In preparation for opening day, Friday, March 8, against the Lakes Lancers, the Yelm High School baseball team hosted its “red and black” intrasquad scrimmage on Monday, March 4, to knock off any rust prior to the season’s start.
Dakota Hill makes his head coaching debut against Pierce County League’s Lakes this Friday, and he said he’s proud of the work his team has put in so far throughout the early season. The team scrimmage presented an opportunity for Hill and the Tornados to build an idea of how the athletes work together as a team, and Yelm’s overall strengths and weaknesses thus far.
“The boys were aggressive, which is what I asked them for beforehand. I love it. [They are] sometimes too aggressive, but that is the coach’s job to pull them back. I also thought we worked great at-bats and did a great job with situational hitting,” Hill said. “I just expect them to go out and compete to the best of their abilities because that’s all they can control. I’m excited to put the rubber to the road.”
Hill added he’s been pleasantly surprised by the team’s depth of talent and skill. The coach noted that players also stay after practice to field ground balls and take extra at-bats, and that he feels an overall sense of “want” or “hunger” from his athletes.
“I think it starts with our middle infielders Parker (Myers) and Lincoln (Ramirez). They have great camaraderie and are incredible athletes. Wyatt Robison is going to have a big year for us. My wrestlers Jonah (Smith) and Wes (Thompson) are going to bring that toughness and get after it,” Hill said. “Barrett Schnetz is going to bring a physical presence on the mound and in the box, as will Landen Halterman and Ace Youckton.
“Quillen Hadley has been a great addition on the mound, a lot of strikes from him. Jackson Ford is going to need to be solid behind the dish,” Hill continued. “I’m pumped for all of these guys.”
Sophomore shortstop Myers said a team-wide expectation is to make tremendous strides throughout the 2024 season. One of his own personal goals is to make it to the state tournament.
“We’ll practice hard every day, put in work during and after practice, and stay positive, even when there’s downtimes throughout the year,” Myers said. “Everybody on the team has a lot more experience this year. Our mentality has changed, especially with coach Hill out here with us.”
Junior pitcher and outfielder Robison said the team is excited for the upcoming season, and like Myers, added the Tornados have high expectations to continuously grow and succeed.
“We expect to improve from last year. We want more wins this year. We’ll work way harder. We want it more,” Robison said. “As we get older, we’ll get better. We had six starting freshmen last year, and they only got better. We’ll keep growing, moving forward.”
Robison added the non-conference matchup with Lakes on Friday, March 8, is a matchup that he expects to be competitive. The game itself is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. at Yelm High School’s baseball field.
