All it takes is one, or two from here

A little confidence can go a long way in baseball.

Coeur d’Alene got a bit of a taste of it with somewhat of a preview of the state American Legion baseball tournament, should the Lums advance.

Prairie won three of its last four games in league.

Northern Lakes, despite going winless in league, has played some teams tough.

“They’ve got some kids that can play,” Prairie coach Pat Call said. “They’ll be really good in a couple of years.”

At the Boise Summer Classic, Coeur d’Alene went 2-3, beating the Boise Gems, a team they could meet at state should both advance. Coeur d’Alene also faced Rocky Mountain of Meridian and the Boise Capitals during the four-day tournament.

“It was a good experience to go down there and see a lot of teams, and two teams that we could see at state,” said first-year Coeur d’Alene coach Erik Karns. “We feel good with where we’re at as a team right now. We feel like we’ve got an ability to win the district and state tournament.”

Karns also credits a trip to a tournament in Bozeman for bringing the team closer together.

“That camping trip was the turning point to the season,” Karns said. “The boys had to work together to cook, clean, do chores and they had a ton of fun. Camping instead of being in a hotel takes away a lot of the distractions like watching television. The boys had a lot of fun just sitting around playing cards and white water rafting. The Bozeman trip was a great experience for the boys.”

Prairie will rely on its depth on the mound.

“We’ve been pretty good when we’ve had pitching,” said Call, in his third year as coach. “We’re going to be a tough out and are hitting the ball the best we have all season. The meat of our order (Brock Zeller, Spencer Zeller, Tanner McCliment-Call and Fleming) are hitting really well right now. I think we’ll be tough.”

The Class AA Area A (district) tournament begins on Friday at Thorco Field. Prairie will face Lewis-Clark at 4 p.m., followed by Northern Lakes vs. Coeur d’Alene at 7. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m., with an if-necessary game at 4.

Due to Lewis-Clark hosting the state tournament July 26-30 at Harris Field, the Twins will advance to state automatically. The highest finishing team between Coeur d’Alene, Prairie and Northern Lakes will join the Twins at state.

Because of the recent addition of pitch-count limits, postseason games in Legion are now scheduled for seven innings, rather than the traditional nine.

“We’ve got to play good defense and pitch well,” Karns said. “We’ve been struggling with moving runners in scoring position and hitting in those situations. Defensively, we’ve gotten a lot better and our pitching has been great. I feel really good about how our pitching stacks up this week. If we can play solid defense, we have a shot to challenge for a district title.”

Prairie and Coeur d’Alene split to end the regular season on Tuesday at Thorco Field.

“I’m confident we can beat anyone in the tournament,” Call said. “To me, the toughest team is Lewis-Clark. We have some thoughts on how it will set up, but all you’ve got to do is win two in a row and you’re in (state).”

“It’s going to come down to playing well and getting out to a good start on Friday,” Karns said. “If you fall into the loser’s bracket, you have a chance to work back, but any of these teams can get hot and win this thing.”

CLASS AA AREA A TOURNAMENT

At Thorco Field, Coeur d’Alene

Friday’s Games

Game 1 — No. 3 Prairie (11-20-1) vs. No. 2 Lewis-Clark (22-17), 4 p.m.

Game 2 — No. 4 Northern Lakes (16-28) vs. No. 1 Coeur d’Alene (28-15-1), 7

Saturday’s Games

Game 3 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1 p.m.

Game 4 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 4

Game 5 — Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 3, 7

Sunday’s Games

Game 6 — Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 1 p.m. (championship game)

Game 7 — Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, 4 (if necessary game)