COEUR d'ALENE - They've been together longer than most teammates, hoisted a state 5A championship in football in November and spent the year remembering the success of a fallen teammate.

And as they continue on the road to a third consecutive state tournament appearance, the Coeur d'Alene Vikings baseball team wants to do something they couldn't last year - finish.

After winning their opener 5-3 against Capital High, Coeur d'Alene lost to Centennial 16-9 in a semifinal game that saw the Patriots scored 11 runs in the sixth inning after the Vikings had built a 6-5 lead.

"We were close last year," senior shortstop Drew Turbin said. "But we kind of choked in the second game."

Coeur d'Alene shared third place with Rocky Mountain after the game was rained out at Memorial Stadium in Boise.

Turbin, Matt Lambert and Colin Comack were members of the school's state football championship team, which defeated Centennial at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow in November.

"We're making steps toward a state title in baseball," senior outfielder Matt Lambert said. "We won it in football and we want that same feeling in baseball."

So when the first pitch of the 2011 baseball season came this year, it didn't take much to motivate a senior group of Vikings players - they'd been that way for a long time.

"We knew we were a talented group coming back and had the talent to compete," Lambert said. "Coming into the year, we knew we could win the way we deserved to."

Shortstop Drew Turbin, who joined the Viking varsity team in 2009 as a sophomore, said that the growth from a 21-9 team to a third-place finisher at the state 5A tournament last year.

Coeur d'Alene went 0-2 in the state tournament that season, the team's first trip since 2001 when they won the state title.

They later had to forfeit the championship for using an ineligible player.

"It's been unbelievable," Turbin said. "That first year, we didn't know what state was like. This year, it's all about winning state."

Turbin is second on the team in hitting with a .447 average and leads the team in home runs with three. Lambert leads the Vikings in hitting at .512 and RBIs with 24.

Jake Pereira, who has also played on the varsity team for the past three years, has gone 5-0 this season, allowing two runs each in starts at Lake City and Lewiston in league play.

"I've been playing this game since I was nine with these guys," Pereira said. "I love to pitch. It's a different style of pitching, but I've just been going out there with what I have."

Pereira realizes that the one bad inning in last year's state tournament cost them a championship.

"This year, we've had to make each inning count," Pereira said. "One bad inning last year cost us a shot at the state title."

Pereira, a right-hander, has thrown one complete game, striking out 17 and holds a 1.45 earned run average.

This year, the Vikings are hoping the championship in football is just a starting point for another strong finish in baseball.

"Winning now isn't any different than football," Turbin said. "Winning is winning."

Turbin added he learned how to win from his brother, J.J., who played for the Viking football and baseball team.

J.J. moved onto Oregon State to play baseball before transferring to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif., this spring.

"J.J. knew what to do to get a win," said Turbin of his older brother. "He showed us by the way he played on the field how to get it done."

Lambert also attributes the success to their off-the-field training.

"To be able to have two-sport athletes really pays off," Lambert said. "We've worked hard during the offseason getting ready to go. To take that and apply it to the field has made a big difference."

Both Turbin and Lambert played on the Marlins Hayden Little League team and competed against Pereira until they all joined the Viking junior varsity program as freshmen.

"I've enjoyed knowing how each other works," Turbin said. "It's been a lot of fun playing on the same team for as long as we have."

"We've know each other a long time," Lambert said. "We (Turbin and Lambert) have been on the same team since we were 9 years old and have become really good friends."

Another difference was having 2010 Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year Devon Austin in the Vikings lineup. Austin, who was later drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 45th round and went to College of Southern Idaho to play baseball, was killed in a car accident on Sept. 12, 2010, near Twin Falls.

"I've been in his position all season," said Turbin, who bats third, the spot Austin occupied last season. "Just looking at his stats, that's where he was insane. Devon was definitely a one-of-a-kind player. Trying to do the same is tough to do."

Austin, a catcher, batted .433, with four home runs and 48 RBIs as a senior for Coeur d'Alene.

"The whole season, we're not really mourning what Devon did on the field," Turbin said. "We're celebrating what he did. Devon knew how to win. He may not have been the fastest player, but if you needed a big hit - he'd get it."

"We've been able to set it aside and take his spirit and run with it," Lambert said.

"I pitched to him for the past two years," Pereira said. "It built a great relationship between him and I having that kind of communication."

On those days that Pereira takes the mound, he'll write Austin's name on the back of the mound as a tribute.

"It's a huge motivation for me," Pereira said. "He was probably the best teammate and player I've ever played with."

"We discuss Devon all the time," Coeur d'Alene coach Nick Rook said. "Devon was a unique person, who is sorely missed. We talk about the impact of a legacy, in terms of life-lessons. Devon's legacy is one that brings many smiles, some tears, but always laughter. Ultimately, his legacy is one of a tremendous talent and competitor, but most importantly an outstanding friend and teammate. Devon did a lot for more our program than we ever did for him - we will miss him tremendously."

Turbin, who last year verbally committed to play baseball at Oregon, opted instead this year to go to Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz.

Either way, he could be selected in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft in June. By going to Yavapai, he could be drafted again in June 2012. If he went to Oregon, he couldn't be drafted again until his junior year.

"I definitely hope so," Turbin said. "This is what I want to do. Obviously it would be a huge gift and wouldn't mean I'm done playing baseball."

Lambert, who has an offer to keep playing at Division III Trinity University in San Antonio, also has an national merit scholarship at the University of Alabama, which will cover his costs to attend school in Tuscaloosa.

"It's a tough decision," Lambert said. "But I've got to consider the financial costs and having to worry about that."

Pereira has offers from Northwest Conference Division III schools Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran, Whitman College and Whitworth, as well as from Walla Walla Community College, but will likely go to the University of Nevada after receiving a presidential scholarship with a 3.98 GPA.

"I've gotten some offers, but none that have really fit what I want," Pereira said. "With the scholarship, I'm getting some good offers for that. It's been a fun ride, but I'm probably not going to play past this year."

Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran, Whitman College, Whitworth College and Walla Walla Community College are among those interested.

Comack, who has been a part of a state championship team in football and wrestling this year, will look to complete the trifecta with another title in less than a month.

"It would mean a lot," said Comack, a third baseman and pitcher. "That was the goal at the start of the year."

It also could mark the first time in school history a player has participated on three state championship teams in one season.

"I was a little skeptical at first this season, but we've believed together as a team," Comack said. "We've got some good senior leadership. The one thing we've learned is to never settle and keep working hard."

"This group of young men are rare and a blessing to coach," Rook said. "They are the total package in terms of student-athletes. Their commitment to our program is big time."

Comack is considering playing next year at Lewis-Clark State College or Montana State-Billings, which just started its program a few years ago.

"I've been talking to LCSC," Comack said. "It's pretty cheap to go there, so I might walk on."

Comack, who is hitting .350 this season, believes his wrestling career is over.

"I've gotten a few letters, but I don't think I'll continue wrestling after high school," said Comack, who also helped the Vikings win a state wrestling title as a junior. "I did it to keep in shape. There's too much cutting weight in college and I just really kept wrestling because I did it as a kid and wanted to do it for fun."

Coeur d'Alene enters this week with a 12-1 record and is 4-0 in the 5A Inland Empire League.

But don't expect the Vikings to just relax with four of their next five games having an immediate impact on the IEL standings.

"It has been a huge blessing to be around these kids," Rook said. "It is a unique team with a tight bond. They are a phenomenal mixture of personalities. This is a very focused group that really understands the joy of being on a closely knit team. The program is taking steps in the right direction and this senior class has definitely left a positive legacy."

"We approach every game with the same kind of attitude," Pereira said. "We can be relaxed and having fun during practice, but when it comes to a game - we're as aggressive as anyone."