Baseball action will resume at Quinton Street Ballpark July 12 when the Columbia Gorge Hustlers return from a long road trip.
Mark B. Gibson photo
It seems hard to believe, but it has been nearly two years since The Dalles High Riverhawks baseball team has played a game. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was canceled and the Riverhawks last played in May of 2019.
The long wait to return to Quinton Street Ballpark and play baseball is over. The Dalles hosts Redmond on Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by the second game of a doubleheader at 3 p.m. versus the Mountain View Cougars.
The Dalles, guided by longtime Coach (16 years) Steve Sugg, played its 2021 season opener Tuesday in a Class 5A Intermountain Conference matchup at Redmond (result was after the printed edition deadline).
“I had no idea back in 2019 that we wouldn’t play again for two years, which seems really crazy,” said Sugg, whose Riverhawk squad began practice March 22. “The guys on our team that were playing fall sports such as football, soccer and cross country, haven’t had any baseball practice yet, so they’re going to be jumping into games without much practice.
"This is also probably the youngest team I’ve ever had in my 30-year high school baseball coaching career, too.”
Following Saturday's doubleheader, the Riverhawks will travel to Central Oregon again for a 4:30 p.m. contest April 20 against Ridgeview in Redmond. The 18-game regular season concludes with a May 14 doubleheader at Gorge rival Hood River.
“It’s good that the kids are getting out on the field and having a chance to play baseball again,” said Sugg. “The four guys on our team that are juniors are really in terms of experience, like sophomores since they didn’t play baseball in their sophomore season after it was canceled last year, so we’re a very young team. We’re so young that it almost seems like we’ll be a junior varsity squad playing against varsity teams. We’re not going to focus too much on wins and losses. We’ll be mostly concerned about how much we can improve during the six weeks and that’s what I’m looking at.”
A young inexperienced Riverhawk squad without any seniors and just four juniors, will probably be in the role of underdogs in nearly every game. Against Redmond on Saturday, the Riverhawks will meet a much more experienced squad that has five seniors and eight juniors.
“Having a short, six-week season like this is like an introductory preseason type of thing,” said Sugg, whose squad includes assistant coaches Ed Ortega and Bailey Ortega. “It gives us a chance to look at a lot of young kids and try different things out position wise. We’ll try to look into the future and see what we’ve got as we prepare for the next season.”
Players who will help lead the Riverhawk offensive attack at the plate include sophomores Riley Brock and Braden Schwartz, who are both capable of hitting homers and driving in runs. Schwartz is also the Riverhawks’ top pitcher and will work with teammate Nathan Hedges, a sophomore catcher.
Pitchers who will also spend time on the mound to help lead the Riverhawk defense include Brock, who is also a shortstop, and Drew Evans. Juniors on the Riverhawks who are also expected to contribute include Austin Agidius, Will Hoover and Colin McGlothlin. A total of 10 freshmen and five sophomores form the nucleus of the very young 19-player, Riverhawk squad.
Sugg was the Riverhawks’ head coach from 1993 through 2005. Following an 11-year hiatus as baseball coach, Sugg returned to the Riverhawks in 2017. He has a record with 303 wins and 153 losses in his 16-year career at The Dalles.
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