New-look Warriors hit the field
ACH senior Cody Allsbrook looks toward the infield after catching a fly ball during practice on March 15.
IAN BIVONA/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
ACH sophomore Carter Pitts, in black, smiles as he rounds third base in an intrasquad scrimmage during practice.
ACH sophomore Jameson Conley, right, swings at a pitch during practice.
ACH sophomore Grayson Beal, in gray, catches a fly ball in the infield.
COULEE CITY – Like many boys’ sports at Almira/Coulee-Hartline this year, the Warrior baseball team will have some new faces in starting roles this season.
The Warriors graduated 11 seniors off of last year’s roster, which tied for third place in the 1B State Baseball Tournament.
“When you rely so much on a senior class, younger guys kind of take a backseat and they let the older guys take over,” Head Coach Hunter Lee said. “Now it’s their turn, so they’re going to have to stand up.”
Among those losses are Cooper Correia, who was the Central Washington 1B league MVP last season.
“It’s certainly a loss, losing what we did,” Lee said. “We lost the league MVP last year and two or three other all-leaguers.”
Despite losing a majority of the roster, the Warriors will have some experience returning with Sophomores Carter Pitts and Grayson Beal along with freshman Caden Correia, who started most of the ACH games last year as an eighth grader. Seniors Cody Allsbrook and Tristen Wood also return, who started “about half” of last year’s games.
“Those guys, just with their experience there, they’re taking over to fill that void we have from our seniors,” Lee said. “Mostly leading by example.”
Among many lessons left by last year’s senior class was how important time spent in the weight room is, which the current Warriors have picked up on according to Lee.
“Our guys are in the weight room most days before school, and then they’re in there a lot even on the weekends and after school some days,” Lee said. “That senior class that graduated last year, they really committed themselves to the weight room to get bigger, faster, stronger and the younger guys saw how much their bodies changed over the course of high school.”
The commitment as underclassmen also shows just how bright the future can be for ACH.
“It makes you excited for the future,” Lee said. “I’m really excited to see what we’re going to be able to do over the next four years. Should be a fun ride with these guys.”
The Warriors went 17-5-1 last season and have qualified for the previous four 1B state baseball tournaments, including a championship in 2019.
“Overall, I think we’re going to be pretty good again,” Lee said. “I think it may surprise some people. There’s a lot of people that’ll look at how much we lost, maybe they think we’re going to have a down year. I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”
Ian Bivona can be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.
