It’s a new-look Columbia High baseball team—in more ways than one—that’ll take the field in 2009.
CHS alumnus and one-time assistant coach Jeremy Denny is the new head coach, and he takes over a program that, for this season anyway, has combined with Trout Lake, Glenwood and Klickitat. So far, so good.
“I’m excited about this team and anxious to see how we perform against another club,” Denny said. “I think we present some problems for a lot of teams, and we can be difficult to deal with if we pitch and play defense.”
Heading the list of returning Bruins are senior catcher Andy Pate, senior outfielder Kevin Kreps, junior first baseman Milla Caldwell, sophomore infielder/-pitcher Connor Warner, sophomore outfielder Dylan Rabinowitz and sophomore outfielder/pitcher Felix Torres.
Those six will be in the starting lineup when the season gets underway, along with seniors Jeromie Mason of Klickitat and Jeremy Moss of Glenwood, and junior Seth Davis of Klickitat.
Competing for playing time on the varsity are senior Garrett Carter and sophomore Christian Schlangen of Klickitat, sophomore Dustin Jones of Glenwood, and CHS freshman Leo Torres.
Denny believes the Bruins will swing the bats with authority in 2009, and he plans to put runners in motion whenever the opportunity presents itself.
“Up and down our lineup we are fairly athletic, so we should be able to put pressure on other teams with some of our speed,” Denny noted. And, “I feel that we’ll swing the bats pretty well; that’s been the larger part of our focus early.”
Defensively, Denny expects the Bruins to be solid if not spectacular, especially on the infield.
Veteran receivers Pate and Davis will share catching duties, but both will be in the batting order on a regular basis because of their offensive potential.
The infield positions will be manned by Caldwell (first base), Warner, Mason and Moss. Denny said the latter three are interchangeable at second, shortstop and third.
Columbia’s outfield will be patrolled by Kreps in left, Felix Torres in center and Rabinowitz in right. Denny said he is expecting all three to enjoy breakout seasons.
On the mound, Denny plans to go with a rotation of right-handers Mason, Moss and Felix Torres, and use Warner, another righty, in relief.
“Our pitching is solid but we lack that real lock-down hard thrower, so we’ll have to pitch smart, keep the ball out of the middle of the plate, move the ball around a lot and change levels with off-speed stuff,” Denny said. “There’s nothing wrong with pitching that way; it just puts more pressure on the pitchers and the defense. But I think we’ll be up to the challenge because all of these kids are competitors, and any one of them can go out and throw a gem if they get it going.”
Columbia opens the 2009 season at home today with a non-league game against Goldendale, weather permitting. The Bruins then are scheduled to play four more non-league contests before spring break.
When they return from the break, they’ll kick off their 15-game SWW 1A Trico Division schedule on April 7 with a double-header at Hecomovich Field against Castle Rock.
Denny said the Trico “should be tough as usual,” with Kalama and Castle Rock as the early front-runners in the race to secure Southwest District tournament berths.
“Kalama played for the state title in 2008 and Castle Rock finished in the top eight,” he noted. “And our district is probably, annually, the best in the state. Rochester won the state title in 2008 and Tenino finished in the top eight as well, so four of the top eight finishers in 2008 came from our district. That says a lot.”
Getting an automatic bid to district this season won’t be as easy as it was in the past, however. The six-team Trico only gets three berths outright, with a fourth available through a play-in game against the eight-team Evergreen Division’s fifth-place team.
“Our goals are simple,” Dennys said. “Long term we want to get to the point that our program becomes a perennial league power and regular state attendee. Short term we would like to get into district and see how things go from there. If we continue to improve throughout the year and stay injury free, we could make some noise at district, and you never know once you get there what can happen.”
COLUMBIA HIGH BASEBALL
2009 VARSITY SCHEDULE
March 19, vs. Goldendale*, 3:30 p.m.
March 23, @ Goldendale*, 3:30 p.m.
March 26, @ Stanfield, Ore.*, 11 a.m.
March 27, @ Stanfield, Ore.* (2), 11 a.m.
April 7, vs. Castle Rock (2), 3:30 p.m.
April 10, @ Castle Rock, 4 p.m.
April 14, @ Kalama (2), 3:30 p.m.
April 17, vs. Kalama, 4 p.m.
April 21, @ Ilwaco* (2), 3:30 p.m.
April 24, vs. Ilwaco*, 4 p.m.
April 28, @ La Center* (2), 3:30 p.m.
May 1, vs. La Center*, 4 p.m.
May 5, vs. Stevenson* (2), 3:30 p.m.
May 8, @ Stevenson*, 4 p.m.
Head coach: Jeremy Denny, 1st year
Assistants: Dan Smith, Chad Myers
League: SWW 1A Trico Division
2008 Record: 6-6 in Trico, 8-11 overall
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