Baseball: 2009 Tigers had most wins in school history

Any coach who's had the opportunity will tell you that it takes a very special team to win a regional title.

Of course, when your pitching staff opens the year without allowing a hit over the first 13 innings, it's a pretty good sign you've got a special team.

When, during preseason scrimmages, your top starting pitcher strikes out eight of the nine batters he sees against the defending regional champions, it's a pretty good sign you've got a special team.

When your No. 4 starter beats one of the league favorites on the second day of the season, it's a pretty good sign you've got a special team.

One can go on and on down the list as to what made this year's Douglas High baseball team special but at the end of the day, only one phrase sums it up best: 2009 Northern 4A Regional Champions.

This year's Tigers were the first in 20 years to win the regional title. They were the first to win a first-round game at state. They won more games than any other team in the program's 47-year history. They were riding a 16-game win streak before a pair of Friday afternoon losses (one of which was to eventual state champ Bishop Gorman, who at present is ranked No.1 in the country by some polls and no lower than 10th in any national poll) at the state tournament in Las Vegas.

They were, indeed, special.

"It really is so hard (to win a regional title)," Douglas coach John Glover said. "What we learned down at state is that it is even harder to do that.

"We talked a lot about appreciating what happened and understanding the magnitude of it. Only one team every year gets to win and for a school to go 20 years was a special thing. We didn't want the state tournament to drown that out for them."

But, as Glover is quick to point out, special teams aren't simply born overnight.

"It's a lot of work and it didn't start with just this year's kids," he said. "We talked a lot about the kids before them. Those guys laid the foundation for this. This title is as much the community's and the former players' as it is ours. There is a lot of work that went into this over the years."

Indeed, after two appearances in the last three regional title games, appearances in the regional semifinals in four of the last five years and league titles in three of the past five years, it appears as though Douglas has turned into a downright special program overall.

Coming out of last season, it was obvious that the Tigers had a full cupboard to carry through the summer. There were three incoming seniors that had started in the 2006 regional championship game against Galena and five overall players that had been in uniform for that game.

Their top five pitchers from 2007 were due back, as were four all-leaguers in the field. Eight of their top 10 run-producers from a squad that just narrowly missed a league title were also back.

"I think we had a good idea at the end of last year that we should be OK," Glover said. "Then the leagues changed and we knew we'd be in a real fight. It was a very tough league.

"In the end I think that really benefited us in the playoffs, having to battle teams on a weekly basis like that, that really came into play down the stretch.

"We had a lot of pitching coming into the year and we stayed healthy. I always say pitching and defense wins championships. We only ended up throwing three pitchers in the zone tournament this year, which is almost unheard of. The pitching staff did a great job like that all year."

But even losing top starters Tyler May and Tyler Hoelzen this year, the Tigers can almost rough out a starting rotation for next year already.

Senior-to-be Michael Whalin should be in line for the top spot after going 5-3 this season, including a beautiful complete-game shutout of McQueen in the regional semifinals.

Kameron Van Winkle will enter his junior year with 10 wins already under his belt, all of which came primarily in long-relief situations. And another incoming senior, Beau Battista, showed some strong flashes during the year with his improving breaking ball, notably an eight-strikeout performance against Truckee and two strikeouts in relief against Cimarron-Memorial in the state tournament.

"The cupboard isn't bare," Glover said. "But when you lose seven starters, there is a lot of work to be done. That's seven starting position guys. The Tylers pitched but they still played a position when they weren't pitching.

"This summer is going to be about learning where the kids are to fill those sports and what they are capable of out there. It'll be a process, no doubt about it."

Van Winkle has seen extensive time at each corner infield position and middle infielder Shane Fencl is shaping up to be a fine player. Both could be in line for breakout junior seasons.

Douglas has a returning player with at least one game of experience for every spot on the field next year, but one of the biggest question marks heading into next season will be behind the plate.

The Tigers are in the position of having a new starting catcher for the third consecutive season. Of course, having Glover, a former catcher himself, at the helm of the program hasn't hurt. All four of the starting catchers for Douglas over the past six seasons have garnered all-league honors.

"This summer is absolutely about finding a guy to go back there," Glover said. "The biggest thing will be who wants to do it. I think Ryan Moglich (who missed all of this season after having knee surgery) will be a guy, hopefully he'll be healthy again.

Right now, we're just looking for someone to step in this summer and do a great job.

"Defensively, the team is built around the catcher. The last few years we've had a guy able to step in and do a phenomenal job for us. Beau Davis was as good a defensive catcher as there was in the region this year.

"This year, we're losing seven guys. We're going to have to do a better job as coaches as far as teaching the game and teaching them our philosophies and our system. Otherwise they'll walk into the spring and not have any idea of our expectations."