The Cheney High baseball team’s season came to an end after last Saturday’s 8-2 loss to the Fife Trojans in the first round of the 2A state tournament.
Fife took an early lead after scoring one run in the first inning, then three more in the second. Cheney scored in the third inning on runs by Cameron Wiseman and Logan Pratt. The Trojans scored three runs in the fourth inning and one in the sixth.
“We felt good after scoring those two runs, but we couldn’t seem to get it going after that,” head coach Mike Cagle said.
Wiseman, Pratt, Cade VanWormer, Harrison King, Chance Gleave and Trey Martin all had hits during the game. Connor Pratt (7-4) and King shared pitching duties.
The Blackhawks started their year with a strong regular season, winning nine of their first 11 games. They hit a snag during Great Northern League play, losing their last seven games of the regular season. They finished 7-9 in the league and tied for third place with Clarkston.
Cheney had new life in the postseason, defeating Clarkston and East Valley before losing to West Valley in the GNL title game. They defeated Ellensburg, 6-5, May 16 in a close game in the regional qualifier to advance to the state tournament.
“The way the guys pulled back together after that slump was pretty spectacular,” Cagle said. “That’s sort of what baseball is. You hang in there and try to make something happen. When you do, it’s pretty cool.”
The Blackhawks lose six seniors to graduation: Anthony Hartman, Brannon Pederson, Cameron Marchand, Dominic Bonilla and starting pitchers Kyle Jones and Connor Pratt — who finished the year with 106 strikeouts. Cagle said Gleave, King and Wiseman, who all pitched some innings this year, will likely start on the mound next season.
Cagle said the team will focus on “being mechanically sound and working on throwing accurately with velocity.” They will also focus on hitting.
“We got more aggressive with hitting on two strikes,” Cagle said. “We need to be able to hit better pitchers, more frequently.”
Many players will get a chance to work on sharpening their skills over the summer. The Cheney Summerhawks 17U baseball team opened their season against Premier BBC on Wednesday. Cagle said other varsity players are playing on other club teams.
“That’s why summer is so important,” Cagle said. “It will be important for those younger guys to get some experience and learn the more difficult aspects of baseball to get ready for next year.”
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
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