Decatur Gators
Coach: Maury Kincannon (4th season)
Last year’s record: 7-9 (sixth in SPSL South)
Strong returners: Jr. Zach Jacobs (P,SS); Sr. Gavin Cuddie (3B); Sr. Nelson Atkinson (IF/P); Sr. Ofero Taitano (C/P/3B).
Top newcomers: Jr. Christian Meister (P/OF); Soph. Conner Schilling (1B); Soph. Brett Johnson (Util.); Sr. Dominique Samuels (OF/P).
Beamer Titans
Coach: Jerry Peterson (7th season)
Last year’s record: 10-6 (fourth in South)
Strong returners: Sr. Kenny Johnson (SS); Sr. Travis Crumb (OF/P); Sr. Ryan Beck (OF); Jr. Jeff Apigo (2B); Jr. Mac Gridley (3B); Soph. Brett Oyer (C).
Top newcomers: Soph. Richy Apigo (1B/P); Sr. Brian Thomason (1B/P); Jr. Adam Bolf (C); Jr. Aaron Crumb (OF); Soph. Sam Kosbab (OF).
Jefferson Raiders
Coach: Mike Church (9th season)
Last year’s record: 13-10 (fourth in North)
Strong returners: Sr. Jeff Brigham (P/SS/2B); Sr. Mitch McQueen (P/IF); Sr. Austin Campbell (C/P); Sr. Harold Adams (OF); Sr. Brett Fitzgerald (P/IF).
Top newcomers: Jr. Dylan Cooper (3B/P); Sr. Erik Lindenauer (P/OF); Sr. Travis Quackenbush (OF/P); Sr. Brian Moe (IF); Soph. Gunner Sonnenfeld (1B/C); Soph. Jordan Barrett (2B); Soph. Kyle Williams (OF).
Federal Way Eagles
Coach: Danny Graham (5th season)
Last year’s record: 6-10 (sixth in North)
Strong returners: Jr. Nick Tanielu (SS/P); Jr. Drew Cratsenberg (P/OF); TJ Horsfall (2B); Austin Webber (P/OF); Sr. Elliot Morris (OF/P)
Top newcomers: None listed
Jefferson Raiders
The Thomas Jefferson Raiders advanced into the West Central District Tournament last year before losing to South Kitsap after finishing 13-10 during the regular season.
The Raiders return a lot of talent from a season ago, including University of Washington-bound senior Jeff Brigham. Things have started well this season for the Raiders, who have bolted out to a 3-0 start.
“I expect this team to compete for playoffs,” said head coach Mike Church. “If we stay healthy and hit a bit, I see us doing third (place) or possibly better.”
Brigham, who signed with the Huskies in November, turned into the ace of the TJ staff last year after finishing 3-1 with two saves, including a five-inning no-hitter against Kentwood. Brigham had a 2.94 ERA, struck out 47 in 35 innings and gave up only 5.18 hits per seven innings. He also hit .333 with seven RBIs and 12 runs. He was a first-team, All-SPSL North selection as a pitcher.
The Raiders also bring back four other seniors in Mitch McQueen (P/IF), Austin Campbell (C/P), Harold Adams (OF) and Brett Fitzgerald (P/IF). Adams had a solid season last year after hitting .422 with two home runs and eight RBIs. He also contributed two doubles and scored 12 runs and three stolen bases. Adams also struck out only three times in 15 games.
Campbell hit .345 with six runs and 10 RBIs and McQueen hit .323 with eight runs and six RBIs.
Church will also be counting on newcomers Dylan Coooper (3B), Erik Lindenauer (P/OF), Travis Quackenbush (OF/P), Brian Moe (IF), Gunner Sonnenfeld (C), Jordan Barrett (2B) and Kyle Williams (OF).
“Pitching is definitely our strength,” Church said. “If our pitchers stay healthy, we should be in most every game. We are working hard on our hitting.”
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Decatur Gators
Head coach Maury Kincannon returns only four players from last year’s Gator team that finished 7-9 in the SPSL South. Although that doesn’t sound like much, Kincannon is still excited.
“I am very optimistic,” he said. “We have a good group of young ballplayers. It bodes well for the future.”
But Kincannon still thinks Decatur will surprise some teams this season. The Gators have started the season slowly in non-league play, losing games to three very good teams (Federal Way, Kentridge and Jefferson).
“We have a lot of work to do defensively after graduating 11 seniors from last year’s team,” Kincannon said. “We will have some new looks in quite a few positions.”
The Gators will be counting on three seniors and a junior to provide leadership. Decatur returns third baseman Gavin Cuddie, middle infielder/pitcher Nelson Atkinson, catcher/pitcher Ofero Taitano and junior pitcher/shortstop Zach Jacobs.
Jacobs and junior Christian Meister will be the two mainstays on the Gators’ pitching staff. Jacobs spent the majority of his summer in a Florida instructional league and “came back stronger, bigger and more confident with his game,” Kincannon said.
As a sophomore, Jacobs finished 4-2 in the SPSL South with a 3.89 earned-run average. He allowed only 21 hits in 27 innings of work and struck out 15.
“Our pitching looks stronger than in past years,” Kincannon said. “We have plenty of depth with our pitching staff this year.”
In the field and at the plate, Atkinson and Cuddie return as the Gators’ leading hitters. Last year, Atkinson finished with a .353 batting average with seven runs scored and eight stolen bases. Cuddie finished with a .280 average with six runs and four RBIs.
Kincannon will also be counting on newcomers Christian Miester, Conner Schilling, Brett Johnson and Dominique Samuels.
“Decatur has a talented young team that will be successful with hard work and commitment,” Kincannon said.
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Beamer Titans
The Todd Beamer Titans’ baseball program has developed into one of the best in the South Puget Sound League. Year in and year out, the Titans are always in the mix for the SPSL South Division championship.
This year should be no different.
“Our goal is to return to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year,” head coach Jerry Peterson said.
Last year, Beamer finished 10-6 in the SPSL South, which was good enough for fourth place in the league. The Titans eventually lost at the West Central District Tournament. Beamer has started the 2010 season with a 2-1 record with wins over Stadium and Eastlake.
The Titans will be counting on the duo of Kenny Johnson and Travis Crumb to lead the offense. Last season, Johnson, a middle infielder, hit .378 with 16 runs, two home runs and 11 RBIs for Beamer. He also had three doubles and slugged .578 and was a defensive stalwart in the infield. He will play at Linfield next season.
Crumb, an outfielder, hit .396 during the SPSL South regular season and was a first-team, All-SPSL South selection. Crumb finished with three doubles, two triples, 13 runs and 14 RBIs during the season. He was also 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts and was ninth in the league with 19 hits.
Also back are senior Ryan Beck (OF), juniors Jeff Apigo (2B) and Mac Gridley (3B) and sophomore Brett Oyer (C). Last year, Gridley was third on the team in RBIs with eight during the regular season and Beck was second with 12 runs scored.
Pitching is the one area that Beamer lacks experience. Johnson is the only returner that saw any mound time last year during the regular season and he only threw 3 2/3 innings. This year, Crumb along with newcomers Richy Apigo and Brian Thomason will hold down the pitching staff.
“We have great chemistry,” Peterson said. “If our pitching comes through, it should be a good year.”
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Federal Way Eagles
The Eagles return some of the most talented players in the SPSL and will definitely score a lot of runs this season. Last year, the talented Eagles finished 6-10 in the SPSL North Division.
But Federal Way is hoping to improve on that record this season and will do it with three of the better young players in the league in infielders Nick Tanielu and TJ Horsfall and outfielder Drew Cratsenberg.
Tanielu had a monster sophomore season for the Eagles at shortstop. He finished with a .488 batting average and led the SPSL North with seven home runs. He also had an unbelievable slugging percentage of 1.070, which led the SPSL, and was second in the league with 25 RBIs. Tanielu also scored 26 runs, stole seven bases in seven attempts and was a first-team, All-SPSL North selection.
As a junior, Horsfall was solid at second base. Horsfall hit .375 with 19 RBIs, two triples and three home runs. He was a second-team, All-SPSL North selection.
As a sophomore, Cratsenberg finished eighth in the North Division with a .479 average for the Eagles. Cratsenberg also scored 26 runs, drove in 12 and had six doubles and one home run. He also stole seven bases for Federal Way and was a first-team, All-SPSL North selection by the league’s coaches.
The Eagles have started the 2010 season with a 2-1 record. Federal Way beat Beamer, 14-11, and Decatur, 7-3, before losing to Rogers on Saturday, 4-3. The Eagles opened their SPSL North season Tuesday at home against Kentwood and travel to TJ today.
