Baseball named EvCC's Team of the Year

The baseball team was coached by assistants Peyton Cordova Smith, Diego Altamirano, Andrew Haight, Ayden Ruminski, Sam Leach, and the head coach who completed his first season at the helm Eli Konsker.  What ended up being a record breaking season on many levels, had a cold start back in February.  You might fault the 40 degree temperatures and sideways rain for that.  But after losing three out of the first four games of the season to Yakima, The Trojans went on to win three of the next four and strung together a remarkable 16-game winstreak, a streak that was not only the longest in the conference but among the best in all of college baseball across the country.  Only UCLA had a better streak at the time.

Throughout the season the Trojans consistently remained ranked in the top 5, and climbed to as high as #2 in the NWAC Coaches polls.  Four Trojans earned NWAC player of the week honors, and the team won 14 of the last 16 north region contests to claim the program's third straight north region championship.  

The roster was loaded with talent with numerous players receiving post season accolades. Three players were named Second Team All North Region and six were named First Team All North Region.  Blake Skinner was named North Region Freshman of the Year, David Downer was named the North Region Position Player of the Year, and Basil Hendrix was named North Region Pitcher of the Year.  Three others received North Region Gold Glove Honors and Peyton Cordova Smith was named assistant coach of the year, with Eli Konsker being named north region head coach of the year.   

In the Championship Tournament, the Trojans handled Pierce and Wenatchee scoring a combined 25 runs and advanced to the final four before ultimately falling to the eventual champions Lower Columbia.  The team finished the year with 43 wins, a new all time EvCC program record for single season wins, breaking the previous record of 39.

A number of players also received All NWAC recognition, Blake Skinner was NWAC Freshman of the Year, and Davis Downer was the NWAC position player of the year.  Both of which were also named First Team All NWAC along with Basil Hendrix, and Dylan Hicks.  Talan Zenk, and Sawyer Wickstrom were named Second Team All NWAC. In addition to all NWAC, five players were named to the ABCA Pacific Coast Division All American Teams including: Basil Hendrix and Davis Downer (First Team All American); Blake Skinner and Dylan Hicks (Second Team All American); and Lukas Cheha (Third Team All American). 

Statistically the team was a top the NWAC in several offensive categories, including runs scored, hits, doubles, RBI's, and stolen bases. They were also second in the NWAC in home runs.  On the mound EvCC was just as dominant, allowing the second fewest hits, and runs scored, and led the league in strikeouts with 508 K's on the season, 46 more than the second highest strikeout leading team.  

These season totals also broke many program records, including runs scored, runs batted in, walks drawn, stolen bases, and strikeouts.  There were individuals that found themselves atop program records including Davis Downer who broke the single season RBI record (54) and tied the single season hits record (66); Talan Zenk broke the single season and career stolen base  records (46 & 79); and Basil Hendrix broke the career wins mark (18), as well as set the new single season and career strikeouts records (96 & 172).

The team was solid in the classroom as well boasting an even 3.00 team GPA and a number of players have already committed to continuing their academic and playing careers at 4-year schools including Dylan Hicks to Oregon State, Basil Hendrix to George Mason University , Sawyer Wickstrom to East Carolina University, and Talan Zenk to the University of the Pacific.