North Idaho Baseball
Intermountain League
In predicted order of finish:
Lakeland Hawks
1994 record: 8-0 (league champion), 18-7 overall (fourth at state)
Coach: Ken Busch, 5th year
Top returners: Brett DeBoer, junior, left-handed pitcher; Al Bevacqua, jr., second base/shortstop; Erik Martin, senior, shortstop/second base; Travis Cottier, third base/pitcher; Josh Phelps, jr., catcher; Kevin Bridge, jr., left field; Joel Gorham, first base/pitcher.
Newcomers: Chris Olson, jr., infielder; Casey Pluid, jr., of/ pitcher.
Outlook: State champions two years ago, the Hawks have the nucleus to make another run at a state title after a disappointing fourth-place finish last year. They will definitely be difficult to beat in the league. “The kids have pretty high expectations,” Busch said. “We’d like to make up for a kind of disappointing state tournament last year. But we’ve got to get there first.”
Moscow Bears
1994 record: 4-4, 7-19-1
Coach: Scott Knopp, second year
Top returners: Gil Pierce, sr., pitcher/catcher; Eric Kiblen, sr., pitcher-of; Eric Graves, sr., first base; Scott Carr, sr., infielder; Nate Colbert, sr., pitcher/of.
Newcomers: Alex Simmons, jr., infielder; Mike Walker, jr., infielder/pitcher; Scott Peterson, jr., shortstop.
Outlook: The Bears are much more experienced than a year ago, but whether that translates into a league or district title remains to be seen. Knopp doesn’t see any glaring weaknesses.
St. Maries Lumberjacks
1994 record: 3-7, 8-13
Coach: Jeff Anderson, 5th year
Top returners: Ben Schilling, sr., of/pitching; Jason Holdahl, pitching/shortstop; Jimmy Spooner, jr., first base; Steve Raebel, jr., of; Ty Konkright, sophomore, second base/ shortstop.
Newcomers: John Dawson, jr., third base/pitching; Jared Peterson, soph., of; D.J. Eberlin, freshman, catcher; Skyler Willard, fresh., of.
Outlook: If Lakeland or Moscow falters, the Lumberjacks hope to slip past the favorites. “We feel we can challenge for second,” Anderson said. Strong in the infield, major question marks are outfield and pitching.
Bonners Ferry Badgers
1994 record: 1-5, 4-11
Coach: John Beck, 2nd year
Top returners: Joe Robbins, sr., first base/pitcher; Mike Schulte, sr., pitcher/cf; Casey Johnson, jr., catcher; Rob Shelman, jr., third base/pitcher; Tom Duarte, jr., second base.
Newcomers: With 10 returning lettermen, there’s just a handful of others vying for varsity positions.
Outlook: Beck’s goals appear realistic. He’d like his team to improve on its record from last year and qualify for the doubleelimination portion of the district tournament.
Priest River Spartans
1994 record: None, first year
Coach: Doug Stone
Top players: Matt Heinrichs, jr., catcher; Will Mason, soph., shortstop/pitcher; Scott Bell, soph., third base; Jeff Needs, sr., pitcher/infielder.
Outlook: Stone doesn’t know anything about the league. But he thinks his team can be competitive. “I think they’re going to do well. I think people will be surprised,” he said.
A-3 independents
Wallace Miners
1994 record: 15-7, fourth at State A-3 Tournament
Coach: Bob Schreiber, 5th year
Top returners: Don Hulsizer, senior, pitcher/shortstop; Owen Cotter, sr., pitcher/shortstop; Ryan Nipp, junior, catcher/ pitcher; John Heyn, jr., second base/pitcher; Brian St. Peter, outfield/pitcher.
Newcomers: Dennis Tesky, jr., pitcher/first base; Sky Nelson, sophomore, pitcher/of; Kevin Lee, freshman, of.
Outlook: The Miners came within a run and a couple of mistakes of winning a state title last year. With their pitching staff intact, the Miners believe this could be the year to capture gold. “We’re fundamentally sound in every position,” Schreiber said. “We’re easily picking up where we left off last year.”
Lakeside Knights
1994 record: 5-11
Coach: Stacy Monk, 3rd year
Top returners: Quanah Matheson, sr., pitcher; Bill Fetterhoff, sr., catcher/pitcher; Brendon Nelson, soph., first base/pitcher; Brad Nelson, soph., shortstop; Paul Kolar, soph., second base.
Newcomers: Seven of 14 players are freshmen; many will play.
Outlook: For Lakeside to get to state, it must go through Wallace. It will be a formidable task for the Knights, as half the team is made up of freshmen. Monk does return four quality pitchers.
xxxx IML players to watch 1. Brett DeBoer, junior, pitcher, Lakeland 2. Gil Pierce, senior, pitcher/catcher, Moscow 3. Al Bevacqua, junior, second base/shortstop, Lakeland 4. Ben Schilling, senior, pitcher/outfielder, St. Maries 5. Matt Heinrichs, junior, catcher, Priest River