Thomas Young celebrates after hitting a leadoff triple against Carson High on Tuesday. Young, a sophomore, will likely be penciled into the leadoff spot for a majority of the Tigers’ games this season.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
Entering his third year at the helm of the Douglas High baseball team, head coach Ryan Gonzalez might have just a bit of cautious optimism about where Douglas may fall by season’s end.
With a life continually involved in the sport, Gonzalez knows his guys have to earn their attention around the North before anyone starts to form expectations on where Douglas might be headed.
“We’ve had a long, long battle on the other side of ‘W’s’,” said Gonzalez. “We haven’t earned anything. We are going to have to play the cleanest baseball games we’ve ever played, every game, and we have to get out of our own way.”
Looking at the roster
Through five games, the Tigers have seen several of those senior leaders step up and post numbers that will carry Douglas in the right direction.
Starting pitcher James Hubbard threw six shutout innings against Carson on Tuesday before helping out his own cause with a two-run home run over the left field wall.
In 19 at-bats, Gabe Natividad has posted a .579 batting average while Ashton Davenport, who returns to the lineup after breaking his thumb last year, is hitting .533 in 15 at-bats.
Fellow seniors Carson Hill and Luke Rodina have also shown early season production at the plate.
Though senior Gabe Foster hasn’t seen the field yet, Gonzalez expects him to be quite impactful when he returns this weekend.
“We’re really young. We’ve got nine seniors, but a lot of those guys were role players coming up in our program,” said Gonzalez. “We have a lot of seniors on the bench who are looking to pave the way for these younger guys who haven’t had any varsity experience.”
Sophomore Thomas Young is one of those younger ball players Gonzalez was alluding too, but Young is hitting .462 with a double, two triples and a homer in his first five games at the varsity level.
“He’s an exciting player and he’s got a lot of growth ahead of him,” said Gonzalez.
On the mound, Gonzalez said Hubbard will be the Tigers No. 1 starter this season.
Brandon Melandow Jr., Noah Kohbarger and Keegan Snooks are all expected to get starting nods this season as well.
Gavin Davis, Kaden McIver, Hill and Natividad have all throw multiple innings as well for Douglas early on in the year.
The baseball schedule is a bit more spread out versus year’s past and Gonzalez thinks that will require Douglas to have some bullpen arms potentially make spot starts during the season.
(James Hubbard unloads a pitch against Carson High on Tuesday. The Douglas senior tossed six shutout innings and picked up the win. / Ron Harpin)
Class 5A North outlook
Though Douglas has been scrapping to improve its standings in the North for the past couple of seasons, the early portion of the season leads Gonzalez to believe this might be the year Douglas could be fighting for a higher seed.
“For the past couple of years, we’ve been that eight or nine team. This year, I believe we can move up a couple of spots,” said Gonzalez. “If we play clean baseball, competitive baseball, I love our chances every time we step on the field.”
Reno has outscored its opponents 57-2 in its first four games of the season, making the Huskies the obvious favorite in the North.
McQueen, Bishop Manogue and Damonte Ranch will also be tough outs throughout the year.
“We just want to have positive vibes in the dugout. I think that goes a long way at this age,” said Gonzalez. “There has been a lot of tradition in the valley that I want to continue. … They’re really exciting. Come out and see them and they’re going to give you a good show.”
2022 Douglas High baseball schedule
3/15 – v. Fallon, 3 p.m.
3/17 – v. Spanish Springs, 3:45 p.m.
3/19 – Mammoth (CA), 1 p.m.
3/22 – Dayton, 3 p.m.
3/24 – v. Lassen (CA), 3 p.m.
3/26 – v. Bishop Manogue, 11 a.m.
3/29 – at Damonte Ranch, 3:45 p.m.
3/31 – at Reno, 3:45 p.m.
4/2 – v. Reno, 11 a.m.
4/5 – at Spanish Springs, 3:45 p.m.
4/7 – v. Reed, 3:45 p.m.
4/9 – at Galena, 3:45 p.m.
4/12 – at McQueen, 3:45 p.m.
4/14 – v. Galena, 3:45 p.m.
4/19 – at Livingston (CA)*, 10 a.m.
4/20 – at Denair (CA)*, 1 p.m.
4/20 – at Golden Valley (CA)*, 4 p.m.
4/28 – at McQueen, 3:45 p.m.
4/30 – at Bishop Manogue, 11 a.m.
5/3 – v. McQueen, 3:45 p.m.
5/4 – v. Carson. 4 p.m.
* denotes neutral site tournament contest
