COEUR d'ALENE - The Lewis-Clark Twins were in the driver's seat coming into the championship game against the Boise Capitals.

Since the Capitals had one loss in the double-elimination tournament and the Twins were undefeated, Lewis-Clark had two opportunities to be crowned state champions.

But the Capitals, made up of players from Capital High in Boise, had other plans as they beat the Twins twice (8-4, 5-4) to win their first American Legion baseball AA state championship in program history Saturday at Thorco Field.

"It's something that you can't describe with words," Boise third baseman Thomas Haggerty said. "It's something that I'll remember for the rest of my life."

The Twins (32-24) had a chance to tie or win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning of the second game. With the Capitals (37-12) leading 5-4, Lewis-Clark first baseman Luke White popped out to the shortstop with the bases loaded to end the game.

"I was proud of the guys and they played hard," Lewis-Clark coach Allen Balmer said. "To get this far and come the way they did throughout the season, I'm proud of them. They worked hard. They left it all out there and that's all you can ask for."

The Capitals advance to the Northwest Regional Wednesday through Sunday at Powers Field in Cheyenne, Wyo.

One of the differences between the two teams were the errors committed. The Twins committed 10 errors in the first game and four in the second. The Capitals had two errors combined in both games.

"Defense is definitely something very important in big games," Balmer said. "We played defense all week and I think that's why we did so well in this tournament. Tonight we had some tough plays that you need to make to win the game."

The Twins entered Saturday on a 10-game winning streak, including 4-0 at state. All four of those wins were decided by one run.

"Those were big wins," Balmer said of the four state wins. "But when you're hanging on the edge though like that sometimes it will come back and bite you. We had our opportunities early in both games to score some runs but we didn't take advantage. You've got to do that to win those big games."

The Twins beat the Capitals 5-4 earlier in the tournament, sending the Capitals to the losers bracket.

"As soon as we lost to Lewiston the first time Wednesday, the first thing our guys said is 'hey, we can still do this,'" Brulotte said.

In the second game, Boise jumped on Lewis-Clark by scoring four of its five runs in the first inning, including Coby Roberts' two-RBI single.

The Capitals led 5-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth, but the Twins' Josh Moore changed that with one swing of the bat, hitting a two-run home run over the right field fence to cut the Twins' deficit to 5-4.

In the first game, Haggerty went 3 for 5 with two RBIs to lead the Capitals.

BOISE CAPITALS 8, L-C TWINS 4

Boise 020 041 001 - 8 8 1

Lewis-Clark 000 040 000 - 4 7 10

Conner Poulson, Sam Malinowski (5) and Hunter Weindel; Mikel Jensen, Logan Chase (5) and Daniel Grijalva. W - Poulson. L - Jensen.

HITS: Boise - B. Jekich, Weindel, Poulson, N. Jekich, Haggerty 3, Newell. L-C - Scott 2, Gay 2, Moore, White, Phillips. 2B - B. Jekich, Weindel, Poulson, White.

BOISE CAPITALS 5, L-C TWINS 4

Boise 410 000 000 - 5 5 1

Lewis-Clark 200 020 000 - 4 7 4

Colbi Paul, David Litzenberger (8), Sam Malinowski (9) and Hunter Weindel; Kade Woods and Jessup Scott. W - Paul. L - Woods.

HITS: Boise - Roberts, Godeny, Newell 2, Weindel. L-C - Jones, Phillips, Moore, Gay 2, Scott 2. 2B - Scott. HR - Moore.