Coaches in the program
Head Coach – Stephen Donohue (12th year as HC at River)
Associate HC – Korey Kier
Varsity Asst – Mark Haley
Varsity Asst – Brady Benson
JV Head Coach – Garrett McKee
JV Asst Coach – Andrew Haley
C-Team HC – Rick Mettler
How did your players handle losing the 2020 season?
It was really tough for all of our coaches and players. We were coming off a league championship and Top 8 WIAA State finish in 2019 and brought our top 3 arms back in 2020 along with some other contributors to our 2019 success. We also had 7 Seniors who lost playing as a Senior in our program and being able to make another special playoff run. We thought we had a team that could make another deep state run so that was a tough pill to swallow not being able to play.
Key 2021 Class Players
RHP/SS Nick Alder – Alder will be a 4 year starter for Columbia River and was the 2019 GSHL Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore. He is one of the smartest baseball players to come through the program and a tremendous leader for the team. He is a mid 80’s arm with a good 3 pitch mix. He is an excellent defensive SS and the table setter for the offense in the lead off spot. He has numerous offers from JC’s and D3 schools and is still waiting to make a college choice.
RHP/2B Sawyer Parkin – Parkin is a 3 year starter and will be one of the top arms in the league this year. He 86-88 and commands his three pitches well. He always does an excellent job defensively at 2B and will play some SS this year as well. He is signed to pitch at Tacoma CC next year.
RHP/3B Jordan Wiggins – Wiggins will be a 3 year Varsity player this year. He will hit in the middle of the order and has one of the best swings in the program. He is a good defender at 3B and looks to help on the mound as well in this shortened season. He is looking to play at the JC level next year.
Key 2022 Class Players
LHP/OF Sam Boyle – UW Commit. Boyle is rated one of the top players in the state of WA in the class of 2022 by numerous outlets in the NW. He’s 87-91 from the left side and was a key part of the 2019 team as a freshman when he went 4-1 on the mound. He will play some OF as well this year and hit in the middle of our order.
C Adam Deeney – Deeney is an excellent defensive catcher and will be a first time starter for Columbia River in 2021 with the 2020 season being canceled. He has a compact line drive swing that should help him compete at a high level this spring.
RHP/IF Casey Struckmeier – Struckmeier will hit in the middle of the order this spring and come out of the bullpen, along with manning some innings around the infield. He has an excellent arm and a great work ethic and expect him to have a good spring and continue to develop.
Hopes, expectations, and goals for 2021
After so much time away from the field together we are all just excited to be back practicing and competing again and doing what we love to do and that’s creating memories on the baseball field together as a family. While our players are disappointed there won’t be any state playoffs this year they have set some internal goals for themselves and hope to compete for another league title this year. We are also excited our league has put together a district tournament with the EVCO league to end the year like we normally have in a full season and hope to try and make a good run in that tournament at the end of 2021.