STATE HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL TOURNAMENTS: Back on familiar ground — Lake City returns to state for first time since 2019

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

There was a time where the Lake City Timberwolves were regular contenders at the state softball tournament. 

From 2009-19, Lake City made 11 straight trips to state — the first six under Laura Tolzmann (now a T-Wolf assistant), including state titles in 2011 and ‘13 and four trophies total. 

Then came five straight trips under Jesse Lenz which produced three trophies, including a runner-up finish in 2017 and a whole lotta rain-shortened tourneys — but we won’t get into that last part here. 

Then came COVID-19, which canceled the 2020 season before most teams (like Lake City) even played a game. 

Former T-Wolf player Jordyn Hensley took over as head coach in 2023, and Lake City has had winning seasons each year, but has been unable to get past Coeur d’Alene (or Lewiston) in its bid for a state berth. 

Until this year, when Lake City beat top-seeded Coeur d’Alene in the 6A District 1 championship series to earn the district’s automatic berth to state, which runs Thursday through Saturday at Coeur d’Alene and Lake City high schools. 

“I just feel like it’s four years in the making,” said Hensley, in her fourth year as Lake City’s coach. “They’ve been making their deposits, especially my seniors. They’ve been putting in the work, putting in the deposits, and this year it finally paid off. We’re super excited to be here.” 

Lake City (17-5), seeded third at state, will open Thursday vs. sixth-seeded Thunder Ridge (14-13-1) at 3 p.m. at Coeur d'Alene High. 

"Honestly, it means the world,” Lake City senior left fielder Karsyn DeMent said of getting to state. “I’ve been waiting for this my whole four years ... it felt great that we succeeded after working so hard all year.” 

“This team has way more chemistry than we’ve had in past years,” said senior shortstop KaeLee Kolden, like DeMent a four-year varsity player. “We all love each other ... we’re just there for each other.” 

Lake City lost all four games to Coeur d’Alene in the regular season by a combined 37-13, then beat the Vikings 5-3 and 9-8 in the district championship series.  

“Just a huge confidence booster for the team, to show, hey, we do belong here, and can compete with any of these teams,” Hensley said. “I think it will give us more confidence heading into state — ‘hey, we’ve got the pieces too and we can make something happen.’” 

Part of it last week, Hensley said, was just taking a deep breath and feeling relaxed at the plate. 

“CHS is a really good team; they prepared us well for state,” Lake City junior pitcher Madeline Peterson said. “I know the teams down there are really good; as a sophomore I pitched to some of the teams last year when we went down to Boise for a tournament. So I know they can hit the ball. I’m going to have the same mentality of these games — we play our game, we string hits together, we make them make errors, and then we play defense.”   

Kolden, who is batting .444 with seven homers and 28 RBIs, has signed with McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. 

“They are a really good JUCO school, and I love the warm weather, so I definitely wanted to go somewhere warm,” Kolden said. 

Also, KaeLee wanted to be close to her brother Kodie, a former Lake City baseball standout who went on to play at Washington State and Dallas Baptist, and is now an assistant coach at DBU, some 90 miles from Waco. 

DeMent is batting .382 with three homers and 23 RBIs. 

Sophomore center fielder Macy Waterhouse is batting a team-high .461. 

“I think this team has done a much better job of making adjustments at the plate, just being able to put the ball in play,” Hensley said. “It doesn’t have to be a home run — I mean, it can be, but it doesn’t have to be the big home run swing, like we just got to find a way to put the ball in play and put pressure on the defense.”

Peterson (10-2, 94 strikeouts in 81.1 innings pitched) is in her second season as the No. 1 pitcher for Lake City, after playing first base and pitching sparingly as a freshman. 

“I’ve definitely worked all summer long, all winter long,” Peterson said. “And I’ve definitely pushed myself to work harder on my spin, my speed, and just push myself to be the best I can.” 

The only other seniors on the team are catcher Kyla Smith, a three-year varsity player; and third baseman Mia Kesner, who transferred from Lakeland prior to her junior year. 

“This is a pretty cool year for me,” Hensley said, “because this is my fourth year coaching, and these are the girls I’ve had since freshman year, so it’s cool to watch them grow from freshman players to who they are today, and the leaders they are.” 

The concern for a team making it to state for the first time in a while is, they’re just happy to be there.  

The T-Wolves don’t think that will be the case. After punching their ticket to state last Monday, Hensley gave the players one day to rest and recharge, and they were back to work on Wednesday.  

“I think they’re going to have a renewed vigor, coming into practice (for state), a new excitement,” Hensley said. “We haven’t gotten to play this far into the season before, so I think they’ll have a little pep in their step, knowing it’s all for a purpose now.”