The Front Row with MARK NELKE May 5, 2011

In between rain showers, snow flurries and freezing cold, local prep teams might actually get in all their league games before the state-qualifying district tournaments begin - as soon as Saturday, in one case.

In 5A Inland Empire League baseball, Post Falls and Lake City are tied for third place, each with one league game left - Lake City at home vs. Coeur d'Alene today, and Post Falls at Coeur d'Alene on Friday. Post Falls needs a Lake City loss today and a Post Falls win Friday to get the No. 3 seed, as the tiebreaker favors Lake City.

The No. 4 seed draws 5A IEL champ Coeur d'Alene in the first round next Monday, and no one has touched the Vikings in league play. Cd'A is 10-0. Lake City and Post Falls have each taken a game from Lewiston, which will be the No. 2 seed and will play host to the No. 3 seed in the first round.

Post Falls had won four straight games - including a sweep of Lake City - before dropping three straight this week.

"We're gaining confidence," Post Falls coach Mick Zeller said. "We know we can play with (the other league teams) - we just don't always do it."

"Post Falls is playing well," Coeur d'Alene coach Nick Rook said after sweeping the Trojans on Tuesday. "Our guys were just flat. We need to have a little more sense of urgency in the last week of the season."

As for Coeur d'Alene, Zeller said: "They have phenomenal team speed, and that keeps them out of double plays. They play pretty good defense. You have to work for everything you get, and you can't give them extra bases, because they come back to hurt you."

Timberlake clinched its sixth straight Intermountain League softball championship with a sweep at St. Maries on Monday. The Tigers won six straight district titles from 2003-08.

Since 2005, Timberlake has fended off most challengers to its league and district stranglehold. But in 2009, St. Maries won the district title and last year, Kellogg won the district crown. Still, Timberlake went to state both years, and has now gone to state 11 straight years. The only season the Tigers missed out on state was in 1999 - the first year of the school.

This year, Timberlake's biggest challenge is coming from Priest River, which has never been to state in softball, but has clinched second place in the IML under first-year coach Brandi (Brumley) Johnson, the former Lake City High standout.

Including one meeting in a tournament, Priest River and Timberlake have played three games this season, with Timberlake winning all three - with all three wins by one run. Johnson said errors at key times have played a role in two of the Spartans' losses to the Tigers.

Priest River gets one more shot at Timberlake before districts - on Friday in Priest River.

"We have to execute and not have those untimely errors," Johnson said.

Somewhat overshadowed by the dominance by Timberlake's boys in Intermountain League track over the past decade has been a pretty good run by Timberlake girls track team as well.

Timberlake's boys recently won their ninth straight IML dual-meet title, and the Tigers have won 38 straight league duals. Timberlake will shoot for its ninth straight 3A district title next weekend in Spirit Lake.

Timberlake's girls recently won their fourth straight IML dual-meet title, and fourth straight undefeated (4-0) league season. The Tigers have won the last two district titles, after years of dominance by Bonners Ferry, Priest River and, before they moved up to 4A, Lakeland.

Bonners Ferry won four out of five IML girls titles between 2003-07, and three out of four district titles from 2004-07. Priest River won league and district titles in 2005.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at [email protected].