'Fast between the bags'
Senior leaders of the Sandpoint baseball team, pictured left to right: Ben Fisher, Daniel Charvoz, Corey Neer and Joel Cramer. The four are part of a team hungry for a berth at state this season. (Photo by ERIC PLUMMER)
SANDPOINT — Speed doesn’t slump.
It’s not known who first uttered the old baseball axiom, but Sandpoint head coach Chris Young is sure hoping the saying holds true in 2010.
“We don’t have the long ball hitter, but we’ll be fast between the bags,” says Young of this year’s lineup and its small-ball approach. “We’ve got guys who can crush the baseball to the gaps, and we’re speedy on the base paths.”
Leading the way will be returning varsity standouts Ben Fisher and Joel Cramer, seniors who will be counted on to anchor the batting order. A tender shoulder will relegate Fisher to a designated hitter role, while Cramer will roam center field and team with Fisher to provide leadership.
Young had high praise for Cramer as both an outfielder and clean-up hitter, and loves the leadership he brings to the table.
“He’s hungry to play wherever he needs to play to get us to state,” describes Young. “He’s already had a conversation with the team about getting to state.”
Senior Corey Neer has worked hard during the off-season and will handle the catching duties. Neer and juniors Nick Halpin and Eric Nikssarian help give the Bulldogs a potent top half of the batting order.
Anchoring the pitching staff will be junior Tevin Hamilton, whom Young calls the staff ace. Hamilton hit every off-season workout and returns this season bigger, stronger and with more smoke on his fastball.
“He’s come a long way as a pitcher,” says Young. “He’s got command of all three of his pitches — fastball, breaking ball and change up.”
Senior Daniel Charvoz, who pounds the strike zone with pinpoint control, will be the No. 2 starter and a prime inning eater, and Nikssarian will also get the occasional start in the rotation. Cramer and senior transfer Patrick Anthony will be the Bulldogs’ main arms out of the bullpen.
Young is also excited by the addition of assistant coach Tom Barlow, who will serve as hitting instructor. If the name sounds familiar it should, as Barlow joins father Bill and grandfather Cotton as a third generation baseball coach.
“He brings another element to the team,” explains Young of Barlow, who coached in Coeur d’Alene the past two seasons after playing in college at Spokane Falls and St. Martin’s University. “I’ve given him the hitters and that way I can concentrate more on the pitching.”
With Lakeland and Moscow both losing some key players from last season, coupled with a much earlier start to the season than normal, the Bulldogs are keeping a firm eye on avenging last year’s district loss to Moscow and earning a berth at state.
“We’ll be extremely disappointed if that’s not where we go this year,” says Young, now in his second year at the helm. “The baseball gods have shined on us to be out at War Memorial in the first week of March.”
Sandpoint opens the season today at West Valley.