Lewiston, Cda Boast Title Potential

A preseason state high school baseball poll has Lewiston and Coeur d’Alene ranked fourth and sixth, respectively.

Coeur d’Alene coach Brian Holgate begs to differ.

“To be honest, I think the best two teams in the state are right here (in the Inland Empire League),” Holgate said.

Defending state A-1 champ Timberline is ranked No. 1, but the Wolves aren’t expected to be as dominating as they were last spring when three players were drafted.

Timberline is coached by CdA graduate Larry Price, who won back-to-back titles at Boise High. Price and the returning talent at Boise moved on to Timberline, which opened last year when Boise was split in half.

“The last three years (Price’s teams) have been head and shoulders above everybody,” said Holgate, whose team finished third while Lewiston took second at state last year.

CdA and Lewiston may be among the top teams in the state, but just one team will be able to prove it come season’s end. Under a rotation of state berths, the IEL receives just one this year.

“Every year we go into the season looking to win a state championship,” said Holgate, whose teams have qualified for state in his three previous seasons. “We’ll be going against a team (Lewiston) that’s just as capable of winning a state title.”

* The Inland Empire and Frontier leagues have merged to form a Border League in baseball.

IEL teams will play each other three times and Frontier teams once. Because the Frontier teams will play fewer Border League games, league standings will be determined by win-loss percentages.

All Border games will count toward seeding for postseason play.

* All state tourneys will be held May 18-20.

The A-1 tournament be played at two sites in the Boise area, the A-2 at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Ore., and the A-3 in Orofino.

* Lakeland is favored to capture the Intermountain League and district titles.

St. Maries is expected to give Lakeland its stiffest challenge.

The district champ advances to state while the runner-up will take on the District II champ (Grangeville or Orofino) for a TAT berth.

* A-3 independent Wallace will meet the District II third-place finisher in a playoff for a state berth. The playoff will be held May 13 in Coeur d’Alene.

1. Inland Empire League baseball 2. Intermountain League baseball 3. District I A-3 independent