The Emmett American Legion baseball team will not be fighting with the dog days of summer. The A league Huskies will be completing their season this week in the final days of the District tournament, but the very young squad has put together a pretty remarkable year.
They entered District play last week as the number-one seed in a double elimination tournament being held at Homedale. The Huskies opened the tournament with a 9-4 win over Melba to stretch their mid-season winning streak to 14 in a row.
Despite playing with a very fluid roster due to other summer commitments for many of the players, the Huskies have shown versatility and depth in achieving a 20-4 record into the second round of Districts.
The highlight of season, perhaps, came the previous week when Emmett put together a remarkable offensive performance to win a “Wood Bat” tournament hosted at Capital High School. The Huskies averaged 8 runs a game in the wins and got solid pitching from a very young crew, including two wins with rising sophomore Kharson Kharrl on the mound.
“It was the first time some of these kids have swung a wood bat,” remarked coach Joe Jones. “That’s kind of old school but it has a really nice sound.”
The wood bat tournaments actually fudge just a little as they allow a composite bat to be used in addition to the traditional ash wood bats used in the major leagues.
Jones’ team has been discovering a lot this summer, in addition to wood bats. They have discovered a lot about themselves.
“We had 16 freshmen out for baseball in the spring and I think ten of them have become a part of this summer program,” Jones said. “That’s been critical as each of the kids have so many other things going on in the summer we never have a full complement available for every game.”
While that may be challenging for Jones, it is also an opportunity for the younger players.
Emmett High pitching ace Trace Tucker is playing on an older league team in the valley this summer so just who was going to be on the mound was Jones’ first question to answer in early June.
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Junior Stevie Howe saw an increase in innings as the high school season progressed and entered Legion play as the only really experienced hurler on the summer staff.
As District play got underway Jones has seen his rotation grow and mature — calling on Jase Bade, Carter Browne, Logan Curtis, Kharson Kharrl, and Kenyon Carter for critical innings.
“That’s only going to give us much more depth next high school season,” said Jones.
Browne, who did not pitch during the high school season, has been strong all summer and has been a factor at the plate as well. Friday he crushed a two-run homer in the tournament opening win over Melba. Bade was credited with eleven RBIs in a three-game span in the middle of the Huskie win streak.
Developing the high school program is the primary emphasis of the summer Legion program. It shows this week as the season comes to an end, regardless of the on the field results. Should the Huskies win the District title they take the trophy and then retire, rather than advancing to a State tournament in another week.
“These kids all need some summer time and there are so many things they have to deal with that tying them to a full summer of baseball probably is asking too much,” said Jones.
Last week the team was missing players to church camp. It played a factor in a 5-3 loss to Mountain Home on Saturday in the District second round, snapping the 14 game win streak.
This week at least six players are not likely to be available due to commitments to the summer football camp being hosted by EHS on Monday and Tuesday. The season could end Monday against Owyhee or could go on for another day or two.
Whatever the windup to the season, it’s been a solid summer that bodes well for a stronger EHS spring in 2023.
