COEUR d'ALENE - Before each at-bat, Lake City High junior Dakota Wilson walks to the other side of the plate and with her foot, marks a spot in the dirt just off the plate.

"I mark the outside corner so I know where to position my bat for the outside pitch," explained Wilson, a right-handed hitting shortstop. "It's just a mental thing for me."

No mark was needed to help her line up the juicy pitch she saw in the fifth inning - a changeup high and inside. Wilson pounded that pitch over the center field fence for a two-run homer, helping propel Lake City to a 12-1 victory over Coeur d'Alene in the championship game of the 5A Region 1 softball tournament Tuesday at Lake City.

Wilson's blast capped a four-run fifth inning that turned a 3-1 Lake City lead into a 7-1 advantage.

"When I hit that it was like, that's what the team needed," Wilson said. "That's what we needed to help close this, and what we needed to keep the momentum going heading into state next week."

Lake City (24-0) advances to state next Friday and Saturday at Ramsey Park in Coeur d'Alene. The Timberwolves will open against the District 3 runner-up next Friday at 9 a.m.

Coeur d’Alene (16-8) will host Lewiston (14-10) on Thursday at 4 p.m. in a loser-out game. Coeur d’Alene beat Lewiston 3-0 earlier Tuesday at Finucane Park in Hayden. Lewiston came back to eliminate Post Falls 11-0 at Finucane. Post Falls finished 3-21.

Lake City 12, Coeur d’Alene 1: Wilson, Lake City’s No. 5 hitter, finished 2 for 3 with four RBIs. In the first inning, she opened the scoring with a bloop double to shallow centerfield to score Casey Stangel, who had singled, and Lindsey Willmon, who had doubled.

“Awesome,” Lake City coach Laura Tolzmann said. “I love that our team just competes — every single one of them. Dakota is that kid that you want her to be in that box, and you know she’s going to come up with a hard hit somewhere. That was a great start to that inning; she’s a kid that can do it.”

Stangel struck out 11 and pitched a three-hitter. One of those was a solo homer to left field in the top of the fourth by leadoff hitter Sydni Parker, which trimmed Lake City’s lead to 3-1.

Coeur d’Alene again went with pitcher-by-committee, using freshmen Mariah Montee and Breana Burke, and senior Lindsie Scholwinski, depending on the matchup.

It kept the Vikings in it until the fifth, when with two out, Lake City’s JaeCie Wilson reached on a bunt when it was ruled the first baseman pulled her foot off the bag.

Wilson stole second and scored on Stangel’s single. Stangel scored on Willmon’s single, and Wilson followed with her two-run homer.

“Well, we had a plan, and it didn’t quite work,” Coeur d’Alene coach Larry Bieber said. “You can’t give a team like that five outs in an inning. It was disappointing to get 10-runned by them but they are, what, ranked third in the nation?”

Amy Welsh’s RBI single started Lake City on a five-run sixth inning that ended the game on the 10-run rule. Willmon, a senior transfer from California, finished the game with a monstrous three-run homer to left-center that might still be traveling.

“She works very hard behind the plate,” Tolzmann said of Willmon, who has signed with Hawaii. “In the batter’s box she’s a big-time competitor; she’s been an awesome addition this year, and I think her energy and her competitiveness carries over to her teammates.”

It was Lake City’s third straight regional title. The T-Wolves, ranked third again this week in MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25, are 73-2 over the last three seasons.

“A lot of hard work has been put in to win those titles,” said Wilson, a starter on all three regional title teams.

Coeur d’Alene 000 100 — 1 3 1

Lake City 201 045 — 12 12 0

Game called in 6th inning due to 10-run rule.

Mariah Montee, Lindsie Scholwinski (1), Montee (3), Breana Burke (3), Montee (3), Scholwinski (3), Montee (5), Burke (5), Montee (5), Scholwinski (5), Burke (6), Montee (6), Scholwinski (6) and Rashell Shaffer; Casey Stangel and Lindsey Willmon. W — Stangel (24-0). L — Montee.

HITS: Cd’A —Parker 2, Rasmussen. LC — Shippy, J. Wilson, Stangel 2, Willmon 3, D. Wilson 2, Jackson, Gay, Welsh. 2B — Shippy, Willmon, D. Wilson. HR — Parker, D. Wilson, Willmon.

Lake City 24, Post Falls 4: Willmon hit two home runs and drove in seven runs for the Timberwolves in the first-round game. Vanessa Shippy went 4 for 5 with three RBIs and three runs scored, and Welsh went 4 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs.

Cassi Worley drove in a pair of runs for Post Falls.

Post Falls 000 40 — 4 5 1

Lake City 3(12)9 0x — 24 22 2

Game called in 5th inning due to 10-run rule.

Heather Settle, Lexie Butterfield (2) and Katie McDermott; Casey Stangel, Jordyn McCracken (4) and Lindsey Willmon, Vanessa Shippy (4). W — Stangel (23-0). L — Settle (1-10).

HITS: PF — King 2, Haskew 2, Worley. LC — Shippy 4, J. Wilson 2, Stangel 2, Willmon 2, D. Wilson 2, Jackson 2, Gay, Welsh 4, Combo, Torres, Pierce. 2B — Haskew, Shippy, D. Wilson, Jackson, Welsh. 3B — King. HR — Shippy, Stangel, Willmon 2, D. Wilson.

Coeur d’Alene 3, Lewiston 0: Scholwinski struck out 16 in a two-hitter, and Kayla Albertson tied a school record with her ninth homer, a solo shot in the sixth inning.

Lewiston 000 000 0 — 0 2 2

Coeur d’Alene 000 102 x — 3 5 1

Alyssa Huffaker and Darcie Huffaker; Lindsie Scholwinski and Rashell Shaffer. W — Scholwinski (11-4). L — A. Huffaker.

HITS: Lew, Wells, Fuhs. Cd’A, Parker 2, Rasmussen, K. Albertson, Shaffer. 2B — Parker. HR — K. Albertson (9).

Lewiston 11, Post Falls 0: Shawnee Zink pitched a no-hitter and Paige Wells went 4 for 4 with seven RBIs in the loser-out game for the Bengals. Wells hit a two-run home run in the first inning and a grand slam in the fifth to end the game on the 10-run rule.

“We were better this year,” Post Falls coach Jack Foster said. “We improved. We’ve got a ways to go but we got better. Even in this game, the kids hung around, had good attitudes, did the best they could.”

Post Falls 000 00 — 0 0 2

Lewiston 230 06 — 11 10 0

Game called in 5th inning due to 10-run rule.

Shawnee Zink and Darcie Huffaker; Heather Settle and Katie McDermott. W — Zink. L — Settle (1-11).

HITS: Lew — Robinson 2, Wells 4, Zink, D. Huffaker, Sandvick, Geagley. PF — none. HR — Wells 2.