Tigard baseball coach James Leach and his staff knew they’d have a new-look team this season.
The Tigers graduated 12 seniors from last year’s squad, which featured a roster of 19 players. This year’s team has a roster of 15 with seven seniors.
“When our coaching staff was meeting prior to the season, we knew some of these kids, since they’ve been in the program,” Leach said. “We liked the group of kids we thought would be at the varsity level. They show up every day for weights and hitting. They’re showing up and working. It’s been fun to see them battle out to see who’s going to play at which position.”
The Tigers dropped their first two games of the season, but have won three in a row as of our press deadline.
The limited varsity experience on the team tends to come from the pitching mound, while Leach estimated the returning players have somewhere around 20 combined at-bats at the varsity level.
“Camden McCormack and Grayson Rose are two of our returning players who pitched last year,” Leach said. “That’s been nice to have on the mound. Our go-to relieve from last year, Ryan Frye, has stepped up into the third starter role. Those three have been big for us coming back this year with experience pitching at this level.”
Leach added that seniors Andrew Hergert and Audie Stroum are also pitchers coming back this season who have thrown some varsity innings prior to this season.
“We feel like the pitching is going to anchor our team this year, since that’s where our experience is,” Leach said.
Working with that experienced pitching staff will be junior catchers Braden Robinson and Miles Van Doren, and Leach said he’s confident in both players’ skills behind the plate. He also said senior centerfielder Michael Harms is off to a strong start early in the year.
“You look at the middle of the field, and as coaches we want to figure out the best places for our players to succeed,” Leach said. “You want to see that experience with your catchers, your pitchers, and going up the middle.”
With so many players getting their first real taste of varsity experience, Leach said he’d been impressed by the versatility of his team, and their willingness to move around the field if asked.
“When we look at moving guys around, it’s a good thing and can make us stronger as a whole,” he said. “If, say, an infielder goes down, we might have a kid we moved to the outfield earlier in the year who can step in. He already knows how to play the infield, so that can make the transition easier.”
But it’s not just some of the newer players willing to move around. Leach said Frye has been playing well at first base and Rose is playing at third base this year after playing at first last year.
“We want to be as best we can later in the season,” he said. “It’s challenging, but it can make us stronger as a whole.”
One reason Leach said he thinks his players are so willing to move around the field and try to fit in where the team needs them is because they are a group that has played together for a long time, even if many of the players are seeing their first real playing time at the varsity level.
“They are a group that is excited to be at the varsity level,” he said. “They’re familiar with each other. That helps too. We knew it was a group that was familiar with each other. They’re willing to do what’s best for the team.”
Tigard’s season ended last year with a first-round playoff loss. Despite the turnover from last year’s team to this year, Leach is hopeful the new-look Tigers can gel and make a run at the playoffs again.
“We have a lot of speed and agility, and we’re getting better with routine,” he said. “We’re going to keep working on our communication and offensive approach. It’s the same stuff we’ve been doing since the start of the season, and I think if we stay with the process of what we’re doing, it can produce.”
