Growing baseball squad features nine returners

Raider baseball enters the 2012 season returning nine players from last year’s 14-5 squad and hopes to have more of the same success this season.

Those returners include 2011 Central Washington North League Catcher of the Year Kramer Carlson and the All-Central Washington North first team player Brady Black. Keith Rosenbaum, Tyler Garvin, and Justus DeWinkler also were acknowledged in 2011 for their play with Second Team All-Central Washington North selections.

Seniors Dalton Boutain and Lee Williams, and juniors Kendall Piccolo and Tim Loch are also returning to the squad.

The nine returners provide a solid starting squad with years of experience and a depth of talent that continues to expand.

Head Coach Brandon Byers said his expectations of the returners are that they “continue to build upon both their team and individual successes of the previous years."

New members to Raider baseball for 2012 include six freshmen and one sophomore, bringing the total number to 16 baseball players for Lake Roosevelt.

The freshmen are Taliix Bourgeau, Kyle Holt, Daniel Loch, Marco Llamas-Ruiz, Trey Nicholson, and Chris Whalawitsa; the sophomore is Teddy Sharr.

Holt brings speed to the bases and quick moves to the field.

Loch and Nicholson will provide steady all around play to the diamond, and Bourgeau could provide a spark from his aggressive play.

Some of the new players have not played in several years, so this will be a developmental season for them. With the Raider depth chart just as shallow as in the previous seasons, this development needs to be quick and effective to allow the Raiders a run for playoffs.

Byers is confident about the young players’ abilities.

"Because of their own want to grow as baseball players, many of them have made major strides in the first week of practice alone,” he said. “Should this continue, there are several newcomers that could step into various roles when called upon."

When asked about postseason expectations, Byers said that if the team plays up to potential, they have an opportunity to have a successful season.

To have that success, the Raiders will have to traverse a league schedule with perennially successful Brewster and a strong Liberty Bell squad. Other squads are returning several starters, and it could be anybody’s guess who will come out on top of the Central Washington North this season.

For the Raiders right now, the priority is to continue improving necessary skills and taking on each opponent one at a time in order to achieve that postseason berth.