RATHDRUM — It wasn’t so much what either team did in a Class AA American Legion doubleheader between the Prairie Cardinals and Northern Lakes Mountaineers on Tuesday at Gorton Field, it was what they didn’t do that wound up telling the tale in a North Idaho League split.

In the first game, Prairie took advantage of eight Northern Lakes errors to get an 8-5 win, while four Cardinal errors in the second game cost them in a 10-5 loss to the Mountaineers.

“We were ready to go, and there wasn’t anything too bad there,” Prairie coach Brian Fowler said. “We just did a good job of taking advantage of things and what they gave us.”

Prairie (3-13, 2-2 NIL) starting pitcher Brock Zeller held Northern Lakes to three earned runs through five innings in the first game.

“I really liked what Brock did for us,” Fowler said. “He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win. You can always count on him to throw strikes and battle the entire game. We just capitalized on a few mistakes and it was good to see.”

Jacob Elliott’s RBI single gave Prairie a 6-5 lead in the sixth, and the Cardinals added two more runs on errors to finish with the 8-5 win.

“I had to tell them to quit beating up on themselves between games,” Northern Lakes coach Al Bevacqua said. “They saw a little bit of my fiery side a little bit. And they responded just the way I thought they would. We need to cut down on the errors and quit putting pressure on themselves. It’s a fun game.”

Northern Lakes (5-5, 2-2) hadn’t played in eight days before being swept in a doubleheader on Monday night by the Spokane Bandits.

“I think after the second game, I saw where we were (before the extended break),” Bevacqua said. “And we’re really big on taking each at-bat with a team approach, and that’s really going to help with working the count.”

Dylan Bradbury had three hits in the second game, two doubles and two RBIs for Northern Lakes, which built a 7-5 lead in the fifth inning on RBI singles by Joe Streitzel and Tucker Price.

“It was really good to see those guys (Streitzel and Price) come up with big hits at the bottom of the lineup,” said Bevacqua of the duo, who hit eighth and ninth respectively.

Dalton Strong had a three-run double to tie the game at 3 for Northern Lakes and finished with four RBIs on the day.

“He knows when to be vocal and when to put his arm around his teammates,” said Bevacqua of Strong, who recently completed his freshman year at NAIA College of Idaho in Caldwell. “He’s a really big part of the family atmosphere we’ve got going around here right now. He’s kind of like the Papa Smurf of this group and they drive off him. And we’re developing leaders for the future.”

Dusty Weeks had two singles and was hit by a pitch for Prairie, which had five hits in the second game. Northern Lakes pitcher Max Baker struck out seven in a complete-game win.

“It was almost the opposite in the second game for us,” Fowler said. “They did a good job of taking advantage of our errors and mistakes we made.”

With Tuesday’s outcome, Prairie, Northern Lakes and Coeur d’Alene are all 2-2 in league. Lewis-Clark has yet to play a league game.

“I think it’s a really balanced league, but I haven’t seen Lewis-Clark yet,” Fowler said. “We all match up really well with each other. It looks like the team that’s going to have some success is going to be the one that throws strikes and doesn’t make the key mistakes. We went into conference games last year with the thought that we didn’t have a shot, but this year, we’re right there with everyone. And that’s good to see. We’re a year older and have the entire team back from last year. We’re on the same plane as those guys. Last year, seeing that good competition, I think we’re better for it.”

The doubleheader started some 20 minutes late after a scheduling mishap had both teams as the host team. Prairie was warming up on its home field at Post Falls High before being reached by Northern Lakes officials and told the game was in Rathdrum. The July 5 rematch between the two teams will be at Post Falls High.

“I guess we need to work on our communication or scheduling,” Fowler said. “I’m not totally sure what went on, but we were warming up at our field (at Post Falls High) for about an hour before we realized that we were supposed to be at Lakeland instead.”

Today, Prairie will host the Missoula Prospects in a doubleheader at Post Falls High starting at 3 p.m., while Northern Lakes will host Sandpoint in a nine-inning game starting at 5 p.m. at Gorton Field.

FIRST GAME

Prairie 201 023 0 — 8 9 1

Nor. Lakes 004 010 0 — 5 7 8

Brock Zeller, Matt Fleming (6) and Chris Kirkeby; Dalton Strong, Dylan Bradbury and Jared McDaniel. W — Fleming. L — Bradbury.

HITS: Pra — Porter 2, Benson 2, Lebsock, Call 2, Elliott 2, Plunkett. NL — Mackesy 2, McDaniel 2, Strong, Villanpando, Neilson. 2B — Benson, Mackesy.

SECOND GAME

Prairie 100 040 0 — 5 5 4

Nor. Lakes 100 351 x — 10 10 2

Jacob Elliott, Matt Fleming (5) and Chris Kirkeby; Max Baker and Jared McDaniel. W — Baker. L — Fleming.

HITS: Pra — Weeks 2, Call, Fleming, Lebsock. NL — Strong 2, Bradbury 3, Pote 2, Neilson, Streitzel, Price. 2B — Bradbury 2, Pote.