North Idaho Lakers begin season this weekend
North Idaho Lakers Tyrone Larson (left) and Tom Riley (right) celebrate after recording an out at home plate against the Shadle Park Shockers during the 2018 Beach Wood Bat Tournament Championship game on June 17, 2018.
(Photo courtesy of BILL ANTHONY PHOTOGRAPHY)
SANDPOINT — American Legion baseball will be played this summer. And the season begins this weekend.
The North Idaho Lakers will field two teams — a Class A (19U) and a Class B (16U).
The process to get a season started amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic and during Gov. Brad Little’s four-stage reopening plan was a long and strenuous one, but North Idaho Lakers General Manager KC MacDonald did whatever he could to make it happen.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever worked so hard in my life to get baseball games going,” he said.
In the first week of May, MacDonald began trying to figure out if they could squeeze in a season and what a baseball game would look like during a pandemic. With help from the Panhandle Health District, MacDonald was able to solve those questions and just over a week ago, a list of health guidelines he and the other teams in the league came up with were approved by the state.
There are 11 health protocols teams in Area A will follow to ensure Legion games go on without a hitch. If a coach or a player on a team tests positive for COVID-19 then they are responsible for informing everyone else in the league and participants are being asked to stay home if they feel sick on any given day.
Each host team will have a hand sanitizing station for spectators and in the dugout and there will be no handshakes, hugs or fist bumps following games. The defensive team will provide the baseballs when they are on the field and sadly, no sunflower seeds are allowed. Spectators who are not related are also encouraged to social distance.
The league has the ability to loosen restrictions as the state of Idaho moves through stage four and beyond.
In Area A for Class A, Northern Lakes, Moscow, Silver Valley, Orofino, Camas Prairie (Grangeville) and Coeur d’Alene will all field teams as well. The top two teams in the league will advance to the state tournament in late July.
In Class B, the league will only consist of three squads — the Lakers, Moscow and Coeur d’Alene. The top two teams will advance to state.
The Lakers began practicing at Pine Street Field last week in preparation for their season openers this weekend. The 16U team will play a doubleheader with CDA’s 14U team noon Saturday at Lake City High and the Lakers 19U team will head to Coeur d’Alene at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Lakers typically fill out a good portion of their schedule with teams from Washington, but the Legion baseball season in that state has been canceled so MacDonald scrambled to find opponents because there aren’t many to choose from.
“I’m digging and scratching and clawing at anything I can get,” he said.
Only teams from the north and east in Idaho will participate in the Legion baseball state tournaments this year as the Treasure Valley teams have decided to only play a local schedule due to COVID-19.
The Lakers will not be able to host a game on Pine Street Field until June 27 due to regulations by the PHD and the Lake Pend Oreille School District.
North Idaho Lakers Class A (19U) 2020 Schedule
June 14: @ CDA, 1 p.m.
June 18: @ Silver Valley, 4/6 p.m.
June 19-21: @ Libby Big Bucks
June 24: @ Northern Lakes, 3/5 p.m.
June 27: vs. Moscow, 1/3 p.m.
July 1: vs. CDA, 4 p.m.
July 2: @ Moscow, 1/3 p.m.
July 7: vs. Wilder, 3 p.m.
July 10-12: @ Libby Tourney
July 14: vs. Silver Valley, 3/5 p.m.
July 16: @CDA, 4/6 p.m.
July 17: @ Orofino, 5/7 p.m.
July 18: @ Camas Prairie, 10 a.m./noon
July 22: vs. Northern Lakes, 3/5 p.m.