The Current Online

Lakers star Shawn Egge (Mike Williams/The Current)

by Mike Williams

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. [...]

Monarchs' Jeff Cline got the win (Mike Williams/The Current).

by Mike Williams

After nearly a month of away games, the Longview Lakers Baseball team played its first home game of the season on March 7. A cloudy, cold, somewhat muddy field was the site for the Lakers inter-campus tussle with MCC Maple Woods. The Lakers dropped their home opener 7-1, due in large part to the lack of timely hitting and two big innings by the Maple Woods Monarchs. [...]

Rohmiller takes batting practice (Mike Williams/The Current).

by Mike Williams

The Longview Lakers men’s baseball team begins their quest for a title–weather permitting–on February 12 at Northern Oklahoma. The journey to the ultimate prize, though, will be different this year. A new playoff format awaits the Lakers in the 2011 season.

If the Lakers post a .500 record or better, they will qualify for the playoffs. They would then face the district winners in Oklahoma and Kansas. A two-game, double-elimination round-robin will be played to decide who goes to the World Series. [...]