THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Early work, and wait to get back

Sure, it’s early.

Kind of like hurry up and wait, early in the high school baseball season.

A few teams have been a little luckier than others as far as getting games in, but those that have, learned along the way.

THE START might not have been exactly what Coeur d’Alene High baseball coach Erik Karns might have expected, but as the great philosopher Pete Carroll has said, “it’s not how you start, but how you finish.”

Well, the Vikings (5-3) are streaking coming out of their spring break, winning four straight in the Boise area last weekend.

“Our pitching has improved steadily,” Karns said. “We threw everybody on the roster. Getting a chance to see those different teams and lineups, we learned a lot from those games.”

Coeur d’Alene took on Madison of Rexburg, Eagle, Rocky Mountain and Centennial of Boise in a tournament that matched teams from the eastern (Highland, Madison, Idaho Falls) part of the state, north (Lewiston also attended) and southern (Rocky Mountain, Centennial, Eagle) squads.

A quick look at MaxPreps rankings has Rocky Mountain ranked first, followed by Lewiston second. Coeur d’Alene is seventh.

Keep in mind, once teams qualify for state, teams will be seeded 1-8. The Idaho High School Activities Association does not sponsor the state tournaments in baseball, but the group that runs the state baseball tourneys in Idaho has also opted to use MaxPreps rankings this year, as the IHSAA is doing for the state tourneys it sponsors (soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball).

“Coming down here and playing these teams will only help us in the long run,” Karns said. “That is, if we’re fortunate enough to get down there. Defensively, we’re trying to piece things together, but the boys were laser focused all weekend. We know now that we can compete with these good teams and this will only build our confidence coming back from spring break.”

If nothing else, Coeur d’Alene — with only home dates against 5A Inland Empire League schools this season — will be road tested, wherever it winds up.

“We’re feeling good about where we’re at,” Karns said. “We learned quickly what we’re good at and a list of stuff that we need to work on. The boys brought a lot of energy and I’m proud of them.”

In the rankings, updated on Thursday, teams must have had at least six games played to be ranked.

With that in mind, Lakeland's baseball team isn’t ranked yet in 4A, opening its season at the Buck’s Bags Spring Classic last weekend in the Boise area. The Hawks went 1-3, playing four times in three days.

“It’s really hard playing four games in three days, especially to start off our season,” said Lakeland coach Jason Bradbury, whose team went 3-22 last season. “Overall though, I think we learned a lot about ourselves, what we need to work on to get better, and also a little bit about what it will take to be successful moving forward.”

MEANWHILE CLOSER to home, Lake City has started the season 0-3, losing games by 1, 2 and 3 runs to Spokane schools.

The Timberwolves had their opening game at home against Lakeland postponed due to rain on March 16. Since the teams will meet again on April 30 in a doubleheader in Rathdrum, the nonleague game likely won’t be made up.

Post Falls, also scheduled to play a doubleheader that counts toward the league standings against 4A Moscow, was rained out on March 22, leaving the Trojans without a game since a March 12 sweep at Chiawana of Pasco, Wash.

Lakeland will benefit in having a doubleheader at home today — weather permitting — against Moscow at Corbit Field at noon. The Hawks only have five road games on their schedule this season, visiting Moscow (April 13) and Sandpoint (May 5) in doubleheaders, and Timberlake (May 6) in a single game.

STARTING TUESDAY, it will be a frantic chase to the finish line on the baseball field.

Sure, vacations are nice and well deserved.

The days off from here on out are few and far between until it ends, one way or another for these area teams.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.