the Grizzlies! Can anyone stop the undefeated juggernaut?