EAGLE, Idaho — West Valley’s Major League Softball and 12U Baseball teams are on a mission to bring Idaho its first-ever Little League World Series Title.

• West Valley’s Major League Softball team won state on July 13th.
• West Valley 12U Baseball team won state on July 20th.
• Softball is halfway through regionals with their next game on July 24th at 1 PM MT.
• The baseball team’s first game of the tournament is not until August 3rd.
• If either team wins the tournament they will head to the Little League World Series.
• Idaho has never won a Little League World Series.
• To donate to the Baseball team’s travel fund, click here.
• Follow West Valley Little League on Facebook for more updates on both teams.

(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)

The Boise Hawks are not the only team defending the diamond in the Treasure Valley. I met up with the coaches of the 12U West Valley Major League Softball team and the 12U West Valley Baseball team as they head in and prepare for the biggest games of their season.

Little League baseball and softball in the Treasure Valley have been making headlines lately due to their immense success. For example, both West Valley’s 10U Baseball and Minor League Softball won their respective state championships. But, it doesn’t stop there.

The West Valley Softball Major League team won state and is halfway through the regionals tournament in California.

“It’s a different state. We’re in a stadium and there are some fans there. There are nice ESPN cameras and there are microphones everywhere. It’s a new environment,” explained Coach Kris Lloyd.

This regionals appearance comes a year after the softball team was disqualified for having a player too young to compete.

Lloyd continued, “We kind of say it’s for the doubters. That we can prove to ourselves that we can represent Idaho accordingly. All of our errors or trials and losses, we learn from. Those don’t define us but we get better because of them.”

Lloyd explained, that if the team wins regionals they will compete in the Little League Softball World Series; A title the state of Idaho has yet to win in softball or baseball.

“If we can stay focused on the game of softball and say we hit the ball, we catch the ball, we throw the ball, and we do it a little better than someone else, I like our chances,” finished Lloyd.

But the girls are not the only Treasure Valley club seeking their first national title.

The West Valley 12U Baseball team won state toppling Post Falls on July 20th, punching their ticket to regionals as well.

“Some of the kids on our team have been practicing for this for five years. So we’ve been working for this for quite a while,” said shortstop Owen Westley.

Right fielder Parker Tamura added, “We’ve all gotten better over the years. It might be a little nerve-wracking, but I’m excited.”

Like many of the players, Coach Pat Hartnett is confident in the squad’s abilities to play ball at the new level.

“This team has played some good teams this summer and we’ve taken down some good teams this summer. So we fully expect to be competitive in this tournament. If we can do that, our happy path is we win three games and we move on to Williams Port,” smiled Hartnett.

“Let’s show them what Idaho is all about baby,” exclaimed Tamura.

The baseball team’s first game of the tournament will be on August 3rd. Now for the girls, their next game is against Montana on Wednesday, July 24th and you can see that on ESPN+.

Although I have been a Coeur d’Alene-area resident for some 40 years, I have lived and worked in many cities in Idaho.

I was born and spent my first 13 years in Moscow and I think that’s North Idaho enough for this series.

Moscow was a wonderful place to be a kid in the 1940s! The whole town plus the University of Idaho campus were the playfield and discovery zone of kids on bikes from all across town.

Summer days riding downtown to Roger’s for a 5-cent root beer or ice cream cone, then onto the U of I campus to watch an Idaho football practice or maybe get caught up in a vacant lot baseball game!

Of course, catching shiners, snakes and crawdads down at the creek was a staple, as was wandering through the bushes along the creek and railroad tracks, finding recently used hobo camps, ah!

Sometimes we would take over sleeping bags, sleep at the foot of Mingo’s Hill, then climb the several hundred old rickety wooden steps to the top and over to Palouse Creek at the base of Paradise Ridge, where we would catch bullheads with a stick and string.

Winter was also delightful! We had snow vacations for at least 10 days each winter due mostly to trains not being able to bring coal in through the drifts.

It was great fun to sleigh down Pool’s hill and build snow forts and caves in the snow.

I must mention also the Saturdays whooping at the cowboy shows being shown at the Kenworthy and Nuart theaters. It cost us a whopping 12 cents for the matinee!

Finally, one of the huge annual events — the circus! Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey and Clyde Beatty. Circuses would arrive by train at the depot on Third Street. The whole shebang would parade down Main Street and set up on the “flats” in the northeast part of town. Us guys would help set up tents and do other labor in exchange for a ticket to a performance. It was a great experience!

Moscow was a perfect place for kids to grow up back in the ’40s!

— John Mushlitz, Hayden

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Send your North Idaho memories and photos to Devin Weeks, dweeks@cdapress.com. Please provide information with any photos you send: who is in them, when and where were they taken and a brief description of what is happening in the photo. Pieces should be no more than 500 words. Please include names of those submitting the memories and how long North Idaho has been or was your home.

Longtime residents have a treasure trove of stories about the way things used to be. We hope you’ll share those gems with us.

BOZEMAN — According to the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP), a suspect in conjunction with an attempted homicide in Idaho was arrested on Huffine Lane near Four Corners on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.

MHP said in a press release dispatch received a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) report from Idaho at approximately 10:30 a.m. According to the release, the BOLO report was for a possibly armed suspect wanted in conjunction with an attempted homicide in Summit County, Utah.

Watch the moment MHP Troopers arrest Idaho suspect on Huffine Lane:

Attempted homicide suspect out of Idaho arrested between Bozeman and Four Corners

Around 11:15 a.m., troopers reportedly located the vehicle on Highway 191 outside of Four Corners. The driver initially pulled over on Huffine Lane when troopers attempted to stop the vehicle and then fled at a high rate of speed toward Bozeman.

During the pursuit that followed, troopers were able to successfully perform a PIT maneuver, causing the suspect vehicle to stop, ending the pursuit.

The release said the suspect was taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Gallatin County Detention Center.

No further details were released. We will update you when we get more information.