This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.
David Beasley, Sports Editor
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Volume 47, Issue 14
Sports
March is just around the corner and that means it will be time for baseball. In this frigid winter season, the men of Cougar baseball have been diligently honing their skills for spring. Cougar freshman Cody Watkins is one of the hard working Clackamas athletes practicing for spring season.
“It’s slow right now because we can’t go outside,” said Watkins. “Just trying to get prepared inside before the weather gets good.”
The team has been acclimating to college ball and learning to work together. They have been hard at work all school year. The Cougars hope to translate their synergy into success against the competition during spring season.
“We’ve been together since fall,” said Watkins. “It’s nice to have that bond. There’s a lot of us coming out of high school where we use aluminum bats. Getting used to wood bats is different, takes some pop off your swing, bunting is easier.”
Some of the team is new and some are veterans, but they all have room to improve and they have been consistent on that goal. Cougar Hayden Heying has enjoyed building the team’s prowess throughout the year and is excited for spring.
“We’ll be the sleeper team of the league,” said Heying. “Trying to get stronger, throw harder. Trying to get one of the starting roles. We’re working pretty good, team chemistry seems to be pretty good.”
The NWAACC rules allow baseball to include an unofficial fall and winter schedule before they start the regular spring season. The Cougars fall season is from Sept. 15 to Nov. 15. Nov. and Dec. are for conditioning only. Winter baseball is Jan. 15 to March 1, then spring season starts. During the Spring baseball is allowed 22 game days against opponents. Spring season lasts until June 1.
The weather hasn’t allowed for any pre-season games since fall, but that didn’t stop the Cougars from improving. Shortstop Taren Bradd is excited for Spring too. He enjoys the teamwork in baseball and looks for the hard hits. Like his teammates, he has been honing his game in order to perform at maximum capacity.
“I’ve been working on hitting, staying inside the ball and becoming a leader,” said Bradd. “My favorite part of baseball is hitting line-drives, hitting the ball hard and making plays.”
Head Coach Robin Robinson has been teaching and coaching at Clackamas since 1990. He has seen his fair share of various teams with different skill levels to work with. Robinson is impressed with his team this year. He welcomes the talented returners and looks forward to seeing the team perform in league.
“I feel really good about the sophomore returners,” said Robinson. “Good group of sophomore kids. The depth of our pitching is better than we’ve had in years.”
With such dedication towards practice, Clackamas is off to a good start this year. The coming season will test their strength as a team. The Cougars first four games of the spring season are set for this weekend against Spokane in The Dalles. They will play two games on Saturday and two on Sunday.
“It’s slow right now because we can’t go outside,” said Watkins. “Just trying to get prepared inside before the weather gets good.”
The team has been acclimating to college ball and learning to work together. They have been hard at work all school year. The Cougars hope to translate their synergy into success against the competition during spring season.
“We’ve been together since fall,” said Watkins. “It’s nice to have that bond. There’s a lot of us coming out of high school where we use aluminum bats. Getting used to wood bats is different, takes some pop off your swing, bunting is easier.”
Some of the team is new and some are veterans, but they all have room to improve and they have been consistent on that goal. Cougar Hayden Heying has enjoyed building the team’s prowess throughout the year and is excited for spring.
“We’ll be the sleeper team of the league,” said Heying. “Trying to get stronger, throw harder. Trying to get one of the starting roles. We’re working pretty good, team chemistry seems to be pretty good.”
The NWAACC rules allow baseball to include an unofficial fall and winter schedule before they start the regular spring season. The Cougars fall season is from Sept. 15 to Nov. 15. Nov. and Dec. are for conditioning only. Winter baseball is Jan. 15 to March 1, then spring season starts. During the Spring baseball is allowed 22 game days against opponents. Spring season lasts until June 1.
The weather hasn’t allowed for any pre-season games since fall, but that didn’t stop the Cougars from improving. Shortstop Taren Bradd is excited for Spring too. He enjoys the teamwork in baseball and looks for the hard hits. Like his teammates, he has been honing his game in order to perform at maximum capacity.
“I’ve been working on hitting, staying inside the ball and becoming a leader,” said Bradd. “My favorite part of baseball is hitting line-drives, hitting the ball hard and making plays.”
Head Coach Robin Robinson has been teaching and coaching at Clackamas since 1990. He has seen his fair share of various teams with different skill levels to work with. Robinson is impressed with his team this year. He welcomes the talented returners and looks forward to seeing the team perform in league.
“I feel really good about the sophomore returners,” said Robinson. “Good group of sophomore kids. The depth of our pitching is better than we’ve had in years.”
With such dedication towards practice, Clackamas is off to a good start this year. The coming season will test their strength as a team. The Cougars first four games of the spring season are set for this weekend against Spokane in The Dalles. They will play two games on Saturday and two on Sunday.
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