Five schools within a game of one another atop GSL baseball

After two years of Gonzaga Prep dominating the Greater Spokane League with consecutive 17-1 records, the Bullpups all of a sudden look tame as five teams remain within a game of the conference lead at the halfway point.

Mt. Spokane leads the league at 6-2 and the Wildcats are followed by Gonzaga Prep, University, Mead and Rogers, who all have 5-3 league records as the teams resume play today after spring break.

For a bit of perspective, Rogers and U-Hi won five games all season last year and Mead won six.

“It’s so much more exciting in a league like this where everybody’s got a chance,” U-Hi coach Tom Hoiland said. “Mt. Spokane and G-Prep aren’t as near as dominant as they were last year.”

When Hoiland’s team has been on, his hitters have been devastating. Already the Titans have posted football-like scores of 19, 10, 11 and 17 runs in wins over Rogers, Shadle Park and Ferris.

“Mead wasn’t supposed to be this good,” Hoiland said of the Panthers, who twice beat G-Prep this month. Mead is in “the same boat we are. It’s just fun.”

G-Prep’s Brian Munhall said he’s happy to see the league become more competitive.

“We thought we were pretty stinking good when we split with Mt. Spokane,” Munhall said. Then the Panthers hung 20 runs on 20 hits on the Bullpups on April 2.

“Three of their best players were gone (last Tuesday) and they still beat us,” Munhall said of Mead. “That was even more heartbreaking. From top to bottom, the records are incredible. I don’t even know what to say.”

Mead coach Jason Reich said a break or two the other way on plays and his team could be 7-1 instead of 5-3.

“It was nice to kind of finish with that (G-Prep) sweep going into the break,” Reich said. “These last 10 games will be huge.”

Mt. Spokane coach Alex Schuerman said his team is playing the way he expected. But, he too, said the emergence of Mead, U-Hi and Rogers – which got a no-hitter on March 26 from Evan Norden – have made things more interesting.

“We should find out a lot about our league this week. This is a really big week to determine who the cream of the crop is,” Schuerman said. “In one week you could go from first to fourth if you are not careful.”

Rogers starts a two-game series with G-Prep today and Mt. Spokane takes on U-Hi. And Mead plays Lewis and Clark, which at 4-4 in the GSL is just a game out of the log jam for second.

“We are all pretty close,” Rogers coach Jim Wasem said. “It depends on who you are pitching that day. But anybody can beat anybody.”