The North Sound Christian School baseball team should have a good shot at getting back to the district playoffs this season and the next.
The Lions return seven players from last year’s squad with only one senior in shortstop/pitcher Blake Mallory.
The North Sound Christian standout anchors an experienced pitching rotation that includes Mark Schettler, Ian Watson and Andrew Grossenbacher.
Mallory has a good curveball and on occasion even throws a knuckleball.
“He just kind of developed it over the years on his own,” Lions head coach John Campbell said. “It works.”
Last season Mallory was a bit of a utility player for North Sound Christian. He played shortstop, third base and catcher in addition to his work on the mound.
The roster is fairly evenly split between juniors and sophomores with a couple of new faces.
“Some of those guys aren’t as experienced as we like,” said Campbell, who is entering his sixth season as head coach. “It’s kind of a building year.”
The Lions’ offense revolves around speed with Mallory in the lead-off position..
“He led off pretty much every game last year, so he’s been developing,” Campbell said. “I think he can continue on this year and handle the position.”
Schettler has good speed but also can launch the long ball.
“He’s going to be a key guy,” Campbell said. “He’s a good power hitter. He can really get a hold of the ball.”
The Lions’ defense also is shaping up well.
“We’ve got a pretty strong infield and three guys who are looking good in the outfield,” Campbell said. “They’ve improved a lot from last year … we’ve very positive about their capabilities.”
North Sound Christian’s only league rival is Lummi. The two teams will play four games this season and the winner of the series (if the teams split the series, then a tiebreaker game is played) advances to the Tri-district playoffs.
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