A little help from a few years ago

How close has the 5A Inland Empire League baseball race been this season?

Heading into Tuesday, which was originally the final regularly scheduled day of the league season, any of the top three (of the four) teams -- Lewiston, Post Falls or Lake City -- could have ended the day in first place.

And the team in fourth place -- Coeur d’Alene -- could have moved up to second place, with a chance to win the league title today.

Each team has beaten the other at least once in league play.

“This league has shown, it’s anyone’s game,” second-year Coeur d’Alene coach Nick Mahin said.

THANKS TO our lovely spring and all of its rainfall, the final league game actually takes place today with a makeup game -- Lake City at Coeur d’Alene at 3:30. Lewiston was supposed to travel up today for a 2 p.m. makeup game at Coeur d’Alene, but that game was canceled because it doesn’t affect seedings for next week’s 5A Region 1 tournament.

Lewiston (16-6, 7-4 5A IEL) has already wrapped up the No. 1 seed to regionals, after beating Post Falls in the second game on Tuesday to earn a split.

Had Post Falls (13-10, 6-6) swept the Bengals, the Trojans would have moved into first place -- and would have earned the No. 1 seed to regionals had Lake City (11-7, 6-5) lost today to Coeur d’Alene (11-9, 3-7).

But Lake City moved ahead of Post Falls into second place with its sweep of Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday, and whatever happens today, holds the tiebreaker over Post Falls for the No. 2 seed by virtue of three wins in four meetings over the Trojans in league play.

Lewiston held a similar tiebreaker over Lake City, should both teams have ended up with the same record in league.

“Going into today was just wild,” Post Falls coach Mick Zeller said Tuesday.

So on Monday, Coeur d’Alene will travel to Lewiston and Post Falls will visit Lake City in the first round of regionals. The winners play Tuesday for a trip to state; the others will battle it out the rest of the week for a spot in a state play-in game next Saturday.

Last year, Post Falls upset top-seeded Lewiston in the first round, then lost at No. 2 Lake City for the regional title. Lewiston came back to win a state play-in game, and took third at state. Lake City, of course, went on to win the state title.

So seeds only mean so much.

“I’m still convinced the winner of this (regional) tournament will play in the state championship,” Lake City coach Paul Manzardo said.

WHY SO tight a league?

Manzardo points back to a few years ago, when many of these current high school players were in Little League.

“If NIC had a team, it would be an unbelievable team with all the talent in this area,” said Manzardo, a former coach in the Coeur d’Alene Little League. “All four teams have solid players.

“I just know this from being involved in Little League -- those coaches are doing the right thing. Post Falls, Hayden, Lewiston ... the quality of baseball has improved in the area just in the time I’ve been here.”

Lewiston advanced to the Little League Northwest Regional in San Bernardino, Calif., in 2011 and in ’14. Post Falls made it there in 2012, Coeur d’Alene the following year, and came up one game short of advancing in 2015.

“Baseball’s getting better and better around here,” Manzardo said. “If the weather would cooperate, it would be even better.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.