Work ethic, focus, mound mojo, Big Bend pitchers Tyson Yamane, Blake Collier have it all

MOSES LAKE — One wanted to get out of Dodge and the chance see some different sights. The other decided to stay a little closer to home. Combined, Big Bend Community College sophomore Tyson Yamane and freshman Blake Collier have turned into quite the one-two punch in first-year manager Jameson Lange's pitching arsenal.

Collier, a first-year right-hander from Kennewick, is rapidly becoming the ace on the versatile Vikings staff. He's not an overpowering force, but his six-pitch repertoire has NWAC East Region hitters guessing on what's coming next.

Yamane comes from a Washington Class 1A program. There are more people in the A-section at Safeco Field than the population of his hometown. But the former Warden Cougar has settled in as the No. 2 starter in the rotation and developing into a force to be reckoned with.

“Command is everything at this level. In high school, you could basically throw a fastball over the plate and hope they don't hit it,” said Collier, who has an ERA of 4.21 over 36.1 innings pitched. “I love the challenge of pitching at this level. I love to compete. The better they are, the better I like it. I want to prove to myself that I'm good too.”

Yamane is in his second season at the community college level. He's crushed the learning curve and has established himself as one of the best right-handers in the league.

“In high school, my mindset was here's a fastball, see if you can hit it. Now we're playing match-ups and everything's more competitive,” said Yamane. “It's about staying focused longer and realizing that any hitter can beat you. There's no easy way out in this league.”

Collier is currently 3-3 with a ERA 4.21 with 17 strikeouts, 12 walks, having surrendered 33 hits. Yamane (3-1) goes into the weekend at Spokane with an ERA of 3.81, an improvement over last season's 4.83. The right-hander from Warden has struck out 23, walked six and scattered 26 hits.

“Tyson is a very versatile guy that we can run out as a starter or as a long relief guy, just because his mental makeup is so great,” Lange said. “High school baseball is high school baseball, everybody's playing at a higher level once you get to college. The biggest thing for Tyson is that he has such mental makeup that he's able to understand what he is as a pitcher and who he is as a player.

“He's a guy that we've come to rely on. If it's a big situation, the ball's going to be in Tyson Yamane's hands. Whether it's as a starter or a bullpen guy, we know he's going to be very competitive.”

In the Walla Walla sweep to start the NWAC East schedule, Yamane got the win in Game 2, giving up four hits in five innings, striking out one and walking one. Collier went the distance in the opener in his best game of the season, surrendering just one hit and striking out five in the seven-inning shutout.

“I feel comfortable on the mound. It doesn't matter when I get it.” Yamane said. “I just want to contribute where I can. I'll go out and play left field if they need me.”

Other guys on the staff have better ERA's and are certainly as capable, but Collier's found his stide and he's delivered so far.

“Don't see myself as a big-arm guy. I've always been a guy that has to locate and get ground balls,” said the freshman righter, who has a four-seam and two-seam fastball, curve, knuckleball, splitter and changeup in his bag of tricks. “Defense is huge. I'm not a strikeout guy. I just try to let the defense do their thing. It's been a good combination so far.”

Big Bend assistant Ryan Doumit has seen a lot during his Major League career, which began with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He's been out of the game four years now, but likes working with the Vikings staff and the young catchers coming up.

“If you didn't know (Tyson's background), you'd assume he came from one of the biggest schools in the state, based on his presence on the mound,” said Doumit, who also played with the Twins and finished up his 10-year MLB career with the Braves. “His composure, his tempo and his confidence out there, he's been a huge asset to this program. Every time he goes out there the coaching staff feels very confident we're going to win.

“With Blake, we saw him playing for a traveling high school team. (Big Bend) played against them and he threw against us as a senior in high school. He's a tall-framed kid with good movement on his fastball. He's come a long ways since he set foot on campus and right now he's probably our ace. His work ethic is phenomenal. He brings it every single day. He has that extra switch, that focus in his eye that says he's out there to compete.”

Make no doubt about it, Blake Collier and Tyson Yamane will strike you out if they have the chance. But NWAC East hitters best be swinging, because they can paint the corners with the best of them.

Rodney Harwood is a sports writer with the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabasinherald.com