Big Bend baseball looks to rebound from down year

MOSES LAKE - Big Bend baseball is ready to erase the memory of last season's 13-27 overall record.

Now in his second season at the helm, head coach Pete Doumit has had an offseason to recruit and prepare his players for the rigors of Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) baseball.

"We're pretty optimistic about our players and where we're headed and so forth," he said. "I think that we've got guys are here now that have been recruited by me so they pretty much understand what they're getting into when they're coming."

The Vikings have suffered some setbacks entering the season with some players missing games due to academics as well as injuries.

"Our roster is down as far as numbers-wise," Doumit said. "We've lost a few guys to attrition from guys getting home sick and going home and we've got a couple ineligible kids, not too many, but then we've got three kids who have been hurt that are going to have to red shirt because of season-ending injuries."

However, Doumit believes he has a strong group of players and thinks this team will have a little more experience and veteran seasoning.

"It's a nice blend," he said. "We've got some good sophomores, we've got some older guys ... I like the mix that we have and the direction we're headed."

Big Bend will have to replace two-time All-Conference player Chris Walker, who is now at Lewis and Clark State. But Doumit thinks this team will be more balanced offensively and will be able to score in a variety of ways.

"Any time you lose a bat like Chris it's a big hole to fill," he said. "I really think that overall I think we're a better hitting ball club. I think we're a much more offensive ball club with more tools this year than we had last year."

The Vikings were scheduled to begin play last weekend, but a snow storm that rolled in Sunday forced a weekend set with Grays Harbor to be postponed.

Big Bend will play five games this weekend. The first begins today 5 p.m. at Larson Baseball Field against Thomas River.

Games will shift to Big Bend Saturday and Sunday when the team faces Thomas River and Green River at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.

"They're very anxious and we're going to jump in with both feet," Doumit said. "A lot of baseball this weekend. It's going to test our arms and test our depth as far as our pitching goes that's for sure, but they are chomping at the bit."