WINLOCK – Jake Overbay has been a part of baseball ever since he was a kid. The former W.F. West player and current head coach at Adna High School, he always wants to keep two things at the forefront about the sport.
Class and integrity.
It was the ultimate move of that pair of components in the Pirates’ 16-0 and 25-2 sweep of Winlock in a C2BL twinbill on Monday night at Winlock High School. Once the nightcap was well out of reach, Overbay started having his guys run base-to-base.
“Some of the boys were wondering ‘Why are we stopping?’ and I’m like ‘We don’t need to keep running out there,’” Overbay said. “Even if they are understanding, to teach them why is so important in this game.”
In his first season at the helm, Adna has started 3-2 overall and the two victories brought its league mark to 2-2. The Pirates lost a non-league game to Ilwaco over the weekend, but responded emphatically two days later.
The type of turnaround Overbay wants to see regularly.
“To respond the way they did,it showed me their character is still in it for the right reasons,” he said.
Adna jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening inning in Game 1 on three hits, then broke the game open with a six-run outburst in the second. It batted around and took advantage of four walks.
“Being patient and not over-extending,” infielder Daniel Hoinowski said. “I don’t think it is anything too complex.”
Hoinowski was ruthless at the plate, roping three doubles in four at-bats in the two games and driving in seven total runs. His first two times swinging were two-run doubles, then had back-to-back RBI singles and an RBI hit by pitch in Game 2.
He was one of seven players with multiple runs batted in on Monday.
“Everytime I think a ball is coming in like a beach ball, I’m a half-hour early,” Hoinowski said. “I think we’re really sound, we’ve got depth and we’ve got guys in the bottom starting rallies. We’ve got something good going on.”
“He is just Mr. consistent,” Overbay added. “He is Grade-A, straight to the book hitter. He is a fun junior to watch. He is a huge staple in our lineup.”
Adna made the nightcap a rout early with a 10-run frame in the first and added three more in the second and four in the third. It batted around its lineup three times.
All players that ended up traveling, both on varsity and junior varsity squads, earned at least one at-bat.
“I was in that situation at one point,” Hoinowski said. “They’re going to see varsity time at some point.”
Winlock (2-2, 2-2 C2BL) avoided the shutout in Game 2 with a run in the first on an infield error. It added its final run in the fourth with an RBI base hit by James Cusson.
What plagued the Cardinals was the high amount of walks, wild pitches and a handful of errors.
“I don’t know how many extra outs we gave them throughout the game,” Winlock coach Mike Housden said. “We have to worry about ourselves, making our plays.”
The message was crystal clear afterwards. Housden wants Winlock to develop some fight instead of acting “already thinking we’re beat” before a first pitch is thrown.
“I know we’re young, but I thought we gave up tonight,” Housden said. “As coaches, we don’t give up. It was a disappointing night, but we’re gonna bounce back.”
