Panthers baseball team hopes to contend for league title
The WHS baseball team is off to a strong start this season, winning four of its first six games. The Panthers’ strong play hasn’t come as a surprise to coach Zach Carter, who expects his team to “be real strong” this season.
“I have high hopes that we’re going to be a league contender, right up there with Ridgefield and Columbia River,” he said. “We have a lot of new faces on varsity this year as we lost most of our starters from last year. I wouldn’t say we’re inexperienced, though, since most, if not all, of our guys have been putting in the work during the offseason and playing travel ball where they’re seeing good competition and high-caliber baseball to get them ready for varsity.”
WHS will be led by a trio of seniors — catcher /infielder Kaden Halverson, outfielder Tristan Farrell and pitcher Jack Davy. Juniors Trenton Hamilton (second base/pitcher) and Damian Panko (shortstop, pitcher) will also be key members of the Panthers’ lineup and pitching staff.
WHS also has several newcomers who have impressed Carter early on. Sophomore Travis Gibson “is looking to become our ace on the mound,” sophomore outfielder Blake Mattern is a “great all-around athlete” and “a force to be reckoned with at the plate” an freshman catcher/infielder Nathaniel Olmos is “good enough to play on varsity right off the bat.”
“With COVID stealing our season last year, this is the first time a lot of these guys have been on varsity. With that said, my other coaches and I have high confidence in this team,” Carter said. “The attitude and drive of these players sets them apart from previous teams I’ve coached. These players show up each and every day ready and hungry to learn and improve their craft. A lot of these younger guys are going to make a huge impact for Washougal baseball this year and for years to come. We’re expecting to build off of the hopeful success of this year and create a winning program here in Washougal.”
WHS softball team in for ‘interesting year’
John Carver is experimenting a bit with his Washougal High School (WHS) fastpitch softball squad this spring, shifting players around the diamond in an effort to identify the team’s best pitchers and defenders.
“As we move players around to see who settles in as the starter in each position, our goal as coaches is to play the players where they can make their best contribution to the team,” Carver said. “Player buy-in is important because we will be asking players to play positions that might not be their first choice. Six people see themselves as our shortstop and we need one starter. It should be an interesting year.”
Carver’s experiment is still a work in progress — they’ve surrendered 48 runs in their first three games of the season, all defeats. But the Panthers have shown some signs of offensive fortitude — they scored eight runs against visiting Fort Vancouver on Tuesday, March 30, with Chloe Johnson, Erika Barnes and Natalie Collins registering two hits apiece.
“We’re young,” Carver said. “The girls are working hard to get better. We are excited to be able to play. We will field the best team we can each game. Our goal is to see consistent performances, get runners on base and play solid defense.”
Doug Flanagan/Post-Record
