The Current Online

by Alex Greenlee

The Longview Lakers’ are intesnse as they are headed to the playoffs for their third consecutive season. The Laker’s current record of 28-25 and only have lost five games in April and May combined.

“Going into the season we knew we were going to have a strong offense, and we struggled for a little bit, but people adjusted. We have been strong ever since,” sophomore pitcher James Fitzgearlds said.

Stephanie Weissman/The Current

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by Michael Scassellati

The Lakers worked out February 7 (Michael Scassellati/The Current).

The Longview Lakers baseball team starts their season on Saturday, Feb. 11, playing against Richland College (Texas). It’s taken a lot of hard work and preparation to get ready for that game. A total of 29 players are on the team, but two are already injured, and 19 of them are freshmen. According to coach Clint Culbertson, though, these two potentially problematic issues do not affect how he goes about coaching his team.

“The freshmen this year had a lot of experience already, so they knew what to expect. We coach based off of whether we have a speed team or a hitting team. This season we tried to focus on pitching and defense early on in practice,” Culbertson said.

At the beginning of every season, a team always has goals that they expect to meet, but realistically they know that not all of those goals can be met.

“Our goal is to win another championship. I think that should always be the goal that you should try to go for but if we don’t it’s not a failure,” Culbertson said.

Lakers star Shawn Egge (Mike Williams/The Current)

by Mike Williams
Missouri College Media Award: Second Place, Sports Column

On a day when the adrenaline of a game should be pumping through the veins of the Longview Lakers baseball team, the monotony of practice takes the forefrontafter yet another cancellation for weather.

This in no way tempers the work ethic of Lakers outfielder Shawn Egge. He is in the Longview Rec Center, along with the rest of his teammates, lifting weights and getting in some batting practice. In an era of egocentric athletes, Egge is the antithesis of that. A quiet confidence encompasses him, despite his being such a promising athlete. [...]

Matt Valdez started game 2 (Mike Williams/The Current).

by Mike Williams

The clouds begged for rain all day. The wind gusts needed some kind of ranked number system and a their own name. But the ominous weather had no bearing whatsoever on the Lakers’ pitching.

The Longview Lakers swept Rockhurst JV in a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon on the MCC-Longview Campus. The Lakers rolled, thanks in large part, to great pitching outings from virtually everyone who touched the mound. Kyle Thornton was sensational, setting the tone at the start of the first game. Thornton put on a clinic, changing speeds and locations, keeping Rockhurst hitters guessing all afternoon. There was at least a 20 mph difference between his fast ball and curveball. He threw just four innings but struck out six, only walked one batter, and gave up merely one hit. The Rockhurst hitters may have thought Thornton was throwing a golf ball, staring at five of his curveballs for called-strike threes. [...]