Prairie opens AA Legion comeback with 8-2 win over Coeur d’Alene
Prairie’s AA return looked real fast: Alec Finn and Toby Begalman fueled a third-inning burst in an 8-2 win over Coeur d’Alene at Thorco Field.
Prairie’s return to Class AA looked like more than a comeback story. The Cardinals showed they could already hang at the district’s top level, turning a tight opener into an 8-2 North Idaho League win over Coeur d’Alene at Thorco Field in Post Falls.
The decisive stretch came in the third inning, when Alec Finn lined a two-run single to put Prairie in front for good and Toby Begalman followed later in the frame with a three-run double that quickly opened the gap. From there, Prairie kept adding pressure, with Gavin Wienker and Bryce Berger each scoring twice as the Cardinals moved to 2-0 in their first AA season since the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
That matters because Prairie is not just trying to win one game. It is trying to reestablish itself in a league that includes Coeur d’Alene and Lewis-Clark this season, with the Idaho AA state tournament set for July 23-26 at Harris Field in Lewiston and the Northwest Regional Tournament scheduled for Aug. 6-9 in Medford, Oregon. The Cardinals’ early results suggest the roster has enough depth to make that jump back into the upper tier more than symbolic.
Prairie’s pitching held up behind the big inning, with James Morast, Grady Stinson and Andrew Olson handling the Cardinals’ side of the game. Prairie collected eight hits and committed two errors, but its extra-base hits came at the most damaging moments. That timing separated a competitive opener from a game that got away in one inning.
Coeur d’Alene had its own responses. Jack Pierce connected for a solo home run in the bottom of the third, and Malcolm MacNiven finished with two hits, but the Lumbermen could not build enough offense after Prairie’s surge. Coeur d’Alene finished with five hits and no errors, yet the lineup could not match Prairie’s power or sustain rallies against the Cardinals’ staff.
The loss adds another layer to a season of transition for Coeur d’Alene. Sean MacNiven is coaching the Lumbermen’s AA club, the program’s third AA coach in as many years after Jim Allison and Gil Pierce. The teams are scheduled to meet again Tuesday, May 26, at Brett James Memorial Field in Post Falls at 5:30 p.m., a quick chance for Coeur d’Alene to answer and for Prairie to prove the opener was no fluke.
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