Bellevue

Head Coach: Scott Goldsberry
JV Coach: Brandon Baarstadt

Athletic Director: Jason Frederick
Cedarcrest Principal: Clarence Lavarias
Assistant Principal: Ray LaBate

            The Junior Varsity remained a young team this season with the majority of the team being either freshman or sophomores.  As with last year, and as many young teams often do, the JV had their rocky moments.  They started the season with two excellent wins against their non-league opponents.  The heart of the schedule proved a little more formidable as the strength of the KingCo conference made victories difficult to come by.  The JV squad improved steadily however, under the guidance of new coach Brandon Baarstadt, and closed the season with two convincing victories.  With the possibility of returning every member of the junior varsity squad, as well as the addition of some talented freshman from next years class, the coaching staff is looking forward to some good things over the next couple of years.  Seth Pemble won the teams MVP award, Cyle Potter won the Most Inspirational award, and senior first baseman Cameron Roets received the Most Improved award for the second year in a row.  Cameron had never played competitive baseball before last year and showed dramatic improvements in his understanding of the game and his overall skill level during his two seasons on the Cedarcrest Junior Varsity baseball team.

            Last year the Varsity squad came into the season as a younger team than in previous years.  The team lost a number of close and competitive games as the young and inexperienced group struggled to find its personality. What a difference a year makes!  The Varsity squad returned a number of players from last years team that struggled at times and put together the single most successful regular season any Cedarcrest baseball team has had since entering the incredibly tough KingCo 3A conference.  Picked to finish dead last by the coaches and media (largely due to last years 3-17 overall record and the fact that no Cedarcrest team had ever finished the regular season .500 or better since enter the conference), this years squad finished a solid 11-9 overall and 9-9 in league; narrowly missing a playoff opportunity due in part to a coaching error and an end of season slump that saw the team lose 4 out of its last 5 games.  Regardless of missing the playoffs the team improved dramatically and showed a renewed energy and confidence level that has been missing in years past.  At one point this season the team was 10-5 overall, 8-5 in league and holding down second place in a league that is widely regarded as the toughest 3A league in the state, and one that they have perennially finished last in.  A truly remarkable turnaround!  One that each and every player should be commended for, and proud of.   

Along with the dramatic improvement came a number of highlights and special moments for the team, the school, and individual players.  In only the fourth game of the season the varsity squad accomplished one of the high points of the season by defeating Newport High School 10-9 in extra innings behind the hitting of Senior Ross Gomes who had a grand slam homerun earlier in the game as well as a clutch 2 out RBI single to win the game.  This was the schools first baseball victory ever over the Knights since entering KingCo.  Newport was the only KingCo team that Cedarcrest had never beaten and to make things even sweeter, the team beat Newport again (while they were ranked #8 in the state) later in the season 4-1 behind a solid team performance that was highlighted by the dominating pitching of Junior Cody Vermeulen, and the clutch hitting of Junior Chris Brouillette. 

As with most successful seasons, there were a number of excellent individual efforts put together by several players.  Team MVP Cody Vermeulen proved to be a valuable and welcome addition to the Cedarcrest baseball team this season as he finished 3-1 on the mound with 47 strikeouts in 41⅔ innings pitched and played a defensively sound shortstop.  Cody also provided a huge offensive boost to a line-up that had trouble scoring runs last year and finished the season with an impressive .362 BA, 22 RBI, 3 2B, 2 3B, and a league leading 7 HR.  Ross Gomes, voted most improved by his teammates, also had an outstanding season offensively and defensively as he held down a solid first base and finished the season with a .357 BA, 16 RBI, 2 2B, and 5 HR (tied for second in the league).  Russell McGinnis (.470 BA, .500 OBP, 31 Hits, 15 RBI, 5 2B, and 3 HR) and Lucas Bunce (.424 BA, .493 OBP, 13 RBI, 5 2B, 3 3B, and 2 HR) were both honored as All KingCo league 2^nd team as outfielders, and Russell McGinnis was also selected as one of the top 18 Seniors in KingCo 3A and was named a member of the league All-star team. Other outstanding offensive seasons were turned in by Senior infielder Walter Robison (.328 BA, 17 RBI, 3 2B, 1 3B, and 4 HR), Junior third baseman Josh Benson (.355 BA, .412 OBP, 16 RBI, 3 2B, and 1 HR), and Junior outfielder Philip Knight (.301 BA, 17 R, 8 RBI, 2 2B, and 9 SB) who was also named Most Inspirational by his teammates.

This year’s goal of producing the first winning season in KingCo was fulfilled, now our goals and expectations turn to producing a playoff birth and competing at the state level.  With only three seniors graduating from the program and 10 juniors with significant playing experience returning next season, the coaching staff and team is definitely expecting great things for the Cedarcrest Varsity Baseball team in the future.

Scott Goldsberry
Head Baseball Coach
Cedarcrest High School