Priest River baseball starts off season in 2A for first time

PRIEST RIVER – It’s a new season — and a new division — for the Priest River Spartans on the baseball diamond this year.

So far, Priest River has faced two non-conference opponents in Reardan and Newport, both of Washington. The Spartans unfortunately lost all four of those games. However, head coach Mark Schultz said that he and his team are looking forward to making drastic improvements this season.

Schultz begins his 14th varsity season with the Spartans, and his 21st season of coaching altogether. Last year the team finished 2-18 (0-12), Schultz said there's work ahead for his young team but noted they are working hard and improving with every practice.

The Spartans lost former seniors Everett Hannah, Kyle Patterson, and John Soy, but they do return current senior Charles Bennett who has played in almost every position across the diamond. Overall the team will roster 16 athletes this season, including four juniors who Schultz said serve as great leaders to the new players and underclassmen.

In their first doubleheader versus Reardan on March 28, the Spartans lost 13-4 and 10-2, respectively. This was the first time the Spartans have faced Reardan in well over a decade. Sophomore Merrick Isenberger led the way with three hits and an RBI in the Game 1 of the twin bill. In Game 2, junior Shayd Wong-Yuen had a solid game on the mound; he gave up one earned run off two hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Wong-Yuen also had a hit in the outing.

“We have a lot of players learning new positions; we just need to get out and play. Pitching restrictions will be an obstacle for us this year,” Schultz said.

On March 30, the Spartans played their first home games against cross-border rivals, the Newport Grizzlies. The Spartans dropped both games 17-3 and 7-5. This time around , errors plagued the team as Priest River committed five errors between both games.

In Game 1, even though the score was lopsided, six different Spartans had base hits. Junior Tyson Brooks only gave up two earned runs in two innings on the mound. In Game 2, the Spartans were mounting a comeback, but the game got suspended due to darkness (the game will possibly be finished when the Spartans play again at Newport on April 14). Shayd Wong-Yuen performed well once again; he pitched three innings giving up three earned runs, and added a season-high four strikeouts. Junior Colton Brooks pitched two innings and only gave up one run. They both recorded two hits in Game 2 as well.

“In the bottom of the fifth inning we had one runner on with one out. Hopefully, we can finish this game. I’m very proud of this group; we are young and these guys fight until the last out,” Schultz said.

This will be the first season the Spartans compete in the 2A Central Idaho League instead of competing under the 3A classification. In-conference opponents will include Orofino and Kellogg, but not St. Maries and Grangeville. Due to Priest River opting not to play everyone in the conference, they will automatically receive the lowest seed when the postseason rolls around.

The Spartans will travel to Orofino for their first conference match-up of the season on Saturday, April 8.