Coach: Justin Myers (4th Year with Mount Baker, 8-47)
Home Field: Mount Baker High School
Last Season: 3-14 (1-12 Conference)
Key Losses: P/IF Caleb Forbes (.280 AVG, .345 OBP, 10 R, 26 IP, 3.54 ERA); P Zandy Zender (35 IP, 4.03 ERA); C Greg Day (.264 OBP, 4 R, 2 RBI).
Top Returnees: SS/P Kaleb Bass, OF/P Michael Kentner, OF Carter Backstrom, 3B Isaac Gomes.
Pitchers and Catchers: Seniors Michael Kentner (1-3, 4.93 ERA, 21 K’s) and Kaleb Bass (1-1, 2.94 ERA, 13 K’s) return to the mound, and will lead this group of Mountaineers. They are driven athletes that are looking to turn things around for the Mount Baker baseball program. They both bring a ton of experience as well. They will be joined by hard throwing sophomore Andrew Stalnaker, and coach Myers is expecting big things out of him. Freshman Davin Beason will start at catcher, and the future looks very bright for him. He will be backed up behind the plate by sophomore Toby Jefferson.
Infield: Bass (.279 AVG, .340 OBP, 8 R, 4 SB) is a 4-year starter in the infield, and is back at shortstop. He also struck out just twice in 47 plate appearances last season. His leadership and athletic ability will be vital to the teams’ success. Senior Leif Blow is a grinder that has impressed Coach Myers with his work ethic, and he will start at second base. Rangy senior Isaac Gomes (.341 OBP, 8 R, 4 RBI, 4 SB) will start at third base after playing all over the diamond last season, and first base will be occupied by either Ty Rosenburg or Marques Brown. Both players are more than capable.
Outfield: Kentner (.243 AVG, .349 OBP, 6 RBI) has been moved to the outfield where is arm can be on display. He’ll join fellow senior Carter Backstrom (.321 OBP, 4 SB) who can cover a ton of ground in centerfield. Stalnaker will also see a lot of time in the outfield when he’s not pitching, and Jefferson can play any of the outfield positions, and is kind of the “swiss army knife” of the team.
Final Analysis: Seven seniors lead this squad, and it could be a year that Baker has its biggest improvement in a long time. The pitching is there, but the hitting needs to improve from last season. A 2-1 win over Meridian last season showed that the Mounties are capable of beating very good teams, now they just have to believe in themselves.
Tyler’s Predicted Lineup:
- Carter Backstrom
- Isaac Gomes
- Kaleb Bass
- Michael Kentner
- Davin Beason
- Ty Rosenburg
- Leif Blow
- Andrew Stalnaker
- Toby Jefferson
