COEUR d'ALENE - There just isn't a lot of chances to score against the Lake City High softball team this year, especially when sophomore Casey Stangel is on the mound.

Coeur d'Alene knows the feeling as well as anybody. But the Vikings managed to get two runners on in three different innings on Thursday at Lake City.

However, a combination of baserunning miscues by Coeur d'Alene, and timely defense and pitching by Lake City kept the Vikings off the scoreboard again, and Lake City posted a 4-0 victory in 5A Inland Empire League play.

Lake City (20-0, 11-0), which wrapped up the league title with Wednesday's sweep of Lewiston, has now shut out Coeur d'Alene in all four meetings this year, and has outscored the Vikings 25-0.

"I thought we played outstanding defense today, with runners in scoring position," Lake City coach Laura Tolzmann said. "It was nice to see we could take a deep breath (in those situations) and rely on our defense to get us out of those (situations)."

The loss meant Coeur d'Alene (13-6, 6-6) finished in a tie for second place with Lewiston (14-8, 6-6). Those two teams will flip a coin for the second and third seed, and will meet each other in the first round of the 5A Region 1 tournament Tuesday at 2 p.m. at a site to be determined in Coeur d'Alene. Lake City will play host to No. 4 seed Post Falls (5-16, 0-11) in the other first-round game at 2. The two winners will play at 4 for the regional title and a trip to state, and the two losers will play at 4 in a loser-out game.

Coeur d'Alene's best chance came in the third inning, when Jessica Ball singled and advanced to second on a passed ball. One out later, Kyeli Parker slapped an infield single off the chest of Lake City third baseman Hailey Jackson and rolled into foul territory. Ball hesitated at second, and was thrown out at third by Jackson, with shortstop Katie Rowe covering. Parker tried to take second, but was thrown out by Rowe to second baseman Vanessa Shippy.

“That was terrible, terrible baserunning,” Coeur d’Alene coach Larry Bieber said.

“I just wanted to block it; it was down the line,” said Jackson, a freshman. “When it got out of (play) I thought ‘Oh, no, they’re going to be on base.’ And then I heard everyone yelling ‘three, three, three ...’”

In the Viking fourth, Elli Tindall was hit by a pitch and Jessica Lupinacci, who had three of her team’s five hits, blooped a single to right. But the next batter popped out on a bunt, and Stangel struck out the next two. Coeur d’Alene also got two on in the sixth with one out, but Stangel fanned the next two batters.

“We had five kids that had a chance to deliver,” Bieber said. “I think they understand that we’re really close to being able to beat those guys.”

Lake City scored an unearned run in the third when leadoff hitter Becky Short reached on an infield single, stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error on the play, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Shippy.

The Timberwolves put it away in the fifth when Stangel, on an 0-2 pitch with two out, hit a three-run homer over the right field fence.

Stangel struck out nine for Lake City, which plays host to Post Falls today at 4 in the “Save 2nd Base” game for breast cancer awareness.

Coeur d’Alene 000 000 0 — 0 5 2

Lake City 001 030 x — 4 6 0

Lindsie Scholwinski and Teigan Lockwood; Casey Stangel and Mariah Linahan. W — Stangel (19-0). L — Scholwinski (7-4).

HITS: Cd’A — Parker, Lupinacci 3, Ball. LC — Short 2, Stangel 2, Wilson, Jackson. 2B — Lupinacci, Wilson. HR — Stangel (8).