STATE LEGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENTS: A lot of unknown to be answered ... Coeur d'Alene, Prairie and Northern Lakes open at state today

By JASON ELLIOTT 

Sports writer 

They've been working all summer to get to this point. 

Now, Coeur d'Alene, Prairie and Northern Lakes take their turn at extending the season in the Class AA and A state tournaments starting today. 

Coeur d'Alene and Prairie will compete in the Class AA tournament, to be held at Harris Field and Church Field in Lewiston. 

Prairie (16-13-1) won five straight at a college showcase tournament last weekend at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Wash., and have won six straight overall. 

"We've had a good stretch of stringing some good at-bats together," Prairie coach Nathan Collier said. "We're hoping to continue that throughout the postseason." 

Coeur d'Alene (12-14) has been off since July 10, when the team beat the Dillon Cubs twice at Harris Field in Lewiston. 

"It's been a good reset for our boys," Coeur d'Alene coach Sean MacNiven said. "We've had some really good practices and team bonding in the last week. It's been good for team morale and being together." 

Northern Lakes (25-6) rallied with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Lewis-Clark Cubs 13-12 in the Class A Area A championship game on Sunday at Harris Field. 

"There's a large amount of belief in our guys right now," Northern Lakes coach Bryce Johnson said. "We've had quite a few games that have came down to the last inning. Having to scratch and claw our way back into the game is a good trait for us. It's not great for my blood pressure, but a big kudos to the kids for staying in the fight. There's been countless games where we've had to stay in the fight. Hopefully, it's a plus for us." 

Prairie opens today against the Twin Falls Cowboys (16-15) at Church Field at 9 a.m. 

"We've really done a good job of limiting our mistakes and improved our approaches at the plate," Collier said. "That's been nice to see." 

Coeur d'Alene faces the Pocatello Runnin' Rebels (17-18-1) at noon, also at Church Field. 

"We need to get our bats going at the same time," MacNiven said. "Everyone has been aggressive at the plate, so I think that will be good for us this week." 

Coeur d'Alene went 1-2 against Prairie this season and lost twice to the Lewis-Clark Twins (21-11), which opens against Idaho Prime (20-9) tonight at 6:30 at Harris Field. 

"Our pitching and defense has been something we've leaned on this season," MacNiven said. "I think we're going to play it one game at a time and try not to look too far ahead." 

The Idaho Falls Bandits (31-6), the defending champion, will face the winner of a game between the Nampa Chiefs (19-16) and Minico Storm (9-17) in its opener. 

"We expect everyone to be a strong team," Collier said. "We know we're going to have to play strong to compete. But we're looking forward to the challenge and opportunity." 

The Burley Green Sox (34-6) won the Class A tournament last year and opens against the Middleton Vikes (18-16-1) today. 

Blackfoot defeated Northern Lakes 4-2 in an opening round game last year. 

"The beauty of a tournament like this is that you get to come down here and nobody knows anything about anyone but the box scores on Gamechanger," Johnson said. "It should be a good tournament."

The winner in the AA tournament advances to regionals Aug. 5-9 in Medford, Ore.

The Class A tournament is in Casper, Wyo., from Aug. 6-10.

    Courtesy photo The Northern Lakes Mountaineers American Legion baseball team won the Class A Area tournament on Sunday at Harris Field in Lewiston. In the front row from left are Parker Byrd, Ryker Brennan, Jake Larcher, Ethan Pecor, Gage Haines, Dane Perkl, Grant Rigler. In the back are American Legion representative Dean Shears, coach Bryce Johnson, Titus Tenney, Gage Tenney, Nate Beardsall, Matthew Junkin, Crue Weitz, coach Ross Junkin, coach Andy Tenney and American Legion representative Morris Bentley.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen pitching coach Ryan Schneider talks with the infield during a Class AA North Idaho League game against Prairie on June 2 at Post Falls High.