Prep baseball notes: Good teams usually have dual-threat players

Long before college and professional teams turn baseball players into specialized talents, the players – at least in high school – get the chance to shine from both the mound and at the plate.

The Greater Spokane League has, in years past, sported the amazing dual-threat talents of players such as Gonzaga Prep’s Justin Blatner and Mt. Spokane’s Drew Rasmussen, who recently was lost for the season at Oregon State with an injury that will require Tommy John surgery.

While many of the current players may not be Division I talent yet, the league has several dual-threat players in the Bullpups’ Carsten Schmidt, University’s Taylor Eskridge and Lewis and Clark’s Cal Webb.

“It’s hard to have guys who are pitchers only,” Gonzaga Prep coach Brian Munhall said. “To have a guy who does both, it helps us a ton.”

As of Monday, Schmidt was batting .379. He was tied for the league lead with two home runs. Schmidt, who also plays right field, first base and designated hitter, has 10 runs batted in and has scored 11 runs. He’s second in the league with a 1.29 earned-run average.

According to Munhall those pitching numbers came out of left field. Munhall said he wasn’t counting on him as a pitcher until Connor Coballes let the coach know 30 minutes before a game with Richland that Coballes had a cut finger and couldn’t pitch.

Schmidt “hardly took the ball last year. But we knew he was competitive,” Munhall said. “I didn’t know he would be this good. It has created depth we didn’t know we had. It’s awesome.”

Tom Hoiland has some of the same dual-threat qualities from senior Taylor Eskridge, who is hitting .436 with five doubles and eight RBIs. He also leads the league with 30 /3 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.31.

“When (Eskridge) is not pitching, he’s catching,” Hoiland said. “When he’s not catching, he’s playing third base. He’s an absolute asset.”

University (4-8 before Thursday’s game) has struggled this year to replace some of the league’s best hitters even with Eskridge and fellow pitcher Nate Awberry (2.39 ERA) eating up innings.

“We wouldn’t be half the team without Eskridge”, Hoiland said, “especially when we don’t have a lot of guys tearing it up at the plate.”

Eskridge finds a way to succeed despite a frame that is less than imposing.

“He gets the most out of what he’s got more than anyone I’ve ever seen,” Hoiland said. “He may have a day where he’s not hitting spots, but he keeps grinding. That’s what makes him special.”

Mead’s Mason Wells had been one of those dual-threat players, but he has been limited by injuries, Munhall said.

Steve Bennett has a couple players at Lewis and Clark in Webb (league leading 0.37 ERA and a .429 BA) and Camden Bendickson (2.04 ERA and .367 BA), who both can deliver from the mound and at the plate.

“He’s right now one of the top pitchers in the league as far as ERA and he’s one of the most productive offensive players,” Bennett said of Webb. “But the other facet of the game is how he plays shortstop. He’s as good a defensive player as I’ve ever seen since I’ve been coaching in the league.”

4A showdown looming

As of Tuesday, the Bullpups and Central Valley Bears had scratched and clawed to an identical league record of 11-1. They play the same teams and finish with a two-game series on April 29 and May 2.

“They are pretty impressive right now,” Munhall said of Mike Amend’s Bears. “Hopefully we all take care of business and we have one helluva match up next week.”

Bennett’s Tigers play both the Bullpups and Tigers before finishing with Ferris.

Central Valley “is really athletic and they are really talented,” Bennett said. “They are going to be a handful.”