Northern Lakes opens league play with pair of competitive losses in Spirit Lake

Northern Lakes did not get the split it wanted at John Shaffer Field, but the Mountaineers made Lewis-Clark work for every edge. The Lewis-Clark Cubs swept the Class A North Idaho League opener 10-7 and 12-7 in Spirit Lake, leaving Northern Lakes at 2-2 while still showing a roster that can hang with one of the league’s early contenders.

The opener turned quickly when Lewis-Clark put up four runs in the first inning, then kept adding enough offense to stay in front. Northern Lakes answered in stretches and kept the game from getting away early, including a two-run single from Gage Tenney in the third inning. Even so, Lewis-Clark finished with 16 hits and kept pressure on the Mountaineers through the later innings to secure the three-run win.

The second game followed a more familiar summer-baseball script, with one inning deciding too much too soon. Lewis-Clark scored seven runs in the first and later delivered the knockout blow with a 10-run fifth inning, pushing the game to the mercy-rule threshold. Nate Beardsall drove in a pair for Northern Lakes, but the Cubs’ big innings made the difference long before the final out.

For Kootenai County baseball fans, the sweep was more than a pair of losses. Northern Lakes, the Athol Post 149 program tied to Lakeland HS and Timberlake HS, keeps local high school-aged players on the field through American Legion Baseball, the national program founded in 1925 for players ages 13 to 19. The organization says its purpose is to promote citizenship, sportsmanship, loyalty and team spirit, and those values show up in places like Spirit Lake, where John Shaffer Field also serves Timberlake High baseball.

That local connection gives every game a broader meaning. Bryce Johnson is listed as Northern Lakes’ manager, and the Mountaineers’ home field continues to function as a summer gathering place for families tracking players from across the area. Northern Lakes has already shown it can swing a rivalry the other way, sweeping Lewis-Clark 10-1 and 14-4 in Lewiston on June 13, 2025.

The next chance to respond came quickly. Northern Lakes was set to face Prairie at 5 p.m. Wednesday at John Shaffer Field after Tuesday’s game was postponed, another reminder that in Legion baseball, the calendar moves fast and the ceiling is measured not just by the record, but by how long a team can stay in games like these.