Big things afoot at EvCC

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, May 11, 2005

When Levi Lacey started the Everett Community College baseball program five years ago, he thought big. Not necessarily big win totals, though he had high hopes, but big players. He wanted big, strong athletes who, with a little coaching, could hit the ball a long way.

Julie Busch / The Herald Everett Community College sophomore third baseman Shaun Guinn throws to first base during a recent game against Bellevue Community College. The Mariner High alum, who stands at 6-foot-1 and weighs 220 pounds, is a good example of the bigger is better philosophy adopted by the Trojans under head coach Levi Lacey.

Apparently, the formula worked, and now those big players have the Trojans dreaming big.

Everett (29-6) plays host to Shoreline Community College in a doubleheader Friday at Everett Memorial Stadium. A win clinches a tie for the North Division title of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges. A sweep gives the Trojans their first division championship and first berth in the playoffs in the four years since the school reinstated baseball.

Everett is ranked No. 2 in the most recent NWAACC poll.

“Coming into the season we felt like we’d have the most competitive team we’ve had here,” Lacey said. “But about three weeks ago we realized what a good team we had. That’s when we realized that we had a team that might be able to win the whole thing.”

The Trojans, who have 15 players from Snohomish County high schools on the roster, feature a fearsome lineup that leads the NWAACC in average (.331) and home runs (21), and a pair of pitchers, J.T. Zink and Zach Simons, who are both likely to be taken early in June’s amateur draft.

But as talented as Everett is, coaches say what separates their team from others is the sheer physical strength the players have. Led by assistant coach Dan Keller, who has a master’s degree in exercise science from Eastern Washington, the Trojans have an intense weight training program that has allowed the players to put on a great deal of muscle. That added strength is a huge plus in a league that uses wood bats.

“These guys lived in the weight room in the offseason,” Keller said. “The result is we’ve got a bunch of hitters hitting the ball hard and a bunch of pitchers throwing the ball hard. When you’re starting a program, you’ve got to do something that other programs aren’t, and not a lot of programs have a good strength program. We felt that was a place where we could set ourselves apart.”

“The guys on this team look around and see what the other guys are doing, and they don’t want to be the weak link,” Lacey added. “So they all come to work every day. And when we get on the field, I think we kind of shock people because of how physical we are.”

There’s no question others have taken notice of Everett if only because of the size of the players. Scouts have come out in large numbers to watch the Trojans, particularly Zink, Simons and left fielder Aaron Cunningham, who leads the league in most offensive categories (.489, 10 HRs, 56 RBI) and is one home run away from tying the league record. All are likely high picks in the upcoming amateur draft.

“They’re the most physical team in that league by far,” said Brandon Newell, Northwest Scouting Supervisor for the Milwaukee Brewers. “They’re one of the most physical teams in the northwest, and that includes teams like the University of Washington and the bigger schools. When you see the bodies that they have, as a scout, you definitely take notice.”

Everett players say the weight program has given them a mental edge when they get on the field.

“There’s a confidence that you gain with being a big, physical team,” said first baseman Zach Adam, a Monroe graduate. “You see teams that are smaller and you have that comfort when you come in that we can smash that team because we’re so much bigger.”

It isn’t just the size and ability of the hitters that gives Everett confidence, though. While the Trojans are a team of good hitters, the NWAACC is still a pitchers’ league as players must adapts to using a wood bat.

Luckily for Everett, it has two of the best in Zink (6-3, 1.51 ERA, 60 strikeouts), a transfer from Division I San Diego State, and Simons (6-0, 1.03 ERA). Lacey said that while the offensive prowess and solid defense have come as a surprise, he figured he had the top-end pitching to be competitive.

“We know that even if we don’t score a lot, we can still win because of those guys,” Cunningham said.

“It’s a huge boost to our confidence,” Adam said. “We know our pitchers are going to keep us in every game until our bats get going. And our bullpen is deep with guys who throw strikes and get outs.”

Everett has had talent in the past. Last season, it went 29-12 and narrowly missed the postseason. In four seasons, the Trojans have sent 24 players to four-year schools and six to professional baseball.

Lacey, an Everett native, said the biggest battle in building the program was convincing players to look beyond the fact that it is a new program and doesn’t have the tradition of Edmonds or Bellevue.

“We’re trying to build that tradition,” Lacey said. “This year was a big step for that. I’ve taken a lot of pride in this program, we all have. It’s been a group effort and it’s been gratifying for us all to see where we’re at.”

But as good as the season has been, some players feel the season would be incomplete without a NWAACC title to cap things off.

“It would be a dream come true to win the league championship,” Adam said. “We feel like if we just keep playing like we have been, we’re going to be tough to beat. We have so much balance and so much chemistry, we can do anything if we just keep working. It’s a great feeling knowing how good of a chance we’ve got.”