River Dogs aim to continue to gel on the diamond

EPHRATA — The 2024 summer baseball season is in full swing, with the 18U Columbia Basin River Dogs continuing to learn to play with one another through the early weeks of the season.

The team comprises local players from Ephrata, Moses Lake and Warden high schools.  

“I think summer baseball’s one of those things where it’s a test to see where you’re at and what you enjoy doing,” head coach Quintz Whitaker said. “Getting them back out and playing has been a fun way to spend some summertime.”

Joining the local players is a four-player group from Eastmont High School in East Wenatchee. 

“It’s something new this year — Eastmont didn’t have a program for their kids who graduated, and it’s fun because it’s two teams that were pretty competitive during the school ball season,” Whitaker said. “Watching them come back together, some jabs get thrown around but it’s all in good nature.”

The season's opening stretch saw the River Dogs begin with a 1-9 mark in games, struggling to put together a complete game in each aspect. One day the pitching might be on, while the defense is off — or the bats will go cold once the defense performs well.

“Just being able to put all three phases of the game together has been a little bit of a struggle this year, which is tough on the boys because they’re competitive and not playing the way that they want at times,” Whitaker said. 

Whitaker said that can be smoothed out with more playing time with one another, as the team has only been together for a handful of weeks with limited practice time.

“With us in particular, that can be a little bit of an issue because these guys haven’t played together at the high school, and we’ve practiced two times so far in the year because (of) the amount of games that you see in the summertime,” Whitaker said. 

The River Dogs (4-14) made the switch to American Legion baseball this summer, formerly playing in the Babe Ruth League. The team now plays under Moses Lake Senior Baseball.

With the move, games have become more competitive and played more often, Whitaker said. 

“Legion is a true test of the depth of our team,” Whitaker said. “We’ve had 18 games in 20 days, and so you truly get a chance to say, ‘Hey guys, everybody’s got to be on board and we hope you’re all willing to be able to pitch and do things to make us compete in the best level that we can.’”

Offensive woes slowed down the River Dogs to begin the year; the team was averaging 4.25 runs per game over their first eight games, but that number has begun to turn around over the past 10 games.

“Early in the season we were taking a lot of strikeouts, and we’ve made some adjustments to kind of cut down on that and have a better approach of what we’re looking for at the plate, especially early in counts,” Whitaker said. “The boys have really bought into it — it’s been an adjustment, but I think they’ve done a pretty good job of doing that. And being able to put some good swings on.”

Columbia Basin traveled to Medical Lake for a tournament last weekend, going 1-3 in games after opening with a 14-6 win over the Tri-Cities Badgers. The win was followed by a 13-9 loss to RC Premier Webb, an 11-0 loss to Gonzaga Prep and a 6-2 loss to West Plains.

“We definitely had some really good performances — Nolan Crawford and Ryder Mann gave us some real good outings on the mound — we just didn’t get the sticks going in the way that we needed to, and we’ve got to play better moving ahead,” Whitaker said. 

Up next on the schedule is the Palouse Summer Series. Columbia Basin opens the weekend with a game against New Level at 4 p.m. Thursday at Colfax High School. The tournament features games played at Colfax and Pullman high schools, Lewis-Clark State College and Washington State University.

“You’re in a different atmosphere and a different feel being able to step out on those fields,” Whitaker said. “That’s pretty special. The competition down there is real good as well — we’ll probably see a number of guys that are planning on playing high collegiate levels.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

    River Dogs outfielder Jackson Carlos leads off of first base during a game against Pullman in the 2023 season. Carlos is one of eight Moses Lake High School baseball players on this year’s River Dog team.