18 hours Ago By JUSTIN FITZGERALD [email protected]
Kimberly baseball head coach Tom Myers knew it was only a matter of time. A matter of time before his Bulldogs played up to their potential. Kimberly baseball graduated 10 seniors in 2024 but talent waited in the wings.
Talent that’s starting to show itself with eight wins in the past 10 games. “It’s really learning on the fly,” Myers told the Times-News . “Especially with the new, inexperienced group, it takes a bit of time.
But we knew these guys would come around and start playing good baseball.” Kimberly's MaCraye Bruning slides safely into second base as Gooding's Tyson Arnold leaps for the ball during game one of a doubleheader Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in Kimberly. The Bulldogs have turned their season around following a 2-4 start.
Kimberly entered this year with experience. Just not at the varsity level. Seniors Gunner Stringham and AJ Walker are the only players who were consistent lineup presences a year ago.
The others earned a lot of reps in the summer through American Legion baseball. That team boasted a strong summer and qualified for the Class A state tournament. Tom Myers’ prediction came true, and Kimberly made history along the way.
But that was seven months before Idaho high school baseball teams started practice Feb. 28. The Bulldogs roster is littered with multi-sport athletes throughout and they had 13 days before opening the season against Marsh Valley on March 13.
Not quite enough time to figure out everyone’s role on this year’s team. The slow start to the season, however, heightened the sense of urgency for the seven-time defending Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference champions. Seven incoming seniors wanted to end their careers on a high note.
”We just realized our season’s are coming to an end,” senior Jeremiah Bybee told the Times-News . “Half of us are seniors and it’s our last time to play.” Kimberly's Jeremiah Bybee fields the ball against Gooding during game one of a doubleheader Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in Kimberly.
It’s not as if the Bulldogs early season losses were bad. They started the season with a 9-6 loss to Marsh Valley, a perennial state tournament qualifier. A 21-17 loss to Mountain Home, amid its best season in years, followed on March 15.
Kimberly also lost to defending Great Basin Conference champion Minico 11-0 on March 17. Buhl handed the Bulldogs their only conference loss in a 10-3 setback on April 1. There were still things to improve.
Early practices lacked focus. Defense was shaky. Kimberly swung the bat well but struggled to string hits together.
Pitching needed to take another step forward. The Bulldogs locked in when they started to balance fun and focus. “The last couple weeks we’ve really been locking in and just securing some big games,” Stringham told the Times-News .
Kimberly's Tayden Stringham makes a face at his brother Gunner Stringham (not shown) as he heads to home plate after a homerun against Gooding on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in Kimberly. Myers saw things start to turn at Buhl’s MidSeason Classic on April 4-5. Kimberly went 4-0 with a 45-8 combined score.
It was the start of a big step for the Bulldogs pitching, which is allowing 4.2 runs a game over their past nine games compared to 9.3 across the first six games.
Kimberly’s offense averages 9.3 runs per game. Stringham, Bybee and junior MaCraye Bruning have emerged as consistent middle of the order bats.
Junior Tayden Stringham is another strong option on the mound. “We have a handful of guys that are doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” Myers said. “It is again just us playing cleaner baseball.
” With more reps, things have only improved, something Myers hopes continues into the final weeks. Kimberly plays doubleheaders against Filer on Monday and Buhl on Wednesday, which will decide conference seeding for the Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference tournament and give it a better sense of its chances at earning a state tournament berth if it doesn't win an eighth straight SCIC title. Parker Stringham powered Kimberly on the mound to an 8-2 win over Gooding for the 3A District IV Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference title on Friday night at Kimberly High School.
The Idaho High School Activities Association is sponsoring the state tournament for the first time. The 4A play-in round will feature the five district champions and three at-large teams based on MaxPreps rankings. As of the latest rankings Thursday, Kimberly sat ninth in the rankings.
The Bulldogs will worry about that when needed. They adopted a one game at a time mindset after stumbling out of the gate. Something they’ll continue to use as the regular season ends and the games really start to matter.
“When you’re not blowing teams out, it’s hard to look ahead,” Myers said. “I think that’s honestly maybe been a little bit of a blessing for us is we’ve had to focus game to game so that we can win those games. If you do look ahead, you’re gonna take Ls.
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Justin Fitzgerald is the sports reporter for the Times-News. Prior to coming to Twin Falls, he was the sports reporter at the Cherokee Scout in Murphy, North Carolina for 2.5 years.
Despite growing up in Maryland and graduating from the state's flagship university, he thinks Old Bay is overrated. Sent weekly directly to your inbox! Sports Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items..
