COEUR d'ALENE - The chase for postseason seeding in the 5A Inland Empire League baseball standings got a little more crowded on Tuesday afternoon.

In the first game, Coeur d'Alene High seniors Colin Richards and Elliott Sparks limited Lake City to four hits in a 5-0 win against the visiting Timberwolves. In the second game, Reilly Cherry drove in five runs and Cody Garza scored three runs as Lake City won 14-1 at Ted Page Field.

It is the first time Lake City has beaten Coeur d'Alene in baseball since 2010.

"It's definitely big for us," Lake City coach Travis Georgius said. "Lewiston has kind of been on a roll, these guys (Coeur d'Alene) have been on a roll. It opens it up a little bit to be able to split today."

On Saturday, Lake City (9-8, 3-5 5A IEL) hosts Post Falls (0-6 in league) and Coeur d'Alene (13-6-1, 5-3) hosts Lewiston (6-0 in league) in doubleheaders starting at noon.

Lake City jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning, then tacked five more runs on in the top of the second inning to take a 9-0 lead.

"It's huge, especially with a team like Coeur d'Alene that usually comes out and plays better in the second game," Georgius said. "It's kind of been our thing that we haven't played a full game."

Cherry, a four-year varsity player, had two-run doubles in the first and third innings for Lake City.

"I've never seen anything this competitive and seeing us perform this well against Coeur d'Alene," Cherry said. "Earlier in the year, we beat them in football, basketball and now it's nice to see Lake City coming around."

"We've been in most of them, but just haven't been able to finish them out," Georgius said. "We were able to do that in the second game, string some hits out and get some guys in. We've been in a lot of games. For us, this year, everyone is beatable. We need to play everyone and give them the respect they deserve and know that they're never out of it. So don't let them back in."

Sam Slusser struck out three in a complete-game shutout in the second game for Lake City.

"He's had a couple of rough outings with his control," Georgius said. "But he was good enough today and pitched really well."

Coeur d'Alene scored its lone run in the second game on an RBI double by Gibson Green.

"I'm extremely excited for coach Georgius and his team," Coeur d'Alene coach Nick Rook said. "They came in and responded in that second game. It's fun to see - even though you're on the receiving end of it - a team come in, compete and come back. Hats off to them and how they responded. We're going to try to find a solution for our issues right now and see who wants to compete and go from there."

Richards and Sparks allowed two hits each in the first game for Coeur d'Alene.

"Richards has been solid for us all year long on the mound," Rook said. "Colin threw really well and we were getting some timely hits."

"It was just a strong team effort behind me defensively," Richards said. "With a great team backing you up, it's a lot easier to just throw strikes. In that second game, we kind of lost it for a second. We've just got to get our minds right after this. It's a test for us for sure (against Lewiston on Saturday), but I don't think we've reached our full potential yet. We need to show what we can do yet, and I'm excited for that opportunity."

Michael Hicks scored two runs in the opener for Coeur d'Alene.

FIRST GAME

Lake City 000 000 0 - 0 4 2

Coeur d'Alene 300 110 x - 5 6 1

Dominic Conigliaro, Cody Garza (6) and Reilly Cherry; Colin Richards, Elliott Sparks (6) and Reggie Nault. W - Richards (5-1). L - Conigliaro (2-3).

HITS: LC - Hall, Conigliaro 2, Cherry. Cd'A - Green, Nault, Hicks, Sumner, Richards, Carter. 2B - Conigliaro 2, Carter. 3B - Green.

SECOND GAME

Lake City 454 10 - 14 13 0

Coeur d'Alene 001 00 - 1 3 2

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

Sam Slusser and Reilly Cherry; Nathaniel English, Connor Cardinel (2), Kallen Langley (3), Brendan Delgado (3), Devin Kluss (5) and Reggie Nault. W - Slusser (3-1). L - English (2-1).

HITS: LC - Ross, Hall 2, Garza, Conigliaro, Vaudreuil 2, Cherry 3, Criswell, Slusser 2. Cd'A - Green, Sparks, Luckey. 2B - Vaudreuil 2, Cherry 2, Slusser, Green.