STATE AA LEGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: Smaller, but still some quality ... Coeur d'Alene to host state tournament for first time since 2015 starting Monday at Thorco Field
By JASON ELLIOTT
Sports writer
That home field advantage you’d think might come with hosting a state tournament likely won’t matter much come Monday.
For the first time since 2015, the Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen won’t be the team traveling.
Instead, they’ll play host to the five-team state AA American Legion baseball tournament, starting with Monday’s opening round game against the Idaho Falls Bandits at 2 p.m.
Idaho Falls (20-13) won the American Legion World Series in 2019, then again in 2021 before finishing runner-up in 2022.
“We’ve got the worst of the draw,” third-year Coeur d’Alene coach Darren Taylor said. “It’s about as bad as you can get there. But you’ve still got to beat those three good teams at some point, so who cares?”
Pocatello (32-8), Lewis-Clark (20-14) and the Nampa Chiefs are the other teams scheduled to play. Lewis-Clark will face Monday’s winner on Tuesday in its opener.
“Lewis-Clark is 20-14, we’re 20-14 and Idaho Falls is 20-13,” Taylor said. “Pocatello might have the best record, but Idaho Falls just swept them. So I really don’t think anyone is unbeatable.”
Lewis-Clark is 5-3 against teams in the tournament, Pocatello 4-2, Coeur d’Alene 4-3 and Nampa 0-7. Idaho Falls only played Pocatello in league play, going 3-1 against the Runnin’ Rebels.
Coeur d’Alene American Legion baseball president Mike Thompson said that due to only five teams participating, the bracket was done by random draw, including placing Coeur d’Alene into Monday’s opening game.
“Doing a bracket with only five teams makes things a little awkward as far as using seeding from the different areas,” Thompson said. “The state directors opted to do a more equitable bracket and did everything by random draw.”
The state champion advances to the Northwest Regional tournament Aug. 2-6 in Gillette, Wyo.
Coeur d’Alene is seeking its first state title in program history, and has qualified for regionals just once, in 1979, when Taylor played for the Lums.
“Everything really has to fall perfectly for all of the teams,” Taylor said. “You’ve got to have three really well-pitched games to get into that final. You’ve got to hit the ball and make some timely plays.”
Since 2019, the last time the state tournament was in Area A (north), the Rocky Mountain Avalanche, Boise Capitals and East Idaho Rockies have transitioned into playing club ball, leaving only five AA teams in the state.
Most of the Boise-area teams opted for club ball, leaving the Nampa Chiefs as the lone AA Legion program in the Treasure Valley.
In 2015, when Coeur d'Alene hosted state last, Area B (Boise) had four teams represented: Nampa Chiefs, Boise Gems, Boise Capitals and Meridian Rangers. Area C was represented by the Twin Falls Cowboys and Pocatello Runnin' Rebels and Area A teams were Lewis-Clark and Coeur d'Alene.
“A couple of years during COVID, some teams decided to try their luck as a club team,” said of the 2020 season, which was not played under legion guidelines during the pandemic. “Some of those teams are not registered as legion programs, but several of them are coming back next year.”
Blackfoot, Upper Valley (Area C) and Twin Falls, who competed in the AA tournament last year, did not field AA programs this season.
“There’s a lot of competition with the club teams,” Thompson said. “But there’s also some that chose not to participate for whatever reason. But four or five of the top teams in the state are coming, and that’s good news. Idaho Falls has a tremendous track record and Pocatello has had an amazing season. And both Coeur d’Alene and Lewis-Clark are always there, so the games should all be really competitive.”