Hawks’ Hit Men Target State Lakeland Dominates County With Fearsome Foursome

Which is the best high school baseball team in Kootenai County?

Coeur d’Alene? No. Post Falls? No. Lake City? No.

Try Lakeland, which is 4-1 against county opponents and the unofficial Panhandle power.

But that’s trivial when conversation turns to the Hawks’ primary goal. Anything less than a State A-2 championship later this month will be unsatisfactory.

Lakeland’s fourth-place showing at state last year would be acceptable for most teams, especially teams relatively new to state tournaments. But not for the Hawks, who returned the key contributors off a team that the year before captured a title in the school’s first visit to state.

Hawks coach Ken Busch can list several reasons why his team should contend for gold later this month. Near the top of the list, if not the top, would be hitting.

With a week remaining in the regular season, Lakeland is hitting a sizzling .391.

Four Hawks are largely responsible for the robust average: juniors Kevin Bridge (outfielder), Al Bevacqua (second baseman) and Josh Phelps (catcher) and senior Joel Gorham (first baseman).

Bridge is hitting a team-leading .523, followed by Bevacqua at .509, Phelps at .490 and Gorham at .464.

“We’re just crushing the ball,” Gorham said. “Any lineup (Busch) puts in the game hits the ball very well.”

All of the players’ averages are up from last season.

“This is by far the best hitting team I’ve had,” Busch said. “We’re solid from one through six in the lineup. The combined average of the first six batters is in the mid.400s.”

Busch summed up the common characteristic of his leading hitters in one word: aggressive.

“They don’t spend much time at the plate,” Busch said. “They come up swinging. I haven’t given the take sign to any of the top four hitters. When the count is 3-0, they’re swinging.”

The hot hitting is linked directly to extra swings - lots and lots of extra swings. Bevacqua and Bridge each have outdoor batting cages at their homes.

“I use it every night - after practice, before games, after games, after work - any time I have free time,” Bevacqua said.

Teammates also take extra swings at Bevacqua’s and Phelps’ cages.

“The extra hitting has made them better hitters, no doubt,” Busch said. “They’re not letting many strikes go by without swinging.”

Another common characteristic that the four players share is they’re multiple-sport athletes. It’s something that pleases Busch.

“I would hate to see them as baseball players only,” Busch said. “The competitive situations they’ve had in other sports helps them in the competitive situations they face in baseball.”

Bevacqua, for example, will likely be the starting quarterback for the Hawks in the fall.

But asked to choose between throwing a football or swinging a bat, Bevacqua would rather put the aluminum in his hands.

Busch calls Bevacqua a true student of the game.

“When he makes a mistake at the plate he can correct it; he knows when he makes mistakes,” Busch said.

Busch on the other players:

”(Phelps) was 5-(foot)-6 as a freshman and he’s 6-2 and still growing into his body. He’s just going to get better and stronger.”

”(Gorham) has great wrists. He gets a silly grin on his face and challenges pitchers to throw it past him.”

”(Bridge) is one of the nicest kids you’ll ever meet. He just goes about his business, has a good time and plays the game the way it should be.”

None of the players is on a personal statistical quest, Bevacqua said.

“We’re not out for ourselves; we’re out to help the team,” Bevacqua said.

Which explains the focus of the Hawks’ mission - to redeem themselves at state.

It strikes a particularly sensitive chord with Bevacqua and Phelps. Bevacqua started as a freshman on the Hawks’ state title team while Phelps saw frequent playing time as a backup catcher.

“We’re not out to get revenge against anybody; we’re mainly out to prove to ourselves we should win state,” Bevacqua said.

Gorham agrees.

“This year’s team has been the best we’ve had; we just want to make up for last year’s disappointment,” he said.

Added Phelps: “We come to play ball. We’re doing business but we’re also having fun.”

There’s one more reason Busch smiles when he talks about his top hitters.

“The best thing about it is three of the four are juniors,” he said.

The future is bright, but the future is also now.

“I’m glad most of us are back next year,” Bridge said. “We should have a good hitting team next year, too. But we’re hungry. We’ve got all the tools to do it this year.”